Workforce Learning Leads to Better Student Outcomes
HubSpot, WGU School of Business partnership provides students with hands on, industry experience.
Strategic, real-world learning experiences are a game-changer for today's college students to boost confidence, build competitive portfolios and open doors to career opportunities. That's exactly what the collaboration between HubSpot and the WGU School of Business is delivering.
Through this innovative partnership, WGU launched a workforce development program designed to equip both undergraduate and graduate students with market-ready skills through custom, paid training and micro-internships with HubSpot.
The program supports the WGU School of Business’ speed of business philosophy – to offer career-aligned programs that give students the future-focused skills needed to thrive at the pace of today’s business world – by adapting internships to a current industry need and through an industry partnership with HubSpot and its more than 250,000 global customers.
“We are committed to making sure our students have the most relevant and current skills, and that they practice those skills before they get into the working world,” said Mitsu Frazier, senior vice president and executive dean, WGU School of Business. “HubSpot has a shared vision to advance student outcomes through real-world experience, which is why this industry-leader is a critical connection point for our students to practice those skills in the working world.”
Eve Asplund is an undergraduate marketing student in the WGU School of Business who completed an internship with HubSpot.
HubSpot is an AI-powered customer platform with software, integrations and resources needed to help business owners connect their marketing, sales and customer service. The company brings marketing, sales and service teams together on an AI-powered customer platform to support business owners.
“You need to find partners with aligned values. HubSpot needed a partner like the WGU School of Business, which is equally invested in applied learning and experiential opportunities for students,” said Cheyenne Boyce, principal program manager, Education Partnerships, HubSpot. “We want to work with students because they are enthusiastic and driven, innovative and represent the future of industry.”
The WGU-HubSpot micro-internship program provides an opportunity for WGU School of Business students to apply the industry-relevant skills they learned through their coursework by working with HubSpot clients. The workforce-aligned experience also enhances students’ prospects in the job market after graduation.
“We thought the WGU School of Business students would complete the program, add the experience to their resumes, and move on, but their enthusiasm, adaptability and willingness to tackle challenges exceeded expectations,” said Melody Cooke, associate product manager, HubSpot. “WGU students, who are completing their coursework and internships remotely, stood out for their sense of community, enthusiasm and collaboration—even helping each other across time zones.”
Some WGU students also landed jobs with the clients they supported through HubSpot, “which speaks to the value of the WGU School of Business’ marketing programs,” Cooke said.
Additionally, students who participated in the internship showed improved outcomes in their course work during the project and there was strong client and student satisfaction leading to greater engagement. The majority of HubSpot clients said they would offer a job to their intern if a role were available.
Two students receiving job offers from their HubSpot internship clients included Megan Stehr, a student in the graduate marketing program, and Eve Asplund, an undergraduate marketing student.
Megan Stehr is a student in the graduate marketing program in the WGU School of Business who completed an internship with HubSpot.
The internship program also helps HubSpot better support its clients, in part, by helping its customers learn how to leverage HubSpot tools to achieve their business goals and skilled future marketing professionals with HubSpot knowledge and experience.
“I thought I was just going to work on some documents, maybe make a couple of phone calls, and that was it. It was completely not that. What I got was amazing,” Stehr said. “We got to work with amazing people, dealing with AI technology, HubSpot, and real small businesses—putting our education into actual processes. I gained a lot of confidence about my abilities.”
The HubSpot client Stehr supported said, “Megan was nothing short of phenomenal throughout her internship. She consistently delivered work that far exceeded our expectations, showcasing her exceptional skills and dedication.”
For Asplund, the internship with HubSpot gave her the confidence she needed in the skills she acquired through her coursework.
“The first day was a little scary. I felt like maybe I had gotten in over my head. The imposter syndrome was strong, but by the third day, when they gave us a run-through of how to use HubSpot, I started feeling really comfortable,” Asplund said. “This was a great opportunity to learn about my strengths and weaknesses. This really showed me that I have the skills I need to succeed and that I shouldn’t be scared.”
The HubSpot client Asplund supported said, “Eve has great marketing talent. Her innate understanding of processes, communicating to break through the roar of content, embracing the brand persona and staying consistent throughout while also sounding fresh is truly amazing.”
As a part of the micro-internship program, students participate in bootcamp-style training on how to effectively use HubSpot’s AI-powered Marketing Hub and Content Hub tools to drive business growth for HubSpot customers. Then, students are matched with HubSpot customers for three weeks to complete a short-term project to apply what they have learned. Program projects are designed to help students teach HubSpot customers how to leverage HubSpot tools to add immediate value to participating businesses.
At the end of the program, students receive an industry-recognized Certificate of Completion from HubSpot Academy and a program badge to support networking and professional development within the HubSpot ecosystem. They also earn HubSpot Academy Software Certifications.
“It’s so important to bridge classroom work with real-world experience because it’s not just the knowledge, it’s the application of that knowledge and students demonstrating they can solve real business problems for real clients,” said Sandra Sjoberg, associate dean and director of marketing and innovation programs at WGU School of Business. “For me, what’s most gratifying is seeing how it impacted our students. They’ve said it changed their lives, gave them confidence to go into the workforce, and helped them pivot into the marketing industry.”
