Applications for Akamai Summer Internship Program Now Open

The Akamai Workforce Initiative, a program that aims to develop a skilled STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) workforce to meet the needs of Hawaiʻi’s tech industry, is now seeking applications for the Akamai Summer Internship Program.

The Akamai Summer Internship is an eight-week program that offers college students from Hawaiʻi an opportunity to gain summer work experience at an observatory, company, or scientific/technical facility on Hawaiʻi Island and Maui. The program runs from Sunday, June 16 through Friday, Aug. 16, 2019.

One of the goals of the Akamai Workforce initiative is to help more Native Hawaiians, women, and other underrepresented groups in STEM obtain careers in the industry.

Akamai interns are matched with a project and a mentor who will supervise them throughout the project and integrate the intern into the work environment. All Akamai interns will complete a one-week intensive residency preparatory course in Hilo, where they can gain professional skills and meet the other interns, Akamai staff, and mentors. At the end of the program, each intern will give a presentation on their project at a public symposium and receive credit from University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Interns will also receive a $3,200 stipend and are provided with housing, if needed, and travel to and from their home island to an internship site.

Each year, more than 50 engineers and scientists from telescopes and tech companies guide interns through projects that contribute to their work and provide a challenging, educational experience. Many mentors participate in the Akamai mentor workshop to help launch their intern into a successful STEM career. Nearly 100 local mentors from 25 organizations have participated in the Mentor Workshop.

Interns in recent years have been placed at many Hawaiʻi Island firms including Akabotics, Big Island Abalone, Canada-France-Hawaiʻi Telescope, Cellana, Hawaiʻi Electric Light Company, Gemini North Observatory, Liquid Robotics, Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaiʻi Authority, Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems, Smithsonian Submillimeter Array, Academia Sinica Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Subaru Telescope, the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy Hilo and the W. M. Keck Observatory.

Maui placements include Air Force Research Laboratory, Akimeka, Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, HNu Photonics, Integrity Applications Incorporated/Pacific Defense Solutions, Pacific Disaster Center, and the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy Maui.

Nearly 400 college students have participated in the Akamai program since it launched in 2002. According to the program, least 140 program alumni now work in science and technology careers, with nearly two thirds of them working in Hawaiʻi. Akamai accepts college students from Hawaiʻi, as one of their main objectives is to increase the participation of underrepresented populations in STEM. Thirty-seven percent of the Akamai Workforce initiative alumni are women, 24 percent of them are Native Hawaiian, and 47 percent of them identify as underrepresented minorities.

The Akamai Internship Program is one of the main components of the Thirty Meter Telescope’s Workforce Pipeline Program. The programʻs main objective is to train local Hawaiʻi island residents for the high tech jobs of the 21st century economy.

Applications for the program are due on Feb. 14, 2019. Applications are available online.