Spark Teamship Statewide
Students attending public high schools in North Carolina are eligible to participate in this virtual Teamship experience. Sessions are held throughout the year.
Brought to you by
A team-based internship experience
- Work on a team to solve a real problem for a high-tech business.
- Develop the team-based problem solving skills you need for modern work.
- Write about this experience on your college applications and your resume.
- Start building your professional network.
- Spark Lab students earn 2 units towards your lab credit.
Register for Spark Teamship
Available to 9-12th grade students from North Carolina public high schools. Seats are limited and are assigned on a first-in basis with some preference given to allow students from all SparkNC districts to participate. Seats are also reserved for a limited number of non-SparkNC students.
The earlier you apply the better chance you have of getting a spot. Students who register after a section is filled will be put on a waitlist. If additional seats open up, waitlist students will be assigned. You will be notified of your status no later than 1 week following the registration deadline.
Spark Teamship Statewide
Fall B: October 11 – November 6, 2025
Location: Live online using Zoom
Launch Day
B1 & B2: Saturday, 10/11 @ 9am-2pm
Team Meetings (choose B1 or B2):
B1: Tues/Wed/Thurs, 10/14-11/5 @ 4:30-6:00pm
B2: Tues/Wed/Thurs, 10/14-11/5 @ 6:00-7:30pm
Pitch Event:
B1 & B2: Thursday, 11/6 @ 6:00-8:00pm
Priority Registration Deadline: Friday, 9/12
Final Registration Deadline: Friday, 9/26
Spark Teamship Statewide
Winter C: November 8 – December 4, 2025
Location: Live online using Zoom
Launch Day
C1 & C2: Saturday, 11/8 @ 9am-2pm
Team Meetings (choose C1 or C2):
C1: Mon/Tues/Wed/Thurs, 11/10-12/3 @ 4:30-6:00pm
C2: Mon/Tues/Wed/Thurs, 11/10-12/3 @ 6:00-7:30pm
*No meetings on Veteran’s Day (11/11) or the week of Thanksgiving (11/24-11/27)
Pitch Event:
C1 & C2: Thursday, 12/4 @ 6:00-8:00pm
Priority Registration Deadline: Friday, 10/10
Final Registration Deadline: Friday, 10/24
Spark Teamship Statewide
Winter D: January 24 – February 19, 2026
Location: Live online using Zoom
Launch Day
D1 & D2: Saturday, 1/24 @ 9am-2pm
Team Meetings (choose D1 or D2):
D1: Tues/Wed/Thurs, 1/27-2/18 @ 4:30-6:00pm
D2: Tues/Wed/Thurs, 1/27-2/18 6:00-7:30pm
Pitch Event:
D1 & D2: Thursday, 2/19 @ 6:00-8:00pm
Priority Registration Deadline: Friday, 12/19
Final Registration Deadline: Friday, 1/9
Spark Teamship Statewide
Sections available Year-Round
Tentative Future Program Dates:
- Spring E – March
- Spring F – April
- Summer G1 – mid-June through late-June
- Summer G2 – early July through mid-July
- Summer G3 – early-August through mid-August
All programs are 23- 25 hours long, spread across several meetings and weeks.
Registration typically opens about 2 months in advance and priority registration deadlines are typically about 4 weeks before the launch date.
The sooner you register the better!
Don’t currently see a section that works for you?
We’ll let you know when new dates are released.
Some of the businesses Teamship students have worked with
How Spark Teamship Statewide Works
Team Up
District C groups students from across the state into diverse problem-solving teams of 4 students each.
Launch
Teams meet online to build their team dynamic and interview their business partner to better understand the business problem and context.
Solve
With support from their coach, teams continue to work together to understand the root problem, test potential solutions, and create a solution proposal for the business partner.
Pitch
Teams propose their solution to the business partner and answer questions in a live workshop attended by community stakeholders, school partners, and parents.
How Spark Teamship Benefits You
Real Work Experience That Stands Out
Spark Teamship is a reimagined internship experience that sets you apart on applications for jobs and college.
Spark Teamship work — pushing through the positive struggle that comes with tackling a novel problem, working with a diverse set of peers to achieve a common goal, using design thinking principles to develop robust solutions, and presenting ideas and solutions to real business stakeholders — gives you a set of real-world experiences that any college or potential employer will want to hear more about.
Growth
Growth Spark Teamship teaches critical mindsets and tools.
