LEARNING CURVE: Businesses and educators forge partnerships to build a future workforce.

• Position: BUSINESS AND EDUCATION ROUND TABLE

Corporations such as Lenovo are growing their paid internship programs for high schoolers. That's just one example of businesses and educators partnering to build the workforce of the future. Companies are helping schools create financial-literacy programs and develop global-learning opportunities and offering teachers hands-on experience in the private sector. Our round-table participants are pioneering partnerships between business and education,* U5

HOW DO STUDENTS WORK WITH BUSINESSES TO GAIN IMPORTANT EXPERIENCE?

TYAGI At HOSA-Future Health Professionals, we have 235,000 members internationally focused on building on their passion for the field of health care. Some opportunities that we are proud to offer include internships, scholarships and support programs for students that are interested in the field of medicine. We have international leadership conferences and state conferences emphasizing how we can come together to work toward our common goal.

FISHER Internships help high-school students because they get you out into the field. I went into Lenovo. Going in, I just thought [it was about] computers and coding. But I found out there was a business side, and I actually grew an interest in the business side. I shadowed customer briefings and regular meetings, and I managed two events. I believe internships are actually really strong for high-school students. I feel like there should be more, whether for a small business or a big corporate business. I got an idea of what it's like to be in the corporate world, and it was a wonderful experience.

VIRK I participated in the Lenovo App Challenge and actually won with the app I created, Respirate. Respirate supplements pulmonary rehabilitation for people with chronic breathing problems like COPD and emphysema. We took the entire rehabilitation program, and we put it all onto the application form. There's no cure for these disorders; they are all chronic. But you can suppress them to a certain extent so that you can deal with them on a day-to-day basis. That's really what we wanted to do. As high schoolers, the things that I and many other students value the most are opportunities, finding ways to make a reputation for yourself, finding ways to make yourself recognized and excel and show your ideas. That's what the Lenovo App Challenge meant to me.

HOW DO BUSINESSES PARTNER WITH EDUCATORS?

BLACKWELL There's not one industry that education does not have some type of positive correlation...