Student Internship Program (SIP)
The Harvard Green Campus Initiative (HGCI) SIP identifies internship sponsors, defines research projects and recruits students. The program employs students full time during the summer to work on a predetermined campus sustainability project that benefits the student, sponsor and university alike. A sponsor is often a university department who has agreed to fund a specific project, as negotiated by the SIP manager.
The best student internships fund and support 300-350 hours of dedicated student work time over the summer period. This is generally enough time to complete an appropriately scaled feasibility assessment, research project or small-scale trial. As interns, students work as university employees, reporting to their immediate managers and associated steering group. As sponsors, university departments are required to provide support, guidance and access to the information and resources that will enable the project to succeed. Internship managers must work to ensure that interns and sponsors are fulfilling their respective roles and responsibilities throughout the term of the project.
Design for your Context
Remember to tailor these suggestions to your specific institutional setting. Some factors to consider include academic schedule and existing structures. For example, does your college or university operate on a quarter system or does it have a winter semester? The duration and timing of your internships may need to be different from those used at the HGCI. If your internships are longer or shorter, then the work plans will have to be adjusted accordingly. Likewise, if your institution already has a functioning internship program, it might make sense to partner with it rather than starting from scratch.
Sponsors
Most HGCI internships have been sponsored by university departments, but corporations, nonprofits, government agencies and private donors have also supported projects. In many contexts, a student intern can carry out tasks of immediate use to the sponsoring department—often work that a regular staff person would like to do but for which he or she simply has no time. Such projects might include evaluating computer energy use, identifying cost-effective environmentally preferred materials or developing a campus greenhouse gas inventory.
Cost
Internships vary in cost depending upon the level of mentoring and management support they require. It is highly recommended that interns be given the equivalent of one full day per week in dedicated management and mentoring from an experienced staff person. Without adequate management and mentoring students tend to misread how the university actually functions and what they need to do to succeed in their projects. A SIP must also provide students with resources such as office space, equipment and relevant training. The HGCI requests $8,000 per internship to cover the student's salary, one day per week of management and mentoring, and the cost of office space, computer, phone, stationary, payroll, administration and training. Funding through a work-study program can make this considerably less expensive.
Student Education: Learning from Experience
Many students who have successfully completed HGCI internships have said the experience was the most practical and educational of their entire degree. Well-run internships provide students with opportunities to learn, develop professional skills and gain experience and exposure to possible careers while earning money in the process. Colleges and universities benefit because students are introduced to campus careers, resulting in graduates who "stay on" as staff members familiar with the institutional culture. The HGCI has recruited numerous interns into full-time positions.
Building Campus Relationships
From the point of view of a campus sustainability advocate, a student internship provides a foot in the door of the sponsoring departments. A wisely chosen intern—that is, a student with good communication skills, dedication and initiative—will inevitably interact well with staff in sponsoring departments, helping to build a network of individuals interested in sustainability issues. Staff generally enjoy working with interns, especially when the project is well-managed and relevant to their work. The enthusiasm and learning interns generate during their time with staff should continue in some way after the internship is over. The intern manager may be in the best position to develop a plan for a continuation of the project work. At the HGCI, intern managers have facilitated the extension of a quarter of all internship projects.
Changing Perceptions
Another goal of the HGCI SIP is cultivating professionalism in environmental advocacy. The way program managers and interns conduct and present themselves can change the perception of environmentalists from "tree-hugging" idealists to realists who are keenly aware of the logistical and economic complexities of moving campus infrastructure and operations in a sustainable direction.