Below is the text version of the webinar “STEMtember – Ready, Set, Join the BETO Webinar on Internship and Fellowship Opportunities!" presented in September 2022 by the U.S. Department of Energy's Bioenergy Technologies Office. Watch the video.
[Begin presentation]
Erik Ringle, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Well, hello, everyone, and welcome to today's webinar, “STEMtember – Ready, Set, Join the BETO Webinar on Internship and Fellowship Opportunities!” I'm Erik Ringle from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and before we get started I'd like to cover a few housekeeping items so you know how you can participate in the events today. You will be in listen-only mode during the webinar. You can select audio connection options to listen through your computer audio or dial into your phone. For the best connection, we do recommend calling in through a phone line. You may submit questions for our panelists today using the Q&A panel. If you're in full-screen view, click the question mark icon located on the floating toolbar at the lower right side of your screen. That will open the Q&A panel. But if you're in split-screen mode, that Q&A panel is already open and is located at the lower right side of your screen. To submit your question, simply select all panelists in the Q&A drop-down menu, type in your question or comments, and press enter on your keyboard. You may send in those questions at any time during the presentations. We will collect these and time permitting address them during the Q&A session at the end. Now if you have technical difficulties or just need help during today's session, I want to direct your attention to the chat section. The chat section is different from the Q&A panel we just discussed. It appears as a comment bubble in your control panel. Your questions or comments in the chat section only come to me, so please be sure to use that Q&A panel for content questions for our panelists. Automated closed captioning is available for the event today. To turn it on, simply select “Show closed captions” at the lower left side of your screen. We are also recording this webinar. It will be posted on the Bioenergy Technologies Office website in the coming weeks, along with these slides. Please see the URL provided on the screen here. And if you're interested in learning about BETO news, events, or funding opportunities, we also invite you to sign up to the BETO mailing list shown here. I will post links to both of these resources in the chat here in a moment.
OK, now a quick disclaimer before we get started: This webinar, including all audio and images of participants and presentation materials, may be recorded, saved, edited, distributed, used internally, posted on the U.S. Department of Energy's website, or otherwise made publicly available. If you continue to access this webinar and provide such audio or image content, you consent to such use by or on behalf of DOE and the government for government purposes and acknowledge that you will not inspect or approve or be compensated for such use.
All right, with that, I'd now like to turn things over to Abby Todd to introduce our topic and panelists. Abby, please take it away.
Abby Todd, Idaho National Laboratory
Thanks, Erik. I appreciate it. So next slide, please.
Welcome, everybody, to our September and – STEMtember (I knew I was going to mess that up). Not September but STEMtember internship and fellowship opportunities webinar. I'm Abby Todd, communications with Idaho National Laboratory. Just a few more items before we get to the presentation. The webinar is brought to you by the Bioenergy Communicators Working Group, also known as BioComms. (Yeah, sorry about that, Erik.) This group is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office, also known as BETO. The BioComms working group includes bioenergy communicators, laboratory relationship managers, and education and workforce development professionals from the national labs and the BETO program who gather once a month to strategize on how to effectively communicate and promote BETO-funded research to the public. The BioComms working group also provides the public the opportunity to learn about current and emerging bioenergy technologies, project, and partnerships through most monthly webinars, which brings me to today's agenda for the webinar.
Now the next slide. We have four speakers today: Ebony Brooks and Tiffany Jones from DOE EERE, Ali Josephson, and Dr. Brad Wahlen from Idaho National Laboratory, who will discuss current internship and fellowship programs at DOE, EERE, and the national labs. Next slide.
So before we get started, I'd like to provide the presenter bios in order of their appearance.
Since October 2020, Ebony Brooks has served as the supervisor for the staffing and security team in the Workforce Management Office at the U.S. Department of Energy. Over the last 12 years, Ebony has served in several positions across DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, EERE. Ebony began her federal service at DOE in 1999 as the summer intern in the Office of Science. Ebony then went on to manage the Office of Science’s internship and fellowship programs within the Office of Workforce Development for teachers and scientists. After joining EERE, Ebony was selected to join the first assistant management board, which recognized rising talent within EERE. Ebony holds a certificate in African-American studies and two bachelor's degrees in economics and government and politics from University of Maryland College Park. She also holds a master's degree in organization management with a concentration in federal program management from Trinity University in Washington, D.C. Ebony's life motto, which I agree with: You are not your circumstances; you determine your destiny. As a proud wife and mother of five fearless sons, every day is an adventure. Ebony loves serving others and helping in any way that she can.
