Get Involved for Students - Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project

3 Ways to Get Involved:

A small business owner chats with an accounting consultant at a JEI workshop

1) Work for DNEP

DNEP hires U-M students throughout the year to work as student accounting consultants and community tech workers (providing direct 1:1 financial and technology support to businesses), or as program assistants.

NOW HIRING a full-time accounting consultant for the summer. See below for details.

Photo of summer interns around work table

2) Intern with DNEP

DNEP hires U-M students to work as interns, providing implementation services for a portfolio of clients.

Learn More

DNEP Job Descriptions / How to Apply

NOW HIRING FOR Summer 2024. Learn more and apply here.

DNEP Free Accounting (formerly Free Accounting Fridays) is a collaboration between the University of Michigan’s Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project (DNEP) and Business+Impact at the Ross School of Business. DNEP Free Accounting hires U-M students with experience in accounting and financial analysis to work as student consultants throughout the year.

Timing: Summer 2024

Spots Available: 1

Qualifications: Incoming MAcc (Masters of Accounting) student preferred, but open to anyone who has completed their first two years of accounting and finance courses at Ross or has other accounting experience.

Application Process: Read the full job description and application process here.

2024 SUMMER PROGRAM.

Job Description:

The Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business (DNEP) runs a summer internship program, known as +Impact Studio for Local Business. This is a paid, full-time, in-person internship program that involves working in multidisciplinary teams to implement solutions for a portfolio of Detroit minority-owned businesses.

Interns will be assigned to teams who develop expertise in key service areas by implementing the recommendations of prior University of Michigan student teams in a client-professional relationship. Interns are supervised by faculty and staff with business, design, and legal backgrounds. Learn more about the service areas here.

Educational Value: Interns will also gain specialized technical skills based on the team they join. Interns will also build a set of consulting skills that are useful to multiple contexts, including working in multidisciplinary teams, cross-cultural communication, data analysis, client management, and the ability to rapidly pivot in response to changed circumstances or new data. This program offers extensive professional development training and the use of established anti-racism/community engagement strategies.

Eligibility: This position is open to current sophomores or juniors at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy, Ross School of Business, the Stamps School of Art & Design, or School of Information. You must be able to work in-person at the Ross School of Business Monday-Friday from 9:30-4:30 pm (35 hours/week). You must be eligible to do paid work in the United States over the summer term.

Location: Ross School of Business, +Impact Studio (with some site visits to Detroit to meet with clients; carpooling or mileage reimbursement is provided)

Timing: September 2024-May 2025

Spots Available: TBD

Student program assistants are part-time paid student positions that support the running of DNEP in a variety of roles.

Timing: Fall

Spots Available: TBA

Qualifications: TBA

Application: Listings are posted on Simplicity at the respective U-M schools, typically in late August

Chuggas bakery owners with DNEP students standing next to product display

3) Take a DNEP Class

Gain consulting experience and support Detroit small businesses by registering for one of the engaged learning classes DNEP supports. DNEP recruits and places small businesses with 13 classes in 7 U-M schools, both undergraduate and graduate. U-M students can often register for classes at other schools, even when they are not officially cross-listed.

Browse DNEP Classes

Hear from Past Students

ROSS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Grace Aretakis

“I’m more excited than ever to pursue a career in consulting and feel well-equipped to begin the process of searching for future roles. This internship has taught me how to work collaboratively with a team, communicate effectively with a client, and look at solving problems in creative ways.”

ROSS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Allison Wei

“Interning with DNEP has been such an amazing experience. In interdisciplinary teams, not only was I constantly learning from my peers, but I also learned so much from the clients we worked with. Especially as a business student, seeing my clients prioritize community impact and the triple bottom line in their business was such an inspiring example to me of social impact into action. The fact that we were able to not just make recommendations but implement them and see them to the finish line has been extremely rewarding.”

STAMPS SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN

Sarah Pisarczyk

“Collaborating on interdisciplinary teams of students and doing such impactful work for the small business owners of Detroit was an experience that made me a better designer, community member, and prepared me to enter the job market more confidently. I appreciate the trust you put in all of us to do this work. It means everything to be taken seriously, trusted with real clients, and see the fruits of your labor.”

FORD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY

Noelle Seward

“The most exciting part for me, a student at the Ford School, is looking at the big picture goals of each business. We work with the business owners to investigate how their story informs their products and brand identity, and then together develop a strategic plan toward achieving those goals, turning a profit, and maintaining a smooth flow of operations.”

FORD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY

Reid Diamond

“The entire summer with the +Impact Studio for Local Business was a lesson in the value of interdisciplinary work. As a Ford student without much initial business acumen, I learned a lot from my Ross peers throughout the process and I grew capable of helping in the technical work as the summer progressed. Anyone who is considering a career in consulting, or is interested in solving some of the most pressing issues of small businesses should seriously consider this internship.”

ROSS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Selena Grover

“Working with the +Impact Studio this summer has been especially rewarding because I have been able to see a project grow from a seed of an idea to a flushed out final deliverable that really has the power to affect so many people positively. We were able to dig out what was top of mind for business owners to truly best address their needs.”