Application

Current (2012) Summer Team Internship Program Application for Industry & Faculty:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2012SummerTeamInternshipIndFacApp

Due by March 9, 2012.

Application is now closed.

Introduction

The STEM Talent Expansion Program (STEP) Partnership of San Diego (SPSD) was awarded a 1.9 million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2007 to help increase the number of Science and Engineering graduates getting a baccalaureate degree.

This grant will provide stipends of $1,250 to 36 student interns for 100 internship hours each, this summer.  We would like to pay our students to gain experience from you!  Each student can do 100 internship hours for you and be paid a stipend through the grant!

For companies or faculty that require more than 100 internship hours from each intern, we ask that they compensate their interns for hours completed above 100 hours.  For example, some companies/faculty ask students to intern part time or full time over the summer.  These companies/faculty will have students for 100 internship hours, but will compensate each student hourly for hours beyond the 100 hours that our stipend covers (at a minimum rate of $12.50/hour).

Since this is a team internship program, a minimum of 2 interns should be considered, but it is NOT required.  In the event that your company wants to provide an internship to 2 students, they do not need to be assigned to the same project, for the same project mentor or even in the same city to be in a team.  As long as students are within the same company, they will be considered a team.  This summer team internship program is very flexible to the needs of industry.

I encourage you/your company to participate in this great program.  We are currently identifying the top MESA students from San Diego State University, Southwestern College, and San Diego City College who will participate in this year’s summer internship program.  The students will be available around late May or early June 2012. 

Each company/faculty can also have complete control over selecting students, reviewing resumes, interviewing, and finalizing their selections.

The first 36 (12 students per campus) successful “matches” between a company and student will be able to
take advantage of this program.  Below is a description of “matching”:

• Industry or Faculty or MESA staff complete reviewing resumes.
• Industry or Faculty or MESA staff interview student(s).
• Industry or Faculty select the interns that they would like to make an offer to.
• Industry or Faculty inform SPSD Program Coordinator Eric Pamintuan that they would like to make an offer.
• Student accepts offer.

Making a match will depend on meeting your company’s needs, meeting the specifications of the NSF STEM Talent Expansion Program (STEP) Partnership of San Diego (SPSD), and finally the needs of the intern.  Project descriptions received will be advertised to student applicants.

We welcome any and all companies, faculty/departments that want to fully compensate students and forgo
taking advantage of the 100 free hours of student work, as paid for by the NSF Grant. This allows us to
provide more internship opportunities for our students, as paid for by the grant.

MESA model

Mathematics, Engineering & Science Achievement (MESA) is a statewide collaboration between regional MESA programs.  It creates a supported pipeline from pre-college, through community college, university and ultimately the technical workforce.  It is one of the country’s most successful models of its kind.  MESA provides support for thousands of educationally disadvantaged students so they can excel in math and science and graduate with baccalaureate degrees in science, engineering, computer science, and other math-based fields.

MESA students can add to the diversity of your workforce, are leaders in their communities, and are available to immediately contribute to your company.  Interning in industry will give them opportunities to develop new skills, gain experience working in science and engineering firms, collaborate in a team, and build relationships with potential employers.

Interns’ commitment to projects will include:

• 100 internship hours (additional hours can be negotiated at the company or faculty expense)
• 30 minutes a week of non-paid team collaboration before or after work, or during lunch (this can be a meeting in person, via phone, or via email)
• Collaborating with team to create a research poster based on the interns internship experience
• A presentation of their experience on Friday August 10, 2012.  ~1:30 – 3:30 pm.  San Diego State University.  (2012 NSF/MESA Summer Team Internship Symposium).

Employers’ commitment to projects will include:

• Assignment and supervision of internship
• Reviewing interns’ research poster
• Invited to attend a presentation of all summer team internship participants’ on Friday August 10, 2012 from ~1:30 – 3:30 pm at San Diego State University.