Tiffany Jones joined the U.S. Department of Energy EERE in May 2018, where she worked in the Solar Energy Technologies Office until March of 2022. Currently she works in the Workforce Management Office as a staffing liaison, where her main concentration has been the Golden, Colorado, field office. She is excited to start focusing on intern and fellowship opportunities. Before joining DOE, Tiffany worked with nontraditional students at a local career school. It was there that her heart for serving her community grew. She continues to volunteer with local organizations to teach young people to read and help build and maintain high self-esteem. Tiffany is a proud native of Washington, D.C., and a graduate of the District of Columbia Public Schools. She continued her education at Towson University and received a B.S. in English, then attended the University of Maryland ascertained her M.A. in management.
Ali Josephson is the student programs manager at Idaho National Laboratory. She leads recruitment and hiring for INL's internship program, which hosts over 450 students from around the country each year. The internship program provides students with opportunity to apply their classroom education on exciting real-world projects while continuing to build the talent pipeline for INL and DOE’s future. Ali enjoys working with brilliant students from diverse backgrounds and connects them with impactful mentors and opportunities that will help guide their future. Interns bring an energy and excitement to the lab with their curiosity and passion for learning. Her 19-year-long career has been dedicated to human resources and university student programs. Ali graduated from Idaho State University with a bachelor's degree in business administration and an emphasis in human resource management.
Dr. Bradley D. Wahlen is a staff scientist in the Biological Processing Group at Idaho National Laboratory. Brad has a background in microbial metabolism, enzymology, biochemical characterization, mineral processing, and biomass pre-processing. Brad is currently working on challenges related to processing bioenergy feedstocks such as algae biomass, crop and forestry residues, food waste, municipal solid waste, and paper recycling. Activities include developing pre-processing approaches that can reduce recalcitrance and energy demand, remove Inhibitors to conversion processes, preserve biomass quality to enabling queuing and long-term storage, and produce co-products to reduce the cost of biofuels and bioproducts. Brad holds bachelor and doctorate degrees in biochemistry from Idaho State University and Utah State University.
Before I hand it over to Tiffany and Ebony, I'd like to remind you that you can ask questions at any time during the presentation using the Q&A panel. We will collect these and try to address them during the Q&A session at the end of the presentations, time permitting. All right, next slide, and Ebony and Tiffany, it's all you.
Ebony Brooks, U.S. Department of Energy
Thank-you so much, Abby. We really appreciate you introducing us today. We're so grateful that you all have joined us to learn about the various internship and fellow opportunities across the Department of Energy complex, not only at our headquarters site but also in our field offices, which you'll hear about throughout this presentation. As Abby mentioned, I'm Ebony Brooks, the staffing and onboarding supervisor. And we'll jump right in so you can learn a little bit about the Department of Energy and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
So who is EERE? Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is working to build a clean energy economy that benefits all Americans through energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable transportation. What does that mean? What do we do? In EERE we invest in clean energy technologies that show viable pathways for achieving EERE’s programmatic priorities, decarbonizing the electricity, transportation, industrial, and agricultural sectors, and reducing the carbon footprint of buildings. Next slide.
When we look at EERE, we're structured in three pillars. Some refer to those pillars as sectors. We have our Energy Efficiency sector, which focuses on research and development and advanced manufacturing and building technologies. We have our Renewable Energy sector, which focuses on applied research development and demonstration, which we reference as RD&D, and those activities are focused on making renewable energy like geothermal, solar, wind, and water power cost-competitive with traditional sources of energy. Lastly, our Sustainable Transportation sector focuses its RD&D efforts in bioenergy, hydrogen and fuel cells, and the vehicles to increase access to domestic clean transportation fuels and improve the energy efficiency, convenience, and affordability of transporting people and goods. So just to take a quick step back, earlier I mentioned that we provide funding in these various industries, so when you're considering internships and fellowships, if you were selected to come work at our headquarters site, you would potentially work on projects looking at some of the research projects that we're funding, determining whether or not those projects are on track to meet the deliverables that they've set out and projected they would meet. And you will be involved in a lot of the hands-on policy that shapes what we do with technology. Out in our field sites – I know we're going to hear from some folks out in Idaho – you'll learn that there are other research opportunities for interns and fellows that talk about actual hands-on research in our laboratories. So there are two dynamic ways that you can be a part of what we're doing in the clean energy space, both from a policy perspective here at one of our headquarters or field sites or in our national labs. Next slide, please.
