CU Boulder Leeds School of Business has partnered with Extern to give students real-world professional experience alongside their coursework
The Badami Office of Experiential Learning at Leeds has partnered with Extern to connect business students with mentored, project-based externships at globally recognized companies.
Why this matters
The Badami Office of Experiential Learning (BOEL) has one mission: to connect classroom knowledge with real-world experience. Powered by a transformative gift from CU Boulder alumnus John Cumming and the Cumming Foundation, BOEL is the hub for applied learning at Leeds, closing the gap between theory and practice.
Through this partnership, Leeds students can work on real projects mentored by senior professionals at companies like Pfizer, Beats by Dre, Wayfair, and more. Whether you are a freshman exploring career paths or a senior building your portfolio, externships let you build resume-ready experience on your own schedule.
How Are Externships Different Than Internships?
These virtual, fully remote projects are designed to fit your schedule and can be completed from anywhere. The experience includes guided online modules aligned with the project work, along with live sessions hosted by participating companies throughout the externship.
Projects are available across multiple industries and career areas, allowing students to build both soft and hard skills relevant to current workforce needs. Example projects include sustainability consulting engagements, venture capital investment memos, and game design.
Externships are typically 8–12 weeks in length and involve an estimated 5–10 hours of work per week. Participation is open to students in select courses regardless of GPA, major, or prior experience.
I'm a Leeds student. How do I get access?
Leeds School of Business students can explore and enroll in externships from the full catalog below. Access is provided through the Badami Office of Experiential Learning.
For questions, reach out to the Badami Office at boel@colorado.edu or fill out the form below.
What’s Waiting For You
Put the experience on your resume with big brand names you can point to and experience you can speak to in an interview.
Meet industry professionals and collaborate with peers from all around the world.
Learn through application the most in-demand tools and skills employers are looking for.
Showcase your project deliverables so you can show your peers and recruiters the experience you now have.
Extern will verify your experience if you meet the requirements of completion and act as a reference for recruiters.
Gain confidence as you learn about what actual projects look like in the real world and be more sure of the career you want to pursue.
Extern by the Numbers
Backed by data, powered by mentorship, loved by students.
Students Served — and growing fast
of externs get hired within 12 months
universities where students are externs
Redesign mental health care from the inside out. Map workflows, spot risks, and build tools to make patient care safer, smarter, and more human.
Design + prototype the next big social app feature Gen Z actually wants. Build real UI/UX and product management experience with Canva, analyzing user insights, and pitching your final feature concept—all with BeReal.
Join a new VC fund—launched by a SoftBank Vision Fund founder and backed by the Ray-Ban/Oakley family—to identify high-potential Vertical AI startups. Get hands-on experience sourcing deals, analyzing markets, and writing compelling investment memos.
Most finance courses teach you the concepts. This is where you actually use them. You’ll work with real audited financials, run DCF and comparable company analysis, build a forward-looking model in Excel, and deliver a valuation to a real CEO. The same work analysts do in IB, PE, and corporate strategy — not a simulation of it.
Build a data-driven sponsorship strategy for a real NASCAR team. You'll scrape race results, pull social engagement from Reddit and YouTube, and create a visibility scoring model that ranks sponsors by ROI. Then, present your recommendations to NY Racing leadership.
Build, hack, and defend real IoT infrastructure, then hand your security playbook to an actual company. You’ll launch realistic cyberattacks - from spoofing and replay to unauthorized shutoffs, and implement defenses like TLS and mTLS.
Learn content strategy from TikTok’s Head of Agency. Design viral-ready posts, build brand voice and visuals, and pitch a full campaign - all while building a standout portfolio.
Dive into the fundamentals of equity research and financial modeling. Analyze a real public tech company, assess risk and competitive position, build valuation models, and present a full investment memo and pitch to an industry panel.
Analyze real e‑commerce data from Google Analytics, Meta Ads, and Shopify to uncover what drives clicks and sales. Learn to spot funnel drop‑offs, optimize marketing spend, and craft strategies that boost conversions and revenue.
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Learn how VCs spot the next big tech startup. In this externship, you’ll discover how to find and evaluate early-stage companies, analyze markets, and create compelling investment memos. Perfect for those curious about startups or investing.
Work with Amazon to analyze employee feedback, uncover patterns with Python + sentiment analysis, and deliver insights that drive ops strategy. Big-name experience. Real-world skills. Built for future analysts, consultants & strategists.
Work with the Consumer Insights team at Beats by Dre to uncover how top brands understand their audience. Learn to map customer journeys, run surveys, and use AI to turn data into powerful stories, all while building in-demand marketing skills.
Build AI-powered document intelligence with Pfizer, automating healthcare and clinical supply documents using OCR, LLMs, and RAG.
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What if the real drivers of health have nothing to do with doctors or medicine? Define a research question, analyze public data with Python, and share your insights using AI. A résumé-popping mix of health, data, and strategy.
Build AI agents (no coding needed), and stand out in the job market. This externship gives you hands-on experience with real data, automation, and in-demand tools like n8n. Finish with a live AI dashboard and a portfolio-ready project.
