[Coral-List] 'Internships'

Fri Mar 17 09:42:53 EDT 2017

Hi all,

From Oz here. Do we have a consensus (1) that potential students work with you to get a real degree? , or (2) do we allow second rate providers to dictate us what we need to agree on?.

Please vote, 2 or 1.

Dr. Sander Scheffers

Senior Lecturer (Hoogleraar), School of Environment, Science & Engineering, Southern Cross University

Honorary Research Fellow, University of Queensland, QLD, Australia

Associate Researcher, Caribbean Institute for Biodiversity (CARMABI), Curacao, Netherlands Antilles

Military Rd, Lismore NSW 2477
T: 02 6620 3277<tel:02%206620%203277> | E: sander.scheffers at scu.edu.au<mailto:sander.scheffers at scu.edu.au>
CRICOS Provider: 01241G

On 18 Mar 2017, at 00:20, Will Nuckols <wnuckols at erols.com<mailto:wnuckols at erols.com>> wrote:

If it is an education opportunity that a student is paying for, that is a
class, and should be structured with appropriate instruction and have
expectations for educational outcomes like any other course. Educational
goals, and the credentials of the instructors, should be provided in
advance, information which a student could convey to a future school or
employer to explain how the course furthered their education.

If a student undertakes an opportunity and supports themselves while
giving to a worthy cause, that is an act of charity, not an internship.
I¹ve donated pro bono expertise over the years and can tell you that
unpaid work is a donation, even if one learns something in the process.
Donated cash and expertise is not a vacation - lets not devalue the
contributions by flippant labels. Still, they are donations.

An internship that serves an academic function is altogether different.

Schools and employers can use whatever filters they choose to evaluate
whether the value an academic internship is the same as donated labor for
a charitable cause, but institutions should label these experiences fairly
so schools and employers can understand the nature of the experiences and
make judgements accordingly.

It is a reality that without outside funding some organizations may be
unable to achieve their missions. That¹s not a good excuse to mislabel
their experiences.  Asking for donations of expertise and hard cash is
fine, and those who are able to make donations should be encouraged to do
so. Its important to donate to worthy causes, but the worthiness of the
cause doesn¹t forgive improper labeling of the activity.

Building a program that supports an ethic that includes charity is a
valuable life experience for both students and career professionals. But
lets not confuse those activities with internships in an academic sense,
lest we devalue the programs that are run as proper academic internships.

Interns are students. They should not treated as donors unless you are
willing to give them credit for their philanthropy.

Will Nuckols

On 3/15/17, 2:03 PM, "steven.carrion"
<coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov<mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> on behalf of
steven.carrion at knights.ucf.edu<mailto:steven.carrion at knights.ucf.edu>> wrote:

Hello Coral-list,

I have long wanted to provide some input on this, especially since I
don't think many students comment on these listservs. As a graduate
student who is working to become a fully fledged scientist one day in
academia it has been disheartening to see many organizations seemingly
working to exploit the labor of starry-eyed students. If I were to
estimate, I would say 75% of the opportunities I see advertised require a
student to pay several thousands to participate in a rather short
'internship' of usually two to four weeks [and I don't think the benefits
out-weight these costs].

As an undergraduate student I led a research society at my university and
I remember hearing from many students wanting to become involved in
research say things like "I cannot afford to have an unpaid internship"
or "I don't have money, I can't do that stuff". Research and scientific
progress should be guided by merit, not if your parents have enough money
to fund such pricey 'internships'- and especially not to compensate for a
student's lack of merit. What does it mean for science when only students
from well-off families can afford to participate in these internships?

It is understandable that some institutions cannot afford to financially
assist students so by providing unpaid internships it can open up
opportunities that would otherwise not be available. This isn't
necessarily bad. These can be potentially funded through grants or
scholarship money. However, its unfair to an exploitative point to expect
students to not only pay for travel and living costs, but also an
absurdly high fee to even partake in the opportunity. Some internships
with  organizations I have seen require a student to work full-time, no
benefits, and no pay. I have also seen an organization which actually
charges students several thousands of USD so that students are able to
complete their dissertation projects with them. The pay for play
'internship' opportunities are just plain sad and absurd.

Best Regards,
Steven Carrion

________________________________
From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov<mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
<coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml<mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml>..noaa.gov<http://noaa.gov>> on behalf of Lescinsky, Halard
<hlescinsky at otterbein.edu<mailto:hlescinsky at otterbein.edu>>
Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2017 10:36 AM
To: Damien Beri
Cc: Coral -List
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Summer Coral Reef Internship in Roatan

As a Professor at a primarily undergraduate institution where we are
continuously helping students find summer internships, I'd like to respond
to Damien's email.  In the US the general definition of an internship is
that it should be free to the student or perhaps paid.  From a student
point of view, paid internships are of course better, but they are much
rarer and more difficult to get.  Free (volunteer) internships are pretty
typical, and those internships often don't include travel or housing
stipends, making them a significant out of pocket expense.  But even if
they are totally free to the student they still exert an economic filter
since most of my students need to make money over the summer to help
contribute to their fall tuition.  They simply can't afford to spend a
summer without racking up cash.  The reality (at least in the US) is that
the educational system is far from economically fair and students have to
constantly weigh how much to spend now (on tuition, doing "unpaid
internships", accruing student loans) in order to invest in their futures.
The playing field is no where near even.
     I don't begrudge any institution from offering any opportunity to
students who are looking for experience, but I do agree with Damien, that
if students are paying what is essentially a tuition fee (including
classroom fees!), calling it an internship is problematic- since it
violates the general definition of the term.  On the other hand, it may
not
be an organized course in the traditional sense either, and I have little
doubt that part of the driving force is that students prefer the term
"internship" on their resume because it seems to imply a higher level of
selection and seriousness.
    My guess is that the Roatan opportunity is much like what many
non-profits do.  They offer "volunteer" positions for which participants
pay more than their costs, and the participants feel good about helping,
and the NGOs explicitly view it as a fund raising activity.   These are
win-win opportunities for the participants and programs so I see no
problem
with them, but they are certainly not internships in the traditional
sense.

