Innovative Internships

Coworking Space Draws Student Entrepreneurs to Downtown Albany

From left: Gregory Mazzaro, Ryan Andrews and Dan Fitzgerald.

ALBANY, N.Y. (July 18, 2018) – Instead of seeking out summer gigs at big corporations, a group of UAlbany students opted to intern during their breaks at startups in downtown Albany.

The companies operate out of Beahive, a coworking space for entrepreneurs, freelancers and consultants, and a partner of Innovate 518, the Capital Region’s Innovation Hot Spot and NYSTAR initiative managed by the University.

Key Capture Energy

For example, a UAlbany student and a recent graduate are working for Key Capture Energy, a company that develops energy storage projects throughout New York and New England.

Working at a startup allows Gregory Mazzaro, a junior business major, to take on greater responsibility than he would likely get at a larger company.

“You get to see everything come together in what forms a business,” said Mazzaro, who said he has always been interested in getting involved in the energy industry. “No one works on just one specific thing; whether it’s land acquisition or budgeting, we all work together.”

Getting to work on statewide initiatives such as Gov. Cuomo’s mission of storing 1,500 megawatts of energy by 2025 is the most meaningful aspect of the Key Capture Energy internship, said Ryan Andrews,  a 2016 graduate of the University’s School of Business.

“It’s been cool to see that so many companies want to work in unison with us in setting the precedent in New York for energy-saving goals,” said Andrews, who minored in sustainability.

This is the first summer that the startup could hire interns since opening operations in Albany in 2016, according to Dan Fitzgerald, co-founder and chief development officer of Key Capture Energy.

Fitzgerald, also a UAlbany graduate, said that with an expanded team, the company will be able to tackle one of their biggest projects for the year – installing four large energy storage units in the Luther Forest Technology Campus in Stillwater, N.Y.

Nowigence

Three UAlbany students and graduates are working for Nowigence, an AI-powered market intelligence platform.

From left: Jonathan Billings, Andrew Nicoll, Anoop Bhatia, Josh Dinkins and Josette Clements.

Josh Dinkins, who graduated last May, said that extracurricular activities, such as marketing the UAlbany Student Association, and mentorship from professors helped prepare him for the position.

“One of my first tasks at Nowigence was to redesign the website, and it was easier than it could’ve been because I knew Photoshop extensively,” said Dinkins, who graduated with a degree in economics. “Talking to teachers that I valued also taught me how to have a good work ethic and get things done.”

Dinkins and sophomore Josette Clements are interning at Nowigence as part of the SPEED Summer Internship Program, which offers students and recent graduates the opportunity to work at a START-UP NY or Innovate 518 company in the Capital Region.

The Nowigence team also includes Jonathan Billings, a 2018 business graduate from UAlbany.

In addition to hiring interns from the University, Nowigence has also worked with the University’s Department of Computer Science for the past two years to develop original algorithms, according to Anoop Bhatia, president and chief executive officer of the company.

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