Our current internship and fellowship opportunities are broken into two categories, and we have a bonus category. We have federal intern and fellowship opportunities as well as nonfederal internship and fellow opportunities. Some of our federal internship opportunities as well as the fellowship opportunities are located on usajobs.gov, and we'll talk about how you would search to find those opportunities as we go on in the presentation. There's also the Presidential Management Fellows program. This program is really unique because it looks at current students who are in the process of graduating and helps them get a two-year appointment at a federal agency to help shape and inform policy. And those positions have the opportunity to convert to permanent positions. Our nonfederal opportunities include what we reference as MEISPP, which is our Minority Educational Institution Student Partnership Program. We have our DOE Scholars Program that's both an intern and fellow program. And then we have two fellow programs that are similar but different. So the EERE Science and Technology and Policy Fellowship is very similar to what we reference as our AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship, but the difference is how you come to be a part of the program as well as the duration of the program. So we'll talk more about that as we get in. As a bonus, we have the Student Volunteer Intern Program. Now, while this is unpaid program from the Department, there are opportunities for students to receive compensation because oftentimes we partner with different universities who have funding to support their students; they just don't have a host agency. So what we would do, and typically students come to us and say, hey, my university has funding; they, you know, have it so that I can come somewhere for eight weeks to get some on-the-job training. We partner with them to host that student, to give them on-the-job exposure to the various things we're working on. But that actual funding comes from their home institution.
There are also students that just say, you know what, I really love what you guys are doing in clean energy. I want to learn more about this. I think this is where I want to go in my career. I want to intern with you guys. There would be no compensation for that internship, but the nonmonetary exposure and experience that you get is invaluable. My grandmother always taught me it's not what you know; it's who you know. The great thing with, about partnering with federal agencies in an internship or a fellowship capacity, is you're getting to know people. As you're getting to know people, you're posturing yourself for later success when it's time to look for permanent employment; you've made connections. So I would always encourage folks to keep their minds and hearts open to all opportunities, both paid and unpaid. I was an intern, and I'll tell you a little bit about my intern experience as we go through the slides. Next slide, please.
So let's look at our internships. As I mentioned, we have both federal and nonfederal opportunities. When you're looking for those federal opportunities on usajobs.gov, my recommendation is that you search for the keywords “student trainee” or “student intern.” That will help filter out all the other federal positions that you may not be quite qualified yet, depending on where you are in your education process. With those programs, you would be able to see those that are at the Department of Energy as well as other agencies around the nation that may align with what your interests are. And again, those opportunities are on usajobs.gov. Everything that has a green line underneath of it is actually a hyperlink. These slides will be posted, as was mentioned during the housekeeping portion of this presentation, so when you go back to review the slides, feel free to click on those links, because they have far more information than what we're going to share today. And you would be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't go to those links. So make sure you check those out.
When we transition to the nonfederal opportunities and look at MEISPP, that's a program that's open to students pursuing a variety of academic degrees such as engineering, science, social sciences, and business. We often get questions like, hey, it's the Department of Energy, do I have to be a STEM major to qualify for an internship or fellowship program? And the answer is no. There are many opportunities. I am not someone with a science background. When I first started my undergraduate career, I thought I was going to be an electrical engineer, but after my second semester the university sent me a nice letter that said, you know what, you've given it a good try, it's time that you look for another major. So I pivoted and decided to major in something else. So there are an array of careers available within the federal government. And that's true for our internship opportunities and fellowship opportunities, both federal and nonfederal, so again, you do not have to be a STEM major for most of our programs.
The DOE Scholars Program is a program that's accepting applications year-round. The MEISPP program has a finite time that it hosts students, and that's exclusively in the summertime, but the DOE Scholars Program accepts rolling applications. For some program offices within the Department of Energy, they have specific windows, but for others, again, they have rolling applications. So it's critical that you check often to see if there are opportunities that may align. I know some universities are on quarter basis and others are on semester basis, so you may take breaks at different times of the year. And that's what makes the DOE Scholars Program a very interesting program, because it does support students recognizing that there are opportunities for you to intern or fellow at different times of the year. Next slide, please.
When we look at the MEISPP program, people often ask, well, am I eligible? Can I participate in that program? The four basic criteria to be considered for eligibility: You must be an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled full-time in an accredited minority-serving institution. What does it mean to attend a minority-serving institution? It is an institution that has been deemed by the U.S. Department of Education as a minority-serving institution. It could be an HBCU, a historically black college or university. It could be a Hispanic-serving institution, which is an HSI. It could be an institution focused on Native American students. There are specific criteria that define what an MSI is. Also, you must be at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen. The citizenship component here is critical. While some aspects of the DOE complex do allow noncitizens who are green card holders to have a position, with this particular program that is not the case. You must be a citizen in order to be eligible. You must have earned at least 24 undergraduate semester hours, or if you're attending a university that has a quarterly structure you must have completed 39 quarter credit hours to be considered for eligibility. And you must maintain a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. If you are attending a university and your GPA is on a different scale structure, it will be recalibrated to determine what your GPA is on that 4.0 scale.
