AT&T and Georgia Tech Launch Boot Camp-to-Internship Pipeline

Thanks to a new venture with AT&T, the College of Computing is piloting a new summer experience for undergraduate students that blends academic instruction with industry engagement.

This is the first time the College has offered a boot camp-to-internship model to provide students with a seamless path from classroom learning to real-world application.

From Campus to Career: A Structured Pipeline

The new program consists of a four-week boot camp followed by an eight-week internship at AT&T. Led by Nimisha Roy of the School of Computing Instruction, the boot camp prepares students to contribute meaningfully in the workplace by combining technical rigor with project-based learning.

“Outside of on-hand training and real-world experience for the students, it’s a job placement,” said Stephanie Stare, director of technology at AT&T. “The idea is to extend offers to those who are a good fit at the end of the summer and have them join full-time next year.”

Why Georgia Tech? A Strategic Fit

AT&T already operates a data science internship program at Southern Methodist University (SMU) but sought to expand into data engineering through their Alpharetta office. Georgia Tech’s deep talent pool and reputation made it the right match.

“We wanted that pipeline to come directly from an academic institution,” Stare said. “With part of our team based in Atlanta, it made perfect sense to work with Georgia Tech, especially when you couple that with it being one of the best engineering programs in the country.”

Matt Dugan, vice president of engineering at AT&T and a Georgia Tech alumnus, emphasized the practical training students will receive: “The boot camp will help students get familiar with the platforms we use and with generative AI. Then they’ll work onsite to apply their skills to real projects and deliver useful outcomes for us.”

Boot camp Focus: Technical Training and Capstone-Style Projects

Roy, who teaches a range of software engineering courses at Georgia Tech, designed the boot camp around team-based projects modeled after the College’s computer science (CS) capstone format. Students work in pairs to develop their own solutions while hitting milestone checkpoints. The boot camp portion of the program concluded on June 5, when students officially graduated from that phase and prepared to begin their internships. 

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“What we’re focusing on from a CS perspective is for them to get acquainted with concepts and technologies that help develop enterprise-level software platforms,” Roy said.

She will also guide students through an example project related to network anomaly detection, mirroring challenges AT&T faces.

Collaboration Across the College

Roy worked closely with Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Olufisayo Omojokun and Director of Career Services and Senior Research Associate Paul Fowler to design a program that blends technical training with collaborative, enjoyable experiences.

“It was clear to me that replicating our CS Capstone model would be the right fit for this,” Omojokun said. “During initial discussions with AT&T, Nimisha immediately came to mind as someone to lead the technical component of the program. She has excelled at teaching courses at different levels of software engineering and regularly publishes in the space.”

In response to feedback from industry partners, the team added a professional development component led by Fowler.

“Over the past year, it’s become clear that soft skills are an area of opportunity for some of our students,” Omojokun said. Each week, students will participate in sessions focused on leadership, integrity, and decision-making in the workplace.

“We want them to be more than interns but leaders who confidently present,” Fowler said. “They’re building something valuable, and there’s a professional component to presenting a product you’ve created.”

What Students Are Saying

Students said the nature of the program stood out to them.

“I’m looking forward to this because I feel like it’s structured,” said Anika Garikipati, a third-year CS major.

“When I saw the topics and technologies they were going to teach, I thought it was really interesting,” third-year CS major Sarvesh Gade said. “I learn better in a classroom environment than online, just doing it myself.”

“It’s so good that it’s on campus at Georgia Tech; it’s so convenient,” said Yuv Rout, a third-year CS major.

A Model for the Future

AT&T plans to continue the program annually, recruiting for the summer cohort each fall. Omojokun hopes this is the first of many collaborations with AT&T, and the model inspires more companies to work with the College to develop similar programs.

Companies interested in collaborating on this program model can contact Omojokun at omojokun@cc.gatech.edu or Emily Foster, Director of Corporate Engagement, at emily.foster@cc.gatech.edu.