Kelley Offers Small Business Help, Paid Internships

The Indiana University Kelley School of Business is offering assistance to
Hoosier businesses to establish an online presence for their operations. The
school says the Kelley HOPE Digital Project aims to help small companies
affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Kelley says the project will bolster the digital capabilities of small
businesses in Indiana, and the focus will be to quickly solve a technology
problem or to provide companies with new digital capabilities.

In addition, the school says it will provide paid internships for students
working on the project. Each project will be undertaken by IU students under
the guidance of faculty members or alumni, and each project is expected to
be completed within two weeks.

“COVID-19 is having a tremendous impact on the state’s economy,” said Bipin
Prabhakar, chair of information systems graduate programs at IU’s Kelley
School of Business. “Particularly hard hit are small businesses that have
traditionally operated in person, not online. For some, going online will be
a lifeline to survive.”

Kelley is partnering with Indiana small business development centers as well
as economic development centers, chambers of commerce, and business hubs to
support the effort.

“Businesses may not have the time, knowledge or resources to implement an
online model quickly. Even after stay-at-home orders have been lifted, many
consumers will still prefer to go online. We want to help these companies by
offering a no-cost service to alleviate the operational barriers created by
the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Alan Dennis, the Kelley School John T. Chambers
chair of internet systems.

The school says projects could include creating or modifying websites or
digital storefronts, creating remote solutions or improving information
security. Kelley says all work will be done virtually.

The school says all Indiana businesses are welcome to
<kelley.iu.edu/campaigns/bloomington/digitalizing-small-business/ind
ex.cshtml?utm_source=othermarketingmaterials&utm_medium=other&utm_content=20
20-19-00-00-00-22-100-09-092-0033&utm_campaign=fy2020-msis-digitizing-small-
business> apply for assistance. The project initially will be rolled out
through Indiana Small Business Development Centers based at IU South Bend
and at Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington, before being expanded to
all 10 Small Business Development Centers around the state.

Kelley says the program will continue through the summer, and it hopes to
serve a minimum of 100 companies.