As I mentioned earlier, I started off as an intern, and I will say this in in all sincerity, it was one of the best opportunities for me. I started right after I graduated high school. I had not entered college yet, and at that time the particular program that I was a part of supported that. And the great thing about the program that I was in, it later transitioned to one of the Pathways intern programs. Back in that day, back in ’99, it wasn't called Pathways, but it was a similar structure. And the thing that made it very rewarding for me is I had an opportunity to come and work both during my summer breaks and winter breaks, and it ultimately pivoted into a permanent opportunity for me. So I just wanted to highlight my experience as an intern. It was a really, really great experience. Next slide, please.
When we look at MEISPP, we also think about, well, what's going to differentiate me from other candidates that are also being considered? So we have those four basic criteria that says, OK, you must meet these basic things to be considered. But what's going to separate you? The ideal candidate will possess four critical skills. They will have leadership potential. They will have a commitment to public service. They will have an interest in energy-related issues. And they'll have strong communication skills, both written and verbal. Everything we do is messaging. It's communicating. It's providing a report, feedback when you're in the headquarters offices. So it's critical that you know how to communicate effectively with your colleagues. We can all do really great work, but if you don't have the capacity to share that with others, you know, it's doing our taxpayers a disservice, because we want to learn about all the great work that folks are doing. So having those strong communication skills does impact a decision when people are considering whether or not they want to bring you on as an intern. Next slide, please.
When we pivot to the DOE Scholars Program, you'll see that there are similar criteria for eligibility as the MEISPP program, but there are a few differences. We mentioned the requirement of being at least 18 and a U.S. citizen. That stands true for this program, as well. A few differences come into play when we look at the academic structure of the candidate. So in order to be eligible, you must meet one of the following four criteria. And there are differences, because again, this program is open to both undergrads and grads. And so the first criteria is you must either be enrolled in as an undergraduate or graduate student an accredited institution of higher education. And again, that's defined by the U.S. Department of Education. And when you click on that hyperlink, it will get into what that means. And you must be pursuing or have a degree in science, technology, engineering, or math, which we reference as STEM, or be in a capacity to support one of our operations offices, which work in communications, management, business, or law. So again, everything we do doesn't have to be STEM-based. We have to also have the lawyers to protect our intellectual property, to ensure that we're not violating any NEPA criteria or guidelines. We have to have management analysts and communication specialists who can effectively communicate what we're doing, because taxpayers want to ensure that, you know, the investment that they're making is getting a good return. So we need folks who can communicate that message. So it's truly a program for all students who have that superior criteria for, again, being a hard worker, communicating effectively, wanting to show leadership, and wanting to serve the community. You must have completed an undergraduate or bachelor degree within five years of the intended start date. So again, this is a second opportunity in terms of that eligibility criteria. You could be a U.S. military veteran who has been honorably discharged or who's had a medical discharge and who has received a college degree in an appropriate discipline within the last 10 years of the desired start date. Lastly, you must have completed a qualifying certificate in a STEM program with a minimum of 30 semester credit hours or the equivalent by an accredited academic institution within one year of the desired start date. That certificate program should be related to or complement a prior degree earned at the bachelor's or higher. So you'll see there are three very different criteria, and if you fit in any of those boxes you would be eligible. Next slide, please.
Now as we pivot to fellowships, Tiffany will jump in to tell you all about our wonderful fellowship opportunities. Thank you all so much for your time.
Tiffany Jones, U.S. Department of Energy
Hi, everyone. I'm really happy to be here today. Before I jump into it, I like to think that I'm an honorary fellow. I used to work in one of the program offices in EERE. I mean, if it wasn't for the fellows, I wouldn't know words like agrivoltaics, photovoltaics, understanding when the grid comes offline and things of that nature. It was the fellows that I worked really close with. We take our fellows / interns very seriously here in EERE, and just want to share a few of our opportunities. So as you can see on the slide, we have federal opportunities and nonfederal. If you visit USAJobs and you literally search the word “Pathways,” many jobs will come up. And those are federal opportunities. When you go to our nonfederal side, we have several programs that are ran by ORISE, which stands for the Oak Ridge Institute for Scientific and Education. We have the AAAS, the DOE Scholars and EERE Science and Technology and Policy Fellowship. Next slide, please.
What I love about the fellowship program, that there are levels to this. You don't have to just have your Ph.D. There's level one, when you can just for recent graduate. There's level two, when you're in middle of the road of your program of life. And number three, with the high level. So whatever level, when you review these slides at your leisure look at the level, where do you fit. That is up to you to assess. But the great thing once again about this program, for fellowships there should be something for everyone. Next slide.
