EDGE ConsortiumEDGE CapstonePartnership Program
University Sponsor a project ↗
The numbers

The cheapest capable engineer you'll hire this year.

Every figure here traces to a public benchmark or the program's financial model. Rounded, sourced, and honest about what's an estimate.

Sponsor a project ↗Get the one-pager
Why sponsors say yes

More engineering, less spend

69%1
lower cost per capable, retained hire than traditional recruiting
83%2
savings vs. staffing one 3-month intern — for a team of five, not one
$10,0003
matched this round — your investment is just $5,000
100%4
of the resulting IP transfers to you, plus a finished project

1. EDGE Capstone Partnership Program financial model — cost per capable, retained hire this round vs. traditional recruiting (SHRM, NACE, Work Institute, Leadership IQ benchmarks). 2. Versus the all-in cost of one 3-month engineering intern (NACE / SHRM 2025-26). 3. Program cost-share: $5,000 sponsor + $10,000 matching grant this round. 4. Program terms — IP assigned to the sponsor.

Your investment, unpacked

What a sponsorship delivers, dollar for dollar

69%1

lower cost per capable hire

than recruiting one entry-level engineer the traditional way.

$3.704

per hour of engineering work, this round

About $11/hr even at the full $15,000 — for a whole team.

$10K3

matched this round

Your investment is $5,000; a matching grant covers the rest.

Cost per capable, retained hire

Save about 69% on every hire that sticks.

"Capable/retained" means still succeeding after 12–18 months. Because a capstone lets you evaluate the person for six months before an offer, more of your hires work out — and you still walk away with a finished project and its IP.

Sponsor a project ↗
Sources & method

Where these numbers come from

  • Cost per capable, retained hire (~69% saving). We compare the capstone sponsor cost to the true cost of recruiting one entry-level engineer who stays — SHRM 2025 cost-per-hire, adjusted for a ~40% mis-hire rate (Work Institute; Leadership IQ, 46% fail within 18 months) and the cost of re-hiring, then improved by the stronger retention of experience-sourced hires (NACE, 75.5% vs. 51.5% at one year).
  • Savings vs. one 3-month intern (~83% this round). Compared with the all-in cost of a single summer intern — wages (NACE 2026) plus relocation, onboarding, equipment, supervisor time, and campus recruiting (~$6,275, NACE 2025) — the sponsorship covers a whole team for less.
  • Team hours (~1,350). Dartmouth CEDC benchmark of 900–1,800 student-hours per project; team of ~5 (program/grant).
  • Funding. $15,000 per project — $5,000 sponsor + $10,000 matching grant this round; full $15,000 sponsor in future rounds (program application, 2025).

Figures are rounded and depend on assumptions (team size, hire yield, mis-hire rate) that each company can adjust. They're a decision aid, not a guarantee.

No pressure

Not ready to sponsor? Start with the one-pager.

We'll send the single-page sponsor brief — the numbers, the timeline, and what a project looks like. That's the whole promise: one email, one brief, no follow-up you didn't ask for.

Email me the brief ↗ Or sponsor a project