Hal Lescinsky
Otterbein University

On Tue, Mar 14, 2017 at 10:41 PM, Damien Beri <beridl at g.cofc.edu<mailto:beridl at g.cofc.edu>> wrote:

Dear Coral List,

I opt to negotiate the terms in which we decide something is eligible to
be called an internship on this list.  An internship should not cost
anyone
money.  3000$ for eligibility for an internship is elitist.  It doesn¹t
matter if its for room & board, travel, or what not.  The internship
should
be offered to students of the prospective area of study, if room &
board +
travel are included in the internship offerers budget.  While I
understand
coral reef research requires various types of external forms of funding
to
function, due to lack of said funding.  It is simply wrong to offer such
opportunities to those with the merits afforded by monitory exchanges,
and
the situation in which you were raised that offered you the ability to
receive such scholarly merits or funding to attend such an internship.
I
am sure many will agree with this point, and I am sure even more will
disagree.  I however feel that this email chain should be open to this
discussion.

Thank you,
Warm regards,
D

On Mar 13, 2017, at 4:57 PM, RIMS Internship <internship at roatanims.org<mailto:internship at roatanims.org>>
wrote:

There are just a few weeks left until the March 31st application
deadline.
Please share this information with students and other educators who
may
be
interested!

*CORAL REEF RESEARCH INTERNSHIP IN ROATAN (July 22 August 19, 2017)*

*PROGRAM LOCATION:  *The Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences (RIMS),
Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras.

The Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences (RIMS) is excited to offer a
4-week long Coral Reef Research Internship this summer.  If you are
interested in coral reef ecology and conservation, this internship
will
provide a unique opportunity to live on a small Caribbean island and
gain
valuable field research experience on one of the most biologically
diverse
and well-developed reefs in the Caribbean.

RIMS was founded in 1989 with the primary objective of protecting
Roatan¹s
natural resources through education and research.  In almost three
decades
our facility has established itself as a dedicated teaching
institution
and
we are visited throughout the year by colleges and universities from
abroad
to study tropical marine ecosystems.  Our facility is ideally located
on
the northwest coast of Roatan with easy access to miles of fringing
and
barrier reef, seagrass beds, and mangrove communities.

*INTERNSHIP DATES:* The 4-week internship will run from July 22
through
August 19, 2017.

*ELIGIBILITY:  *The program will be limited to 12 interns and is open
to
upper level undergraduate students or recent graduates with a genuine
interest in coral reef ecosystems. Students must be 18 years old at
the
start of the internship and SCUBA certified.  We do not offer course
credit
for the program, but due to the intensive structure of the course, we
encourage successful applicants to arrange for independent studies or
undergraduate research credit through their home institution.

*INTERNSHIP DESCRIPTION:*  During the 4 weeks spent on Roatan,
students
will interact with staff experts and visiting faculty as they
investigate
and explore a variety of coral reef environments.  Through lectures,
site
visits and practical field exercises, students will learn the flora
and
fauna of the region and understand the roles of different ecological
processes on a coral reef.

Through collaborative research activities, mentorship and independent
research projects, students will receive direct exposure to reef
monitoring
methods, as they develop, implement and communicate their own
research.
In
addition to the academic and research opportunities our program
provides,
interns will also gain important cultural and social development. This
internship is a chance of a lifetime and the transformative
experiences
students will be exposed to can contribute to personal growth and
career
advancement.

Under the direction of professional mentors and marine biologists and
RIMS
staff, students will engage in a wide variety of activities and gain
experience in the:

 - Field experience in the Identification of Caribbean coral, fish,
 invertebrates and algal species
 - Application of field research methods to assess coral cover,
 abundance, and reef health
 - Development and implementation of an independent research project.
 - Participation in reef restoration projects and maintenance and
 monitoring of our coral nurseries.
 - Management of invasive lionfish populations through collaboration
with
 the Roatan Marine Park.
 - Participation in field trips on and around Roatan.
 - Interaction with local conservation professionals.

*COURSE FEE:*  The fee for the course is *$2975.00 USD*.  The fee
includes
full room & board, diving, tanks and weights, lab and classroom fees,
airport transfers, off site field excursions and all applicable taxes.

*APPLICATION DEADLINE*:  Applications are due by March 31st, 2017.
Applications will not be accepted if all the required forms have not
been
received.

For more information about the Coral Reef Research Internship at RIMS
and
to access the *Application Form* please visit our webpage at:
www.roatanims.org<http://www.roatanims.org><http://www.roatanims.org>
Roatán Institute for Marine Sciences | Roatan |
Honduras<http://www.roatanims.org/>
www.roatanims.org<http://www.roatanims.org>
A Caribbean Marine Laboratory dedicated to the preservation of Roatan's
natural resources through education and research.

*CONTACT INFORMATION:*  For more information or questions about the
internship please contact:
Jennifer Keck
Education & Research Coordinator
Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences
internship at roatanims.org<mailto:internship at roatanims.org>
011-