Something I want to point out for all of these levels, if you look at the middle box, it says U.S. citizenship or permanent resident, green card status. Many of the fellows that I've encountered with were not U.S. citizens. So the fellowship program is a great way to get in the door. As we look at level one, it's a bachelor's degree for less than five years in an energy-relevant field of science, engineering, or other highly quantitative field such as economics. As the last box indicates, it's matriculated. Undergraduates may be considered for short-term appointments. Let's look at level two. Next slide.
A Ph.D. or master's degree for no more than three years in an energy-relevant field of science, engineering, or other highly quantitative field such as economics. Once again, we have that great box that says U.S. citizenship or permanent resident, green card status. Next slide.
Level three, the top of the barrel, we have a doctorate or master's degree for more than three years in an energy-relevant field of science. Once again, that green card status or U.S. citizenship is here. And the last box, experience and knowledge and technology commercialization is desirable but it's not required. So once you review these slides, really take time to assess what level am I, and take an opportunity to become a fellow. Next slide.
Ideal candidates, once again, here we go. A superior academic performance and publication record, strong analytical research and communication skills. Ebony talked about that. Whether you're in a STEM position, non-STEM, we all should be able to communicate. A strong technical background and expertise in a field related to energy technology. And finally, an interest in being part of a multidisciplinary fast-paced environment. Next slide.
AAAS, this is another one of our fellowship programs, a little bit different. We see that it holds a doctoral level degree in a qualified field or a master's degree in engineering plus three years of professional engineering experience. For this one, you must be a U.S. citizen, or dual citizenship is acceptable. To be eligible to receive federal government funds through the System of Award Management, comply with the U.S. selective service system requirements, not be a federal employee, and not be an employee of AAAS. At the end of this presentation when we take questions and we provide answers, we can provide you with our EERE hiring inbox, so if you have questions about these slides and want to talk with Ebony or I about internships and fellowships, we'll be sure to supply that email to you and will be happy to follow up with you. Next slide.
I will now turn it over to Ali.
Ali Josephson, Idaho National Laboratory
Thank you Tiffany and Ebony. So my name is Ali Josephson, and I am the university recruiting manager at Idaho National Laboratory.
I am very excited to be here today and be able to provide additional information on Idaho National Laboratory and also some of the opportunities that we have at the laboratory. So we are one of the Department of Energy’s 17 national labs, and our vision is to change the world's energy future and secure our nation's critical infrastructure. Next slide, please.
So with a vision and mission that great, it is very important that INL has the workforce to conduct the work of that mission. So INL, like many employers, is facing some challenges to ensure that our workforce of the future is available and prepared for that work. So as you can see, in 2016 INL had just over 4,000 employees, and over the course of the last six years we've continued to grow in our workforce. But at the same time that INL's mission has continued to grow, our workforce, a large number of our workforce is nearing retirement age. Some things that INL has done to really look at the challenges of the talent pipeline is really focus on different student programs partnering with different universities from around the country. So part of that is our pipeline of internships, INL graduate fellowships, post-doc assignments, and then of course entry-level positions. So this year INL hosted just over 500 interns, which was a record number of students at the laboratory. These students were from 42 different states and 151 different institutions. INL has found that interns provide an energy for learning, and really, they're a great way to help develop our inclusive diversity. Next slide, please.
So I've talked about why INL really encourages and promotes internships and fellowships, but what are some of the benefits to the students? Why would you want to apply for an internship or a fellowship at the laboratory? Some of those benefits is you get to work with a designated mentor. Each intern has a designated mentor that they work with. These are experienced mentors that help them navigate their projects. They're a trusted advisor that really can teach them based on their experiences and the best practices that they've learned throughout their career. Our interns work on meaningful projects that allow them to apply the knowledge from the classroom in a real-world setting, and they get to be part of world-changing research in the energy and national security mission. All of this is done with access to state-of-the-art facilities and labs and tools. And it also provides an opportunity to connect with fellow students from diverse fields from around the country. I know Ebony talked about the networking opportunities, but we've really found that having an internship is a great opportunity to connect with other students, build relationships and partnerships with your mentor and other colleagues at the laboratory that can lead to future collaboration both at academia and in the future in their careers.
Over the course of the summer, INL hosts several different networking events, and we call them development events. So we do resume writing and interviewing skills. We provide opportunities for our interns to have breakfast with our leadership team, and so that they can hear about their experiences and their career Journeys. We also provide community outreach events and then tours of our different facilities, because an intern may be working in one area or facility but we want to make sure that they understand all of the diverse work that is being done around the laboratory. Next slide, please.
