Last modified: Wednesday, January 12, 2011
IU Office of Sustainability announces internships for summer of 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 12, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- To continue to build on the success of Indiana University's Bloomington campus sustainability initiative, the IU Office of Sustainability will offer the Summer Internship Program in Sustainability for the fifth year.
The Office of Sustainability (IUOS) addresses issues of environmental, economic and social sustainability in campus operations, academic programs, and university-community relations. The student interns, selected from both undergraduate and graduate student applicants, will work on a broad array of issues related to sustainability.
"Sustainability interns, in collaboration with their faculty and staff mentors, have demonstrated repeatedly that a good idea well implemented can significantly improve campus sustainability while also reducing waste and costs," said Bill Brown, director of the Office of Sustainability. "The Energy Challenge, for example, has saved the university approximately $199,000 in avoided energy and water costs, while also providing important learning opportunities for students, faculty and staff. "
Marie Buckingham and Zach Brown developed a proposal for a sustainable prairie when they served as sustainability interns.
Since its inception in 2007, the Internship Program in Sustainability has strived to promote experiential learning as an integral part of the campus sustainability initiative. Some student interns will continue work on previous projects, such as Energy Challenge or coordinating recycling of electronic waste, while others will pilot new programs focusing on living sustainably off-campus or analyzing the efficiency of new fume hood technology.
In addition to focusing 20 hours per week on these projects, the interns will be enrolled in a one-credit course designed to provide them a comprehensive background in sustainability, make connections between their internships and increase opportunities to collaborate.
"While the academic year program allows students the opportunity to make connections between their coursework and internships, the 20-hour work week and expanded seminar course in the summer program provide students a more condensed and concentrated opportunity to dig into their research projects," said Emilie Rex, assistant director of the Office of Sustainability. "We also have more time for off-campus trips that provide students opportunities to interact with experts in relevant fields such as green building, renewable energy and sustainable community development."
IUOS is now accepting applications for 14 new internships for the 2011 Summer Internship Program in Sustainability. Five of these interns will work IUOS-based projects. The other nine will join four continuing interns, working collaboratively with IUOS and the Campus Sustainability Advisory Board on projects designed to meet the strategic goals of the office's seven working groups.
Internships mentored through the Office of Sustainability:
- Green Team Program Coordination
- Greening of the Athletic Department
- Faculty, Staff and Student Sustainability Orientation Guides
- Sustainability and the First Year Experience
- Sustainable Student Living Off-Campus
Internships mentored through the Campus Sustainability Advisory Board Working Groups:
- Academic Initiatives: Sustainability Academic Programs and Research Clearinghouse
- Energy and Built Environment: Qualified Energy Savings Project Planning
- Energy and Built Environment: Utility Conservation in Academic Buildings
- Environmental Quality and Land Use: Fume Hood Efficiency Analysis
- Environmental Quality and Land Use: Wetlands and Stream Inventory of IU Bloomington
- Food: Big Red Eats Green Fall Harvest Festival Coordination
- Sustainable Computing: E-waste Pick-up Program Coordination
- Sustainable Computing: Implementation Programs for Paper Reduction
- Transportation: Bicycle Friendly Campus Initiatives
Details about each of the internship projects are available at www.indiana.edu/~sustain/Intern/apply.html. IUOS has extended the deadline for accepting applications applications and recommendations until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 2. Applications can be submitted online at www.iu.edu/~sustain/internships/. Questions regarding internships or the application process can also be directed to Emilie Rex at ekrex@indiana.edu.
The Sustainability Internship Program is sponsored by the IU Office of Sustainability. General information about the IU Bloomington Sustainability Program can be found at www.indiana.edu/~sustain. Information on past internship projects is also available on the Web at www.indiana.edu/~sustain/Intern/index.html.