Technology has changed everything. In the digital age, information is at our fingertips. Memorizing facts and figures is now less important than figuring out how to make sense of overwhelming amounts of information to solve big problems and seize big opportunities. The world needs thinkers who can break down increasingly complex problems, doers who will persevere in the face of failure and uncertainty, and collaborators who know how to bring together diverse people and ideas.
Developing and leveraging these mindsets is a lifelong journey. Practicing these mindsets leads to confidence, competence, and the ability to effect change. The Spark Teamship experience gives you the tools to get started and keep growing.
Diversity
Spark Teamship is an opportunity to learn from and build relationships with a diverse set of peers.
The best ideas are informed by unique perspectives, and unique perspectives start with diversity. Teams are made up of students who bring unique skill sets, different world views, and diverse passions and motivations.
Impact
Teams work with real businesses that have real problems to solve.
Whether it’s creating a plan to help a metaverse fashion company sell more digital clothing, working with a fitness technology company to improve a new app design, or developing a strategy to help a software development company attract more female software engineers, the work is real. Regardless of the problem, teams engage in real work that has real consequences and the potential to make a meaningful impact.
Future Opportunities
Teamship provides engagement opportunities beyond the summer experience.
The mindsets and tools gained through Teamship can be applied in countless ways. Students learn how to communicate their Teamship skills and experience on cover letters, college essays, resumes, and in interviews. There are also opportunities to stay connected with the District C community through public speaking engagements and other alumni opportunities.
FAQs
9th-12th grade students enrolled in public high schools across North Carolina.
Like any other internship or job, you have a responsibility to your team and business partners to be present and engaged for all portions of the Teamship program. You’ll also reap the full benefits of the program when you commit to it in its entirety.
Due to the fast-paced and collaborative nature of Teamship, students who are absent for the Launch Day (day 1), Pitch Event (last day), and/or more than 2 team meetings may be removed from the program.
Only register for sections that you can fully commit to.
Students that attend public school in North Carolina are eligible. Certain spaces are reserved for non-SparkNC students and other spaces are reserved for students in SparkNC school districts. At this time SparkNC has partnerships with:
Ashe County Schools
Asheboro City Schools
Brunswick County Public Schools
Cabarrus County Schools
Chatham County Schools
Cumberland County Schools
Edgecombe County Public Schools
Elizabeth City – Pasquotank Public Schools
Granville County Schools
Guilford County Schools
Haywood County Schools
Hertford County Public Schools
Hyde County Schools
Lexington City Schools
Mount Airy City Schools
New Hanover County Schools
Boys and Girls Club – Wilmington
Pender County Schools
Rockingham County Schools
Rowan-Salisbury Schools
Sampson County Schools
Scotland County Schools
Vance County Schools
Wake County Public Schools
Warren County Schools
Wayne County Public Schools
Spark Teamship Statewide is a virtual program hosted online using Zoom. You can log in from school, from home, or anywhere else with wifi access. If you enroll in a Spark Teamship program offered by the Spark Lab Leader at school, your program details will be determined by the lab leader.
Yes!
All business partners come from high-tech industries, and every business problem will be real, meaningful, and urgent. Here are some examples of the kinds of businesses and the problems they’ve brought:
- A metaverse fashion company looking to sell more digital clothing
- A fitness technology company looking to improve a new app design
- A software development company looking to attract more female software engineers
- A global tech company looking to improve its college internship program
That’s okay! No prior experience required.
Yes! Your team will be supported by an expert coach who will guide you through the process.
Yes. We survey our business partners after their experience. So far, over 80% of our partners report that they plan to implement, or have already implemented, at least parts of the solutions proposed by student teams.
Yes! We’ve had multiple Teamship students accept follow-on internship and job offers with our business partners. In fact, over 90% of our business partners report that they are more likely to consider a student for a job or internship if that student has had a Teamship experience.
If you attend a school with an HTLA program, you are eligible to earn units toward your HTLA credit. Upon completion of the program, District C will inform the SparkNC of your accomplishment and they will add the Spark Teamship units to the platform for you.
Spark and District C have resources will help you reflect on your Spark Teamship experience so that you can use your learnings to stand out in job interviews and on your college applications. Request these resources from your Spark Lab leaders or District C program leaders for access to them.
Yes. You can do it as many times as you’d like. HTLA students can earn credits for participating in Spark Teamship twice. That’s 4 credits!
Spark Teamship Statewide will be held 5 times a year. Dates are available a couple of months in advance. Typically sessions are available twice in the fall, once in the winter, once in the spring, and once in the summer.