The internship is a unique, paid opportunity for undergraduate STEM and business students to experience the DOE world-class National Laboratory system, boost their entrepreneurial thinking, and explore energy technology markets. Interns engage with National Laboratory mentors and learn about technologies at their partnered Laboratories. Parallel to working with the National Laboratories, students also participate in intensive commercialization training through an asynchronous Energy I-Corps curriculum. Instructors provide interns with lectures, resources, and online workshops to tie lab work to the broader I-Corps™ framework. By providing interns access to the best-in-class Energy I-Corps program, they enhance their education and training in entrepreneurship and energy technology-related fields while increasing future marketability in these disciplines.
Administered and managed by OTT, this summer-long program matches students with technologies and mentors from DOE’s National Labs to develop strategies for commercialization.
- Interns will earn $850 per week and no relocation is required.
- Students will learn about cutting edge technologies in fields spanning machine learning and artificial intelligence, computing, data science, biofuels, energy, materials and more.
- While working with the National Labs, the students also undergo intensive training in commercialization through an Energy I-Corps curriculum.
- At the end of the summer, students will travel to a National Lab to present their individual work, which will be judged by a panel of technology commercialization experts. Travel arrangements and reimbursement will be provided.
- The program benefits students by enhancing their education, training them in entrepreneurship and energy technology related fields, and increasing their future marketability in these disciplines.
- OTT strongly believes in a diverse workforce for the next generation of technology commercialization professionals and therefore encourages students from diverse backgrounds to apply.
Applications are now open for the Summer 2024 internship. Please apply here. Applications due by 1/15/24.
Applicants will be asked to submit a resume, transcript, recommendation, and answers to the following program-specific questions:
- Goals: Describe your personal, educational, and professional goals and interests and explain how this opportunity may enable you to achieve those. Describe any experiences or situations that you feel have influenced your interest.
- Skills: List your professional/technical skills and abilities that are relevant to this opportunity, including knowledge/skills related to specialized laboratory equipment or techniques, computer hardware, software, or computer languages and/or applications.
- Professional Experience: Detail any research, technical and/or professional experience that was focused on technology development, technology commercialization, and/or entrepreneurship.
- Personal Experience: Tell us about how your life’s experiences and beliefs, background, and interests have shaped who you are, led you to your current academic/career path, and contributed to a unique perspective for impacting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in technology commercialization.
OTT recognizes that diversity is a critical element in the development and advancement of new concepts and ideas, and that students’ potential for success goes beyond academic background and experiences. As part of the next generation of thought leaders and researchers, interns will have a unique opportunity to influence the impact of technology commercialization may have in our nation.
The 2023 program welcomed fifteen (15) students from various backgrounds, universities, geographical locations, and majors across the United States. 33% of the interns represented disadvantaged communities*. Accepted interns were paired with mentors and projects from eight (8) DOE National Laboratories.
*According to J40 guidelines
Testimonials
"I learned a whole new curriculum of what goes into a business model, market sizing, customer discovery, how to interview, how to get interviews, and essentially what is valued when you want to commercialize a product." – Radeha Haque
"I have a better understanding of business now, and the line between something being interesting and something being profitable or marketable." – Nathan Mitchel
"I was very shy, but after this internship, because we had to find and talk to customers, all the interviews and meetings really made my confidence better and my skill in communication improved every day. This also made me more disciplined in my work and helped prepare me for an important job." – Salvador Ayala
Projects
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