So a little bit more about Idaho National Lab. This slide really illustrates some of the high-level admission areas and projects that INL is well-known for. So we have the Mars Rover mission where INL assembles and tests radioisotope power systems. We have microreactors, artificial intelligence, the wireless test bed, and then of course our research in the bioenergy area. So this summer we had a student who’s from Idaho State University, and their research project was focused on switchgrass as a crop, which offers potentially high biomass yield and can be grown on land that is marginal for food crop. So that's just an example of one internship project that a student worked on this year. We did have another student from Washington State, and their project focused on biomass that is considered unusable and how it can be reused through extreme heating mass with no oxygen. So these are just two examples of the type of product checks that students may work on throughout the summer. INL hires all science and engineering disciplines, so nuclear engineering, mechanical, electrical, material science, biology, chemistry, but we also are a business. And so we hire employees from business, finance, communications. So there's a wide variety of different career opportunities at a national laboratory. So I encourage you to go out and look at those different opportunities. Next slide, please.
So how to apply. So this slide shows the landing page. If you go to inl.gov/careers, it will take you to this landing page, and you can indicate if you want to find out more information on full-time permanent positions or if you're interested in internship opportunities. Before you go out and officially apply, I encourage you to be prepared with an updated resume or CV, also unofficial transcripts. And then have two references that you can provide their information as well as their contact information. All internships are paid, and most are eligible for a housing stipend of $190 per week while in Idaho Falls, as well as the travel to Idaho Falls and the return trip back. Next slide, please.
We also offer some opportunities for students who may be hired through the Department of Energy, some different programs through them, to come to INL and partner with our researchers and have access to our facilities. So a few of these other programs that we participate in are the DOE Office of Science SULI and CCI internship programs. These are for undergraduate and community college students who are pursuing a degree in STEM. They are 10- to 16-week opportunities, and once again, they're given a designated mentor and they work alongside all of our other researchers and interns. There's also the MSIPP program. The MSIPP program is for undergraduate and graduate students from minority-serving institutions, and these are 10-week internships. I'm going to go back. So the SULI and CCI, they open in October for next summer's opportunities. The MSIPP, those positions will be being posted soon for the INL-specific opportunities. And then we also participate in the EERE, which offers internships in advanced manufacturing, specifically in the area of robotics, energy storage, and high-performance computing. Next slide, please.
So INL’s goal is for all employees to have a comfortable, supportive work environment where they can be their authentic selves, leading to collaboration and innovation. Some tools INL has in place to support that are INL’s leadership councils, which provide a sense of community, professional development, advocacy for the members and their allies, and they function similarly to an employee resource group or [inaudible] groups at other organizations. Next slide, please.
Idaho National Laboratory is located in southeastern Idaho, so it's two hours from Jackson Hole. It's about two hours from Sun Valley. So we live in an area where people travel around the world to visit and explore our wonderful outdoor setting. So I really encourage all of you to go out, check out the abundant opportunities at Idaho National Laboratory and join students from around the country in not only getting to work on impactful research and projects, but come explore the beautiful state of Idaho, where you can hike and camp, ski, whitewater raft. We want to ensure that our students when they're here in the summer not only have these research opportunities and these career development opportunities but really have a comprehensive positive experience and also get to explore the state of Idaho.
And with that, I will turn it over to my colleague Brad, who will talk more about what it's like to intern at Idaho National Lab and work as a mentor for interns.
Brad Wahlen, Idaho National Laboratory
Thanks, Ali. I'm Brad Wahlen. I'm happy to talk to you about what it's like to work as an intern at Idaho National Laboratory. Next slide, please.
From the researcher perspective, as Ali discussed, you apply to a job position and the researcher that evaluates the candidates and identifies those that match project needs. Some things we look at is, maybe your experience level. Some projects may require prior experience or a particular experience, but that isn't always the case. Often prior experience isn't necessary, and we view internships as an opportunity to provide students a research experience. And we also will look at the different courses taken. And this is going to be project specific. For instance, a project that is requiring you to culture bacteria might be helped by having some general microbiology in your background. And then we'll also look at your academic successes in core classes. It doesn't mean you have to be, you know, the straight-A student, but we want to see you’re showing some proficiency in your classes. And then we also want to know if your general interests match the project generally. And so those are some of the criteria that we look at when we're evaluating candidates. Next slide, please.
And when we identify two to three candidates that match all our criteria, will set up some phone interviews, get to know you a little bit. So we'll have a little conversation. We'll discuss the project. We'll gauge your interest, and you'll gauge, you know, whether you're interested in the project. We'll have a few general interview questions so we can understand, you know, whether you're going to be a good fit with our program. And then we allow the candidates to ask questions about the project and about the internship experience. And then we conclude that interview with, you know, letting the student know what the timeline would be to arrive at a decision. Next slide, please.
