The Internship Network in the Mathematical Sciences

How to Start an Internship Program in Your Department

Level 1: The bare bones program

• Begin by gathering information and interest, both from others in the department and from students
  • Assess the needs of your department: are your students delayed in finding employment after graduation?
  • What is holding them back from getting interviews and jobs?
    • A: Is it a lack of training or self-confidence?
    • B: Is it because they lack the contacts and need to grow their network?
  • Are there other faculty and staff willing to dedicate time?

If A:

• Students, with some oversight, self-organize to obtain training in
  • Python coding (or vibe coding)
  • Basic statistics and/or basic machine learning
• Work on a Kaggle project in a small team.
• Develop communication skills.

If B:

• Collect data about MS and PhD graduates in the past 5-6 years.
• Invite alumni in industry to visit, meet students, talk about their career journey.
• Make sure students show up and interact.

• Internship preparation and search
  • Students should produce high-quality resume - see help from “career center” at their home institutions.
  • Learn how to conduct “coffee chat” or informational interviews (resources online)
  • Learn how to make an “elevator pitch”
  • Find out about career fairs at your university and participate
  • Apply for internships
• Post internships
  • Ask students who went on internships to talk about their experience
• Point of contact responsibilities
  • Maintain a database of students, companies, contacts
  • Provide advice and mentoring as requested

Level 2: A local program

This is a version of INMAS running locally in your department and includes (i) organized training, (ii) creation of internship projects, (iii) placement. You will need some level of funding to split-fund the internships with partner companies. Most department provide some support to PhD students in the summer already. This could be your match.

• Create a technical training curriculum, e.g., python bootcamp, statistics, machine learning. This could be run during the semester for credit or off-hours program. Best done in Fall.
• Engage a career support advisor (most active during the fall, working back-and-forth with students on resumes, also organizing sessions on elevator pitch, informational interviews, interview preparation.
• You will need someone willing to do cold-calls to companies pitching internship projects. This individual will also serve as internship coordinator (most active during the spring semester from the beginning of February through mid-May).

Level 3: A regional network

Replicate INMAS. This will need funding and building up a structure, partnerships with nearby universities. See a summary of our project. Warning: This is a huge commitment and requires buy-ins from stakeholders. Not for the faint-of-heart.