When University of North Georgia student Garrett Short began his internship last summer, he was given the freedom to do whatever he wanted — as long as it had to do with artificial intelligence.
“My project was to integrate AI into the facility, and I had a completely blank slate,” said Short, a UNG undergraduate pursuing a degree in cybersecurity. Working with fellow UNG student Sophia Xiong, the team took internal tools at Gainesville’s Fox Factory and created a custom model and AI container to help streamline processes.
Short and Xiong were among 10 students who participated in paid, hands-on internships supported by Georgia Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing, or Georgia AIM. The program connected emerging AI applications with real-world manufacturing needs across the state.
The summer internship initiative was hosted through the Partnership for Innovation (PIN), a Georgia AIM partner housed at Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute. Based on the success of the pilot, plans are underway to continue the model in summer 2026.
The internships provided a new way to help manufacturers explore AI-driven solutions while giving students foundational knowledge through a special Maymester course held before the start of their onsite work. Students not only learned practical AI tools, but also gained a clearer understanding of career pathways available in today’s technology-driven manufacturing sector.
“For me, it made me confirm my interest in finding a job in computer engineering and it broadened my horizons to something like manufacturing, and how I can use my skills there,” said Eric Guo, who was one of four interns who worked at Siemens.
Guo, along with Rowan Ponelis, Benjamin Grau and Reese Pieroni, developed a system that analyzed the placement of parts in a supply warehouse. By evaluating and predicting what parts were likely to be ordered together, they recommended new storage positions and increased efficiency by 75% by reducing the amount of movement required through the facility.
“This internship, it really taught a lot more than skills in AI and Python,” said Ponelis. “Each of us, we recognized our strengths and weaknesses and we used that to our advantage. So, that part of it was integral to being able to solve the problem.”
Next year, the Maymester course will expand to a full semester, based on student feedback. The longer format will allow more students to participate and will give future interns greater exposure to AI models and data sets before they begin their company-based projects.
At the end of the internship period, students and participating companies are invited to present posters detailing their projects’ successes — a showcase that highlights how targeted, small-scale AI solutions can create measurable improvements on the manufacturing floor.
The summer format, including the preceding AI course, also benefits companies that may not have AI processes in place. By equipping students with the skills to develop AI-based solutions, manufacturers can begin exploring these technologies in a low-risk way and focus directly on results.
That was the case for Siemens interns Grau and Pieroni, who developed an innovative approach to predicting deliveries from suppliers.
“We were thrown into this project; on the first day he threw out some problems he was having in his warehouse, and the unpredictability of the shipment delays was a big problem,” said Grau. “Some of the delays were up to a year. That will cause all sorts of internal wear and tear.”
The student team gathered weather data from around the world and connected it to a model that predicted possible shipping delays. Their early-detection approach identified potential disruptions in advance and saved the company about $200,000.
It was Pieroni’s first internship and, he said, the experience was “awesome.”
“It was a new program they tried out and I think it worked out really well,” said Pieroni, who is now studying mechatronics engineering at Kennesaw State University. “The first three weeks we learned how to do the AI model, then there was stuff we had to learn, like gathering weather data from websites. Most of it we were pretty prepared for.”
More Details: 2026 Summer Manufacturing Internships
- Program structure: UNG students complete a full-semester, 3-credit-hour AI in Manufacturing course before their 8-week summer placement. They will come to you better prepared than ever.
- Timeline: Internships will run approximately from May 11 through July 3, 2026 (or extended through July 31).
- Administration: Interns are hired, paid, insured, and managed through Georgia Tech; your company simply provides a meaningful project and supervision.
- Cost: $5,776 per intern (matched by PIN/Georgia AIM to fund a second).