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University & College Talent Programs

Why hire blind when you can see the candidate in action? We design the system: from project tasks for students to hiring decisions.

We build a systematic channel for attracting young professionals: project tasks for students, mentoring, assessment, internships. For IT, manufacturing, biotech.

30+
companies connected to project work
75+
universities (founder, via University 20.35)
60%
of interns become employees (NACE)
2-3
months to first project students

Why early-career hiring stalls

🔍

Vacancies stay open for months — hiring costs keep rising

According to hh.ru (2025), the average time to fill an IT or engineering vacancy is 45-60 days. Agency hiring cost is 2-3 monthly salaries. Meanwhile, 87% of HR directors name talent shortage as the top challenge (RSU, 2024). Job boards show the same resumes, recruiters bring people who need retraining from scratch.

🎓

Graduates aren't work-ready — 3-6 months of onboarding

According to HSE University (2024), only 34% of employers consider graduate preparation sufficient for immediate work. They have a diploma but no competencies. Universities teach theory, but you need people who can solve real problems from day one. 3-6 months to onboard a new hire is the standard cost of open market recruitment.

Competitors already build university relationships

78% of large international companies have formalized university engagement programs. They run internships, hackathons, branded scholarships. By the time you enter the market, top graduates have already signed offers.

How we build your university talent pipeline

📋

Task delegation design

  • We analyze your company's tasks and identify which ones can be delegated to students.
  • We frame project assignments so the results are useful to the business.
  • You get real work done, students get experience and understanding of your company.
🤝

Mentoring and support

  • We build the mentoring process: checklists, guidelines, checkpoints.
  • Mentor employees grow themselves — a bonus for your team.
  • We guide the first cycle with you and hand over the methodology.
📊

Assessment and selection

  • We evaluate student results based on real projects, not abstract tests.
  • We build a ranking: you see the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate.
  • We recommend whom to take on for internship or full-time.
🎓

University partnerships

  • We select universities and programs relevant to your profile.
  • We establish contact with departments and career centers.
  • If needed — we handle everything end-to-end: from the first letter to launching a project cycle.
University Sophomore-Junior
Project assignments Real tasks
Internship 60% conversion
Assessment EdUnit Bot
Hire Ready specialist

Company-university collaboration

Most companies want to hire from universities but don't know where to start. We handle the entire process: from finding relevant programs to launching the first project cycle with students.

How to reduce early-career hiring costs

An agency charges 2-3 monthly salaries per filled position. Systematic work with universities turns hiring from a one-off operation into a steady flow of vetted candidates — cheaper and faster with each cycle.

Start hiring top graduates before your competitors do

Who the talent program is for

💻

IT companies and R&D

Challenge

Hard to hire seniors, easier to grow them. But nobody has time to build university relationships.

Solution

Project tasks for students in relevant programs, assessment, internships — grow talent tailored to your needs.

🏭

Manufacturing and engineering

Challenge

Talent shortage, and universities don't prepare graduates for your tasks.

Solution

We match universities, frame project assignments around your tasks, and guide the cycle.

🔬

Biotech and research-intensive companies

Challenge

Niche specialists needed, requires access to specialized programs.

Solution

We find relevant programs and departments, build partnerships, and ensure a candidate flow.

How to launch a talent pipeline

1

Task audit

1-2 weeks

We identify which company tasks can be delegated to students. We analyze what specialists you need and with what competencies.

2

University matching and launch

2-4 weeks

We find relevant programs, agree on the format with departments and career centers.

3

Project cycle

1 semester

Students work on your tasks, mentors guide them. We oversee the process and support the mentors.

4

Assessment and decision

2-3 weeks

We evaluate student results, build rankings, and recommend whom to take on for internship or hire.

Approach comparison

  EdUnit Recruitment agency / self-hiring
Cost from $1,000 for a system 2-3 salaries per position / free but slow
Time to result 2-3 months to first candidates 45-60 days per position / unpredictable
Candidate quality Vetted on your real tasks Resume and interview / whoever you find
Scalability System for years, each cycle easier Start over each time / depends on HR
Team bonus Mentoring develops your employees None

Pricing

Consultation + templates

from $1,000
≈ €920
  • Audit of company tasks for student delegation.
  • Mentoring methodology guide.
  • Assessment and hiring decision templates.
  • Recommendations for choosing university partners.
  • 12 ready-made templates (PDF) for independent use.
Get started

First cycle support

from $3,000
≈ €2,760
  • Everything from the Consultation tier.
  • We help establish partnerships with 1-3 universities.
  • We guide the first project cycle.
  • We conduct student assessment together with you.
Get started

End-to-end

from $7,000
≈ €6,440
  • Full cycle: from university selection to hiring recommendations.
  • Task delegation, mentor selection, project support.
  • Assessment and recommendations: whom to take on for internship.
  • Subscription for subsequent cycle support — separate.
Get started

Prices are indicative. Final cost confirmed in contract.

FAQ

How is this different from regular recruiting?
Recruiting means searching for people when a vacancy is already urgent. We build a system that creates a flow of candidates in advance. You meet students in their sophomore or junior year, give them real tasks, and see them in action. By graduation, you know exactly whom you want to hire — and they know they want to join you.
We're a small company. Will universities work with us?
Yes. Universities need employers who give students real-world tasks — company size is secondary. For a student, an internship at a growing company where they work directly with the founder is often more appealing than a position at a 10,000-person corporation.
How long until the system starts working?
Depends on the university academic calendar. In the first semester you build the process and get first candidates. Over 2-3 semesters the system reaches steady state and works almost autonomously.
How do I measure ROI?
Compare with alternatives: a bad hire costs 4-6 monthly salaries, and you're hiring blind. Here you see the candidate in action for 3-4 months and only hire those who've already proven themselves on your real tasks.
Which universities do you cover?
We work with technical, business, and management programs at leading universities in Russia and the CIS. The specific list is tailored to your profile: industry, geography, specializations. If the right connections don't exist yet, we'll build them.
Have you done this before?
Yes. EdUnit founder Vitaly Genarov led project intensives at University 20.35 — a federal platform through which he worked with 75+ universities and connected 30+ companies to project work with students. This experience is the foundation of our methodology.

Build a talent system — while competitors keep posting on job boards

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We never share your data with third parties

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