Posts about internship

Google Summer of Code is Accepting Application Now

Google Summer of Code 2011 is accepting applications. This is a great initiative I have highlighted previously: Google Summer of Code 2009, Google Summer of Code 2008. The deadline for applications is April 8th.

Google Summer of Code is a program that offers student developers stipends to write code for various open source projects. The program has brought together over 4,500 students with over 300 open source projects, to create millions of lines of code. Participants (including students and mentors) have represented over 85 countries. The program, which kicked off in 2005, is now in its seventh year.

Participating organizations include: R Project for Statistical Computing, Debian Project, WordPress and the Marine Biological Laboratory. (9 of the 175 participating organizations list Ruby as part of their project :-).

For 2010 the effort had a budget of $5,000,000 and accepted 1026 students partnering with 150 Open Source organizations. This year they plan on 1,150 – 1,200 student positions. For 2007 they had 6,200 applications and 7,000 in 2008. I don’t see any data on applicants for 2009.

As for the application it should include the following: your project proposal, why you’d like to execute on this particular project, and the reason you’re the best individual to do so. Your proposal should also include details of your academic, industry, and/or open source development experience, and other details as you see fit. An explanation of your development methodology is a good idea, as well.

Related: Engineering Majors Hold 8 of Top 10 Highest Paid MajorsHow To Become A Software Engineer/Programmerposts from my management blog on software development

HHMI Science Internships

Undergraduate Scholars Live the Scientific Life at Janelia Farm

With Janelia Farm lab heads as their mentors, the students have delved into projects that include identifying the neurons that control feeding behavior in fruit flies, designing better labeling molecules for use with sophisticated microscopy techniques, increasing the longevity of dragonflies, and developing computer programs for automated image analysis. The Janelia environment, they said, provides a unique opportunity to focus intently on research.

The summer program offers students more than just hands-on experience in the lab – it aims to expose them to a more complete picture of what it is to work and think as a scientist does. An important component of the program is a weekly seminar in which students present their work to one another and field questions. Likewise, scholars are encouraged to attend the campus’s frequent seminars, conferences, and journal clubs, for exposure to research other their own.

For Gloria Wu, who is majoring in biochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, the interdisciplinary nature of research at Janelia Farm and the diversity of backgrounds among her fellow scholars were important assets. “A lot of students are coming from math or computer science backgrounds, and that really stimulates a lot of discussion between us, so we can see other approaches to solving biological questions. That is something really wonderful about this program,” she said.

Related: Summer Jobs for Smart Young MindsInternships Pair Students with Executivesscience internship directory

Google Summer of Code 2009

Google Summer of Code is a global program that offers student developers stipends to write code for various open source software projects. Google funds the program with $4,500 for each student (and pays the mentor organization $500). Google works with several open source, free software, and technology-related groups to identify and fund projects over a three month period.

Since its inception in 2005, the program has provided opportunities for nearly 2500 students, from nearly 100 countries. Through Google Summer of Code, accepted student applicants are paired with a mentor or mentors from the participating projects, thus gaining exposure to real-world software development scenarios and the opportunity for employment in areas related to their academic pursuits. In turn, the participating projects are able to more easily identify and bring in new developers. Best of all, more source code is created and released for the use and benefit of all.

Google funded approximately 400 student projects in 2005, 600 in 2006, 900 in 2007 and 1125 in 2008 and will be funding approximately 1,000 student projects in 2009.

Applying for the program is only allowed from March 23rd through April 3rd. Still a short period of time but in previous years they have only taken them for one week. Organizations hosting students include: Creative Commons, MySQL, Debian, The Electronic Frontier Foundation/The Tor Project, haskell.org, Grameen Foundation USA, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Ruby on Rails, Wikimedia Foundation and WordPress. See the full list of organizations and link to descriptions of the projects each organization offers.

See the externs.com internship directory (another curiouscat.com ltd. site) for more opportunities including those in science and engineering.

Related: Google Summer of Code Projects 2008posts on fellowships and scholarshipsLarry Page on How to Change the Worldcomic on programmersInterview of Steve Wozniak

Yellowstone Youth Conservation Corps

Externs.com, another curiouscat.com site, provides links to hundreds of internship opportunities. We highlight some science and engineering internships and plenty of other options too. Visit the internship directory site to find options like the Yellowstone Youth Conservation Corps. The YCC was established to accomplish needed conservation work on public lands and to develop an understanding and appreciation of participating youth in our nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage.

The Yellowstone YCC is a program that emphasizes work ethics, environmental awareness and recreational activities. Approximately 30 students are selected each summer from across the country and are expected to complete forty hours of work each week.

In the past, YCC enrollees have been instrumental in building backcountry bridges; trail construction and maintenance; log cabin restoration; painting; and working on a wide variety of resource management, maintenance, and research projects. Many of the projects take place in remote locations within Yellowstone and work crews may be camped out for up to ten days.

Along with the work projects, enrollees spend significant time participating in YCC environmental education and recreation programs. Many of these activities are scheduled in the evenings and on weekends. They include hiking, rafting, fishing, backpacking, ranger led programs, guest speakers, enrollee and staff presentations, and trips throughout the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

To be selected you must be at least 15 and not turn 19 before the term ends in mid August.

via: Send Your Kid to Yellowstone National Park This Summer

Related: Swarm of Yellowstone Quakes Baffles Scientistsposts on internshipsLight-harvesting Bacterium Discovered in YellowstoneWho Should Profit from Yellowstone’s Microbes

High School Students to Intern in Engineering

Pasco high school students to work as interns in engineering

Five area manufacturers announced Tuesday that they will join forces with River Ridge High’s new engineering career academy, which opens in fall 2009, to provide students work opportunities while they are still in school.

