New project aims to keep international students in St. Louis longer

(from the St. Louis Business Journal)

The St. Louis Mosaic Project, which aims to develop the regional economy through attracting immigrants, is trying to get international students who come to St. Louis colleges and universities to stay a little longer with a new internship program.

The project, which would begin next summer, aims to have around 20 companies signed up to hire international interns in the International Student Internship Challenge; some, including US Foods (NYSE: USFD) and Millipore Sigma, have said they intend to do so, officials said.

World Trade Center St. Louis Executive Director Tim J. Nowak, whose organization runs the project alongside the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, said the vast majority of the 10,000 international post-secondary students studying in the St. Louis area do not stay after they finish their degrees. However, those studying science, technology, engineering and math can apply for 36 months of work authorization in the United States.

"There is an opportunity - and many businesses are not even aware of it - to work here for three years after graduation without sponsoring an H-1B (specialty occupation) visa," he said. "What we're trying to do is connect some of these students to businesses here as an introduction - not to hire long-term, but just to hire for a summer, either a grad student or an undergrad the summer after their junior year."

St. Louis Mosaic Project Executive Director Betsy Cohen said her work came out of 2012 research showing the area's lackluster immigrant growth was impacting regional economic growth. St. Louis posted the highest year-over-year growth in foreign-born residents in the nation last year, increasing 23.2% from 129,604 in 2022 to 159,710 in 2023, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released last month. The St. Louis area has the third-smallest total number of foreign-born residents in the top 30 metropolitan areas, ahead of Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

Cohen said cross-region collaboration will lead to continued growth in the local international population, from organizations like the International Institute's work with refugees to universities attracting overseas students to large corporations like Bayer and Bunge attracting foreign talent.

She said Mosaic is working with universities to match students to the new program's internship opportunities, which will include 10 in the city of St. Louis and 10 in St. Louis County.

The first cohort of international students will have four learning sessions together this summer, including one with the mayor and county executive, focused on civic leadership in St. Louis and professional development. The companies will do their own hiring and pay interns for six weeks of work.

"It's very exciting that companies are saying 'I can do that. Now that you tell me it's easy to do, we'll have an international student next summer,'" Cohen said. "I think we'll hit or exceed the goal of 20."

Companies and organizations that intend to hire international interns include Logic Systems Sound & Lighting, the Haskell engineering firm, architectural firms Tao and Lee and Trivers, the Nidec Motor Corporation, the software company Omniskope, Greater St. Louis Inc., Midwest BankCentre, C-Edge IT consultancy, the Clark-Fox Foundation and St. Louis Lambert International Airport.

Cohen said the challenge will work with the interns and the broader business community after the summer around hiring.

"This is a real source of talent," she said. "When we hear from our workforce that they're trying to find good talent, particularly in the STEM fields, this is an overlooked resource. Having a challenge that brings together the business community, the nonprofit community, the mayor and the county executive all recognizing this talent is something that's novel, and I think it will actually get attention across the country."

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