The Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) program, in cooperation with the National Park Service at Indiana Dunes National Park and Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, is offering two internship opportunities to support conservation policy efforts. Sea Grant’s national Community Engaged Internship (CEI) program aims to broaden participation in coastal, ocean, Great Lakes and marine sciences by offering paid internships to undergraduate students from under-resourced, underrepresented and/or indigenous and tribal populations. Through this program, IISG’s goal is to engage diverse students in place-based research, extension, education and/or communication that respects and integrates local ways of knowing.
This year, the CEI program will offer a Science Communication Internship with the National Park Service’s Great Lakes Research and Education Center in Porter, Indiana, as well as a Pollution Prevention Internship with Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.
The IISG interns will be part of a national cohort of students. Each intern is expected to participate in all aspects of the CEI program:
- On-the-ground learning experience, including completion of a project that extends the knowledge of community stakeholders to address a coastal, marine or Great Lakes issue of environmental, economic and/or social importance.
- Mentorship by Sea Grant and Shedd professionals, Sea Grant funded researchers and Knauss Fellows.
- Virtual professional development sessions and training opportunities.
- Peer discussions with other interns in the summer cohort.
- Graduation ceremony to celebrate accomplishments, network with peers and other professionals (in-person meeting included, dependent on status of COVD-19 restrictions).
- Participation in pre/post evaluation.
This paid, full-time summer internship will be 8-12 weeks long, depending on the intern’s availability, starting no later than June 1, 2022. Occasional travel may be possible for both internships, depending on travel status policies.
The application deadline is February 24, 2023. For full internship details, eligibility criteria and how to apply, please visit the Community Engaged Internship page. For questions about this opportunity, email Angela Archer at amcbride@purdue.edu.
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a partnership between NOAA, University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, bringing science together with communities for solutions that work. Sea Grant is a network of 34 science, education and outreach programs located in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Lake Champlain, Puerto Rico and Guam.
Contact: Angela Archer