And when you come to Idaho National Laboratory you might be intimidated by working in the labs, doing new things, but we do provide a lot of support for interns. All the research conducted at national laboratories is conducted safely. All the projects are reviewed by safety professionals, and they identify areas of concern and maybe different training that might be needed to conduct the work safely. And so every researcher that works on a particular project will have that training available to them. And this is true for interns; interns start out receiving the training that they need to be able to work safely and confidently in the lab. And in addition to the formal training, you'll be working beside your mentor, working with other lab professionals to learn the techniques and to receive additional guidance and support. Next slide, please.
So students will discuss the projects with their mentors, and mentors will describe what they want them to achieve. They'll work with them to help them understand how to execute the research. In each of these projects, they support the mission of the respective national lab and the U.S. Department of Energy. And the environment where the research could be conducted will vary and be based on the project. For instance, could it be lab-based, where you'll conduct hands-on research using chemical, biological, or mechanical processes to further the research objectives. Or you might work in an office environment, in a data-centric project that utilizes software and conducted entirely in an office. However, many of the research projects will be a hybrid where you'll both collect data and analyze data. Next slide, please.
One of the benefits of doing an internship at a national laboratory is utilizing state-of-the-art technology. The picture on the lower left is from the Biofeedstock National User Facility at Idaho National Laboratory, where we process biomass into conversion-ready feedstock so we can make fuels and chemicals. And the pictures on the right show some of the equipment within that user facility, and the pictures in the middle are just some of the instrumentation that we use to look at biomass and learn things about different modes of processing and different types of feedstocks. Next slide, please.
When you're conducting research, you get a lot of data, and it's really important to be able to communicate that data to people around you and also to learn yourself, to understand your data. And to do that, one of the important tools is to develop graphic representations of your results. And these are a collection of graphs that I've worked with interns over the years to develop. And so interns can expect to work closely with their mentors to process this data and develop graphics to communicate the results. Next slide, please.
Communication as I mentioned is an essential part of science. At Idaho National Laboratory every summer we have a big poster session where all the interns gather. And they have posters that they've prepared like the one on the right here and present to, you know, a general audience, whoever wants to come and look at this. And you know, this can be an intimidating theme for an early career scientist. And so you'll work closely with your mentor to develop this poster. The poster at the right is from an intern that worked with me, and we developed this poster together that shows the background of the research, how she conducted her research, its results, and conclusion. And this poster was awarded the top poster in the poster session that year. And so it's – you know, you'll work closely with a mentor to do this and often will practice presenting that poster with not only your mentor but other research staff and fellow interns. This will provide you with some reconstructive feedback to help you develop that communication skill. Next slide, please.
And often the impact that interns have, it can be tremendous. And these five papers are results of research the interns have conducted that have contributed in a project and helped author a peer-reviewed publication. And so this is kind of – you know, what we're trying to develop the skills for a student to do is to be a part of a research project that ends up in a publication. Next slide.
And so why would you do an internship at a national laboratory? For me, I think it's a point of distinction that can set you apart as an applicant to a job or graduate or professional school. We will help you develop the skills and help you develop the confidence to prepare you for these opportunities. And so why do I choose to mentor? Interns make valuable contributions to the projects that I manage, that the nation relies upon to develop clean energy. They make a big impact. And also, I like to give aspiring scientists a research experience. You know, I think it's a great profession and this research experience can help interns see themselves as research professionals, and can get a taste for what it's like to work in that environment. And science is an apprenticeship vocation. You learn by working alongside other practitioners. And so I want to give that opportunity to other prospective scientists. And also I get a personal fulfillment from working with other people and helping people. And so those are just some of the reasons why I like to work with interns. Next slide.
And with that, I'll turn it back over to Abby Todd.
Abby Todd
Yeah, thank you, Ebony, Tiffany, Ali, and Brad. It was great information. I really hope that some of the listeners were able to glean some information out of it that can help them as well and as they move forward. I do have some questions here, I can see, and the first one I can actually answer: Can you provide the link for Idaho National Laboratory’s internship program? Yes, I can, right here in the chat, coming your way. And the next one is probably geared towards Ebony and Tiffany: Is there a DOE newsletter that I can subscribe to for more information on these intern and fellowship opportunities?
Ebony Brooks
So we don't have one that blasts out our internship and fellowships. We do have a blast that goes out about our various vacancies, and sometimes you can navigate to other parts of our site that has our internships and fellowships. In the chat I will put the email address that you can email and I'll make sure that you get on that listserv. And I think that's a really great suggestion and one that we hadn't considered before, creating one specifically for our internships and fellowship. So thank you for inspiring that idea, and we'll get right on top of that.
Abby Todd
That's great; thanks, Ebony, and yeah, to whomever dropped that question, that's a good one. We have another one here, and I think this could just be open to the group: What are – it looks like they're asking that they, you guys, provided a lot of instances where you have to certain qualifications, but I think the question is asking what are some key things as hiring managers that should be included in a resume that you're looking for? Maybe keywords? I'm guessing they're just looking for, you know, as you're going through different resumes. Oh, Ebony, thank you. What is it you're looking for?
