The Minnesota Science and Technology Authority said it gave a $129,000 grant to the Minnesota High Tech Association that will help pay for 40 college internships at science and tech businesses in the state.

The internships will be given to students studying science, math, technology and engineering. Minnesota businesses with less than 100 employees. The participating businesses, which have fewer than 100 employees, will provide matching funds to the authority's grant to help pay for the internships.

"We are excited to be working with them on this new opportunity to retain Minnesota's young talent," said Betsy Lulfs, the authority's executive director in a statement.

The program, called SciTechsperience, is expected to launch early next year.

For more information, contact Andrew Wittenborg of the Minnesota High Tech Association at awittenborg@mhta.org.

The funding for the program comes out of the Minnesota Science and Technology Authority's $350,000 it had set aside this year. The authority had asked for more money to fund its programming this year, but the state's tight budget got in the way. The authority plans to ask for $10 million in funding next year.