Application process

• Industry/faculty representatives must complete the Industry/Faculty Application, via the SurveyMonkey link
• Pinpoint projects they would like interns engaged in
• Determine how many students they would like to participate
• Decide if host company/faculty or SPSD will select interns
• Work with interns to set interns’ schedule

‘Team’ internship

Projects and internship responsibilities are determined by the company/faculty.  Internship projects should allow students to participate in opportunities to gain valuable skills and knowledge related to science and engineering.

Teams should be comprised of 2-4 students, but is not required.  Interns do not have to be assigned to the same project, for the same mentor, or even in the same city.  If a company/faculty hosts only 1 intern, then the SPSD Program Coordinator (Eric Pamintuan) will assign that intern to a team containing other summer team internship participants from another company/faculty research project accordingly.

Projects should be meaningful and challenging.  Since students will be coming from various levels of educational and experience backgrounds, the company will be given the opportunity to describe their project, outline their minimum requirements, and choose their interns.

In order to make this a positive and rewarding experience for all participants, we will try to be flexible and meet the needs of the host companies/faculty, the NSF STEP Partnership of San Diego Grant, and the students.

Intern qualifications

Interns will vary from educational and work experience backgrounds.  Minimum eligibility for interns to apply through the Summer Team Internship Program is that they have met 75% or more of the MESAdvantage Student Requirements.

MESAdvantage provides students with a set of activities that gives them academic support, receive counseling from their advisor, industry exposure, community service experience, and participate in leadership activities.  These requirements were created with industry and faculty input to help polish and prepare students to intern in industry.

Please refer to MESAdvantage Student Report Card for a list of the requirements.

Minimum requirements of the grant

	Description	Minimum	Notes
Team Internships	Team Internships develop teamwork skills that are invaluable to today’s competitive market.  Advantages to the company include: students can collaborate with each other and will require less direction from company mentors, and hands-on projects will give students experience that can help them gain relevant skills within the field of science and engineering.	N/A	Ideally teams should be 2-4 interns in each team.  If this is not possible, students will be partnered with students at other companies in a similar field or major.Additionally, it would be ideal for each team to consist of a mixture of students from all three campuses, (San Diego City College, San Diego State University, and Southwestern College).  Though we promote this, it is not required.
Time Commitment	The time commitment, work days, and work hours can be determined by the company and student.   A tentative schedule should be determined before student begins internship.  Any changes in the schedule should be worked out to fit the intern’s and host companies’ schedule.	100 hours	Example of a 100 hour summer internship: Students can intern for 2.5 weeks at 40 hrs/wk; 5 weeks at 20 hrs/wk; 10 weeks at 10 hours/wk, etc.If a company/faculty desires a student to intern for more than 100 hours in the summer, (example: 40 hrs/week for the entire summer months of June-August) they are welcomed to extend an offer to students. Students should be paid a minimum of $12.50 per hour.It will be at the student’s discretion to accept or deny any offers.
Compensation	Each intern will receive a $1,250 stipend which will be covered at the cost of the STEP Grant, and at no cost to the host company. If the host company wishes to contribute some moneys in addition to $1,250 they may do so.	$1,250 stipend	We will try to be as flexible as possible to industry needs, please indicate all needs in the application form.

Dates & deadlines

Actual schedule, dates, and times, will be determined based on company needs and student schedules.

The dates listed below are flexible. Industry needing resumes and/or interns at earlier dates apart from the Summer Team Internship program are encouraged to contact the SPSD Program Coordinator, Eric Pamintuan at epamintuan@projects.sdsu.edu.

• March 9, 2012: Industry/Faculty Project Description Form due
• Early April: Examination of student applications and tentative matching with companies
• Mid April: Student Resumes and Cover Letters will be sent to Industry/Faculty
• Late April: Student Interviews and Industry/Faculty make job offers to students
• Late May-Late August: Students’ internship at companies
• July 17 -26, 2012:  Feedback of intern team research poster due to intern team
• August 10, 2012 ~1:30 – 3:30 pm at San Diego State University:  NSF/MESA Summer Team Internship Symposium

Current and Previous Partners (Updated 6/27/12)

Students from Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) at San Diego City College, San Diego State University (SDSU), and Southwestern College (SWC) have interned for the following companies/faculty in the NSF MESA Summer Team Internship Program to date.

