Black Bear Consulting Corps

We’re excited to announce that we’ll be hosting our seventh cohort of Black Bear Consulting Corps during the winter/spring of 2026! This program provides support to Maine companies that are bringing new innovations to market, and it gives students much-needed professional experience to build their résumés. BBCC pairs each company with a small team of vetted college students who can assist with key business projects for five weeks during the academic year. The Corps is designed for rapid response on short-term project opportunities. Students are assigned to project teams based on how well their skills and experience align with project needs.

The Black Bear Consulting Corps is funded through the support of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development and is intended to support the long-term growth of the many Maine startups and small businesses. Services are offered at no cost or a low cost to the company.

Example Projects:

Market Research
Competitive & Data Analysis
Web Design & Improvements
Copywriting
Graphic Design & Marketing
Coding (300 hr projects)

(This is not a comprehensive list – if your company has different needs, please reach out to us!)

For Companies:

Do you have a long list of important projects that you don’t have time to complete or that are outside your team’s skillset?

Requirements for Winter/Spring 2026 (subject to change):

For-profit Maine company with a meaningful project
- Companies with <50 employees qualify to work with us at no cost.
- Companies with >50 employees qualify to work with us at half the cost ($1500)

150-hour project to be completed during Spring/Winter of 2026
Projects must be clearly defined and allow students to start working without deep industry/company knowledge (ex: market research, web projects, copywriting, data analytics)
Availability to meet with the student team at least once a week via Zoom during the project

How Will It Work?

Complete project form
Company/project vetted by program
Program determines student availability and timing
Project added to queue for completion (projects begin in late January & early/mid-March)
Engage with student team for 5 weeks while they work on the project (unless computer science)

We will have a rolling application deadline, but if you’re interested in applying to have a project started during Winter/Spring 2026, please complete the application linked below by November 16, 2026.

APPLY

For Students:

Are you looking for a paid position to gain real-world experience with Maine companies and build your resumé during the school year?

General Details & Requirements

Paid $18.50/hr by UMaine
Attend a two-day training session before classes begin (unless you’ve already participated in BBCC or Innovate for Maine
Work the first week of classes through the week before final exams
Able to work an average of 10 hours/week for 10 weeks at least partially during business hours (8:30AM – 5PM on weekdays)
Currently matriculated in a degree program at UMaine (unless a former Innovate for Maine Fellow)
Willing to work in a group with 1-2 other students
Located in the United States (exceptions may be made for students studying abroad in certain countries)

How Will It Work?

Complete program form
Interview with our team (unless a former Innovate for Maine Fellow)
Program determines if there are projects that fit your skillset
Select companies/projects that you would prefer to work with
Attend our two-day BBCC training session (unless a former Innovate for Maine Fellow)
Assigned a team of 1-2 other students to work on projects
Engage with first company and your team for 5 weeks while you work on the project
Work with second company for 5 weeks once first project is complete

Unfortunately we are not accepting new students for Winter/Spring 2026

If you have any questions, please reach out to Emma Wilson at emma.wilson@maine.edu.

Subsidies are available with the support of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.