The firm is seeking to learn from the youngsters participating in its summer internship program.

The wealth management arm of Canada's largest lender has revamped its internship program to allow it to learn from those on summer job placements while simultaneously educating them.

Royal Bank of Canada Wealth Management's reverse internship program will group the nearly two-dozen interns into small teams, which will work collectively on maximizing a specific business opportunity for the firm or solving a particular business challenge. 

“Most internships are a one-way learning experience designed to give college students exposure to their chosen industry or career,” said Lisa Sorenson, head of human resources at RBC Wealth Management, US. “This year, we’ve turned our program on its head, opening up the lines of communication between our interns and our executives so we can learn from each other.” 

Interns, who will work across multiple departments at the firm, will have direct access to senior leaders throughout the summer and will be able to present their ideas directly to senior executives at the end of the course. 

The program will also keep interns connected throughout the upcoming school year by offering interns a salary to keep tabs on their project or idea and, potentially, see it through to inception.