1. Aerospace Structures Research with Dr. Satchi Venkataraman at San Diego State University
2. Alere
3. Ambient Controls
4. Anza Borrego Desert State Park
5. Assure Controls Inc.
6. Bio4Front Inc.
7. Biotechnology Education & Training Sequence Investment (BETSI) Project at Salk Institute
8. Biotechnology Education & Training Sequence Investment (BETSI) Project at Scripps Research Institute
9. Bridges to the Future
10. California Space Grant Consortium
11. Caltrans
12. City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation
13. Dexcom
14. Engineering Research Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering
15. Fqubed Inc.
16. General Atomics Electronic Systems, Inc.
17. Goodrich Aerostructures
18. Howard Hughes Program
19. Infrastructure Engineering Corporation
20. Kennedy/Jenks Consultants
21. LEE & RO, Inc.
22. Malcolm Pirnie
23. MWH Global, Inc.
24. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
25. NAVAIR Fleet Readiness Center Southwest
26. Naval Air Systems Command
27. Naviscan Inc.
28. Northrop Grumman Corporation
29. Raytheon Company
30. RBF Consulting
31. Regional Water Quality Control Board
32. Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol (RSVP) (sponsored through the SDSU Electrical Computer Engineering Department)
33. REU, University of Minnesota
34. Rick Engineering Company
35. San Diego Coastkeeper
36. San Diego Gas & Electric
37. San Diego Natural History Museum
38. San Diego Water Department
39. San Diego Zoo
40. Santarus
41. Scripps Research Institute
42. SDSU Global Change Research Group
43. Sempra Energy
44. Shiley Center for Orthopaedic Research & Education at Scripps Clinic
45. Short-Term Education Program for Underrepresented Persons
46. SMDEP, University of Washington
47. Southern California Biotechnology Center
48. Southwest Fisheries Science Center
49. Suburban Waster Systems (SouthWest Water Company)
50. SPAWAR Systems Center San Diego
51. Spectrum Scientific, Inc.
52. Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program
53. Technische Universitat Hamburg-Harburg
54. Tocagen
55. UCSD Laboratory of Sleep and Chronobiology
56. UCSD CSP
57. UCSD CURE
58. UniversityLink Medical Science Program
59. Research San Diego City College: Dr. Lisa Chaddock
60. Research San Diego City College: Professor Misael Camarena
61. Research San Diego City College: Professor Rafael Alvarez
62. Research SDSU (Electrical Computer Engineering): Dr. Gordon Lee
63. Research SDSU: Dr. Joseph Lewis
64. Research SDSU: Dr. Fletcher Miller
65. Research SDSU: Dr. Khaled Morsi
66. Research SDSU: Dr. Satish Sharma
67. Research SDSU: Dr. Diane Smith
68. Research SDSU (Aerospace Structures):  Dr. Satchi Venkataraman
69. Research Southwestern College: Dr. David Brown
70. Research Southwestern College: Dr. Raga Bakhiet, Dr. Lukas Buehler, Dr. David Hecht
71. Research Southwestern College: Dr. Gerald Selah

Research poster galleries

• 1st Annual MESA/NSF Summer Team Internship – Poster presentation gallery (August 2008)
• 2nd Annual MESA/NSF Summer Team Internship – Poster presentation gallery (August 2009)
• 3rd Annual MESA/NSF Summer Team Internship – Poster presentation gallery (August 2010)
• 4th Annual MESA/NSF Summer Team Internship – Poster presentation gallery (August 2011)
• 5th Annual MESA/NSF Summer Team Internship – Poster presentation gallery (August 2012)

Contact information

STEP Partnership of San Diego Program Coordinator:

Eric Pamintuan

E-mail:  epamintuan@projects.sdsu.edu

Office:  619-594-2680

Fax:  619-594-2108

Mailing Address:

San Diego State University
College of Engineering – MESA Engineering Program
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-1303