Ebony Brooks
So as a hiring manager who's considering an intern or a fellow, I want to know that you've taken the time to curtail your resume to my vacancy. So you know, I want to see things specific to my specific internship that you're applying to. Sometimes, and it's because we're applying to a lot of opportunities, you can tell that a person's resume is very generic. I don't like those because it doesn't give me the insight into is this person going to go above and beyond when they're in the job or in the intern or fellowship to pay attention to those key details? So they're going to take that extra step to stand out. We can all have a generic resume that we send out for multiple opportunities, but that person that curtails their resume and cover letter to every specific opportunity, that's the person I would hire. That's the intern I would bring on because I know I can task them with the responsibility and they're going to think about the questions that I didn't ask. And that's the person that I want on my team.
Abby Todd
It's a good answer. Be bold, stand out. Does anyone from INL want to answer that, Ali?
Ali Josephson
Yeah, I was going to say, so kind of to mirror what Ebony says, is yes, make sure that on your resume that you are highlighting how you meet the experience that they're looking for, or whatever the criteria is that that position is looking for. The other thing is make sure you're including, and if you're not involved get involved, with student societies and different groups, and make sure that that information is also on your resume. And highlighting if you're in a leadership role. Say if you're part of student INS, or ANS, you know, different student societies, because that just shows that you're proactive and that you're getting involved and, you know, going that extra – providing that extra effort.
Abby Todd
Good tips, definitely. I'll move on to the next question. Let's see: Are there opportunities for individuals that don't have a 3.0 GPA? Ebony?
Ebony Brooks
So there are always opportunities for students. They might not have been highlighted today, but they're – I didn't have a 3.0, full disclosure. I graduated with like a 2.7, I think. But I was a really hard worker. But I was also working full-time. I was helping take care of my grandmother, and my senior year of college I had a son. Does that mean I wasn't committed to my education? No, it just means that I was also dealing with life. So there are tons of opportunities out there. The lowest GPA requirement that I saw, I think, was a 2.5. But what I will tell you based on my own experience, my GPA did affect how much I got paid, because when I converted, if you had a GPA above a certain thing I converted to a different grade. And this was eons ago. I don't think this is the way things are now. But it did affect my pay as an intern. So that's something that may come up in other opportunities, but I would just encourage you to look for all opportunities. And I don't know what your current circumstances are, but you know, work to get your GPA up, because it will give you greater access. Again, a lot of what you saw in our presentation talked about that ideal candidate, that person who's, you know, demonstrating that leadership. And oftentimes, and again, I'm probably too transparent, but sometimes people don't remember that people are people. We're humans. We have things outside of just what's in front of us. So the more academically sound you are, you give off that you would be a better employee or a better intern, which may or may not be the case. But some managers are looking for that top student because that's going to differentiate a student who may not be performing as well. So while there are opportunities, you know, just work to do the best that you can to get your GPA as high as you can get it
Abby Todd
Yeah, thank you, Ebony. I agree with you. I was a student with a special circumstance, as well, and I had a 2.8 GPA. And getting that GPA up is definitely important if you can, just because going back for my master’s, it was really difficult to get into the program. I said, just give me a chance, just give me a chance, and they did, and I ended up with a 4.0. So that was the chance I needed. So just keep trying, definitely keep trying. One more question is how – what about the international students studying here in the U.S.? Can they be a part of this at all? Or you know, most of it was mentioned just for U.S. citizens. Ali, do you want to take this one?
Ali Josephson
Yeah, so we bring on a lot of international interns within our internship program. And so as long as students can get the work authorization. There are certain projects that do require citizenship, if it's in National Homeland Security, but they're very project-specific. And like I said, we do host a lot of international students each summer, so please do apply and then we'll work through that process in those individual postings.
Abby Todd
Right, perfect. OK, do we have any other questions that want to be asked? We have just a few minutes left. … And if not, or if you drop one in after we leave, we can certainly get you an answer. But I'll go ahead and wrap things up. Thank you again to all our speakers and for taking the time. These guys are super-busy, so thank you so much for being here to educate us today on the internship and fellowship programs at DOE, EERE, and Idaho National Laboratory. If you didn't get your question answered, like I just mentioned, you're welcome to send them to the BETO address listed near the top on the slides. And for more bioenergy webinars like this – we have a lot of great ones every month, almost every month – and other BETO-funded research, please sign up at the BETO newsletters page at the bottom of this slide. The webinar recording and slides will be posted on the BETO webinars webpage within a couple of weeks. So again, I want to thank the speakers and for everybody who took time out of their day to join us, and everyone have a great afternoon.
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