“The idea is to start a program of internships starting in the 10th grade,” said Wahnish, who presents the idea to the Florida Engineering Society today.

By the time graduation rolls around, students will have had three six-week apprenticeships and received industry certifications in computer-assisted design and other applications. They also will be ready to go to work or enroll in a university program. Even those who go to work still would attend college at least two days a week.

Related: Engineering Internship OpeningsSummer Jobs for Smart Young MindsToyota Cultivating Engineering TalentInternships Increasingly Popularcareers in science and engineering

Where are the Senior Female Scientists

Why Are Senior Female Scientists So Heavily Outnumbered by Men? by Anna Kushnir

There is some funny math in the world of academic science. Take my graduate school for example: My class was made up of eight people — seven women and one man, or 7 to 1. He was Snow White and we were the seven dwarves — each with a remarkably appropriate nickname. I was Grumpy, should you be curious to know.

Snow White and at least four of the dwarves have continued on to postdoctoral research jobs. That is a 4 to 3 ratio of women who went on to do a post-doc to those that chose alternate career paths.

Everything is adding up so far, right? Lots of women are around. Lots of science is being done. All is well. The next set of numbers is slightly puzzling, however. That is the ratio of female to male professors in our department, at a well-respected academic institution, is 48 to 7 men to women.

The proportion of female faculty in her department, 14 percent, is exactly equal to the overall average from the top fifty US chemistry departments.

From her blog: Lab Life: I thought I wanted to be “normal”

The majority of researchers, in my experience, think that stress level, pressure, and time commitments all drop by a factor of ten the moment you step outside of the chemical-smeared walls of a lab. I have come to realize that’s a misconception. It’s just not true. I think that whenever one wants a career instead of a job, time, stress, pressure, and worry are the price to pay.

If all I wanted was a job with a steady income, I am pretty sure I could get it. I would be well-rested and calm, but would I be happy? Would I be alright staying put where I am, with nothing pushing me to reach the next step or rise to the next level? I don’t think so.

I have heard the words ‘ambition’ and ‘drive’ described as derogatory, when applied to people. Unfortunately, I think those are apt words to describe me (in addition to ‘tired’ and ‘often occasionally cranky’). It was an important thing for me to understand about myself and come to terms with. It’s just who I am.

Related: A Decade of Progress for Women in ScienceWomen Working in Scienceposts on scientists at workWomen Choosing Other Fields Over Engineering and Mathscience internships

Young Geneticists Making a Difference

Young Geneticists Making a Difference

After an early phase of discouragement, Johannes Krause was able to follow his long interest in genetics and even link it to another passion of his, paleoanthropology. Krause initially chose to study biochemistry at the University of Leipzig. But “I was almost about to quit” at the frustration of learning much more about basic chemistry than biology, he says. However, in the third year of his bachelor’s degree, he took some specialised courses in genetics as an Erasmus student at the University College Cork in Ireland that revived his interest for the field.

Back in Leipzig, a summer internship on comparing gene expression between humans and chimpanzees at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology sparked Krause’s enthusiasm for good. He stayed on in the lab as a research assistant for 2 years before graduating in 2005. While there, Krause helped develop a biological method to read large pieces of ancient DNA, sequence the complete mitochondrial genome of the mammoth from fossil samples, and place it in the context of evolution. “Johannes has great technical skill and the judgment to distinguish a good project from a blind alley. Like few others he can see the interesting pattern that can hide in sometimes confusing data,” Svante Pääbo, his principal investigator, writes in an e-mail to Science Careers.

Related: posts on science and engineering careersscience internshipsengineering internshipsNSF Graduate Research Fellow Profiles

Internships Pair Students with Executives

photo of Zhen Xia Florence Hudson

Preparing to Lead: Internships pair students with executives

Mechanical and aerospace engineering major Zhen Xia is accustomed to solving problems that have cut-and-dried solutions, but an internship at IBM this past summer taught him how to approach problems that don’t have one right answer.

As part of a new internship program, Xia spent three months working with senior marketing executives at the IBM corporate offices in Somers, N.Y. From analyzing the brand’s image to establishing a business case for a new product launch, he found himself in the midst of the complicated intricacies of the business world.

“Unlike technical problem-solving where everything is black and white, problem-solving in business deals heavily with people and customers who have many different viewpoints,” Xia said. “In business, there are various shades of gray, which make things exciting and interesting.”

Related: science internshipsengineering internshipsGoogle Summer of Code 2007The Naval Research Enterprise Intern Program

Science and Engineering Internships for Summer 2007

Office of Naval Research Science & Engineering Apprentice Program (SEAP)

SEAP provides competitive research internships to approximately 250 high school students each year. Participating students spend eight weeks during the summer doing research at Department of Navy laboratories.

Requirements:

* High school students who have completed at least Grade 9. A graduating senior is eligible to apply.
* Must be 16 years of age for most laboratories
* Applicants must be US citizens and participation by Permanent Resident Aliens is limited.
* The application deadline is February 17, 2006.
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