In the upcoming months, thousands of college graduates in Michigan will be starting their careers and a new life outside of college, yet nearly half of those graduates will be leaving Michigan.

“Michigan has some of the best academic institutions in the nation, yet many of the students graduating from those colleges and universities are moving away and not returning until 5-10 years later,” said Antoine Dubeauclard, president of Media Genesis. “We are losing the creativity and ambitious flare these recent graduates have to offer. Michigan needed a solution that would bridge the gap and make students aware that there are job opportunities here in Michigan.”

In efforts to help rebuild Michigan’s economy and keep recent graduates in the state, Media Genesis, a Troy web development company, teamed up with the Detroit Regional Chamber, West Michigan Strategic Alliance, Presidents Council for State Universities of Michigan, Digerati, Issue Media Group and many others to develop a website that would promote internships in Michigan.

The objective of the website, www.InternInMichigan.com, is to match students from Michigan’s many colleges and universities with internships at in-state companies. The site also gives advice for students on how to obtain an internship and to employers on how to have an internship program that is cost effective.

“This is a completely different way of thinking when it comes to placing students with internships – meaning there is no longer a ‘fend for yourself mentality’ when it comes to students trying to find an internship,” Dubeauclard said. “By bringing together several academic institutions, businesses and foundations we were able to compile all resources and job postings into one central location.”

The website recently launched and already 1,000 students are using the site.

The Intern In Michigan website is one of several initiatives in Michigan being funded by a WIRED Grant, or Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development. The WIRED grant is a federal program intended to encourage regional collaboration from both public and private companies to expand its skilled workforce and increase economic development and jobs.

Michigan was the only state in the U.S. to receive two of 13 WIRED grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor, each at $15 million.

“It was exciting to experience the amount of collaboration and sophistication that it took to bring all 49 academic institutions, businesses and foundations involved to agreement on the logo, identity, and functionality for the site,” said  Susanna Brennan, who was part of the advocacy council for the initiative and Media Genesis’ Employee Culture Manager.

Media Genesis offers services ranging from web development, content management systems, e-learning courses, video presentations, interactive multimedia, strategy consulting and marketing. For more information visit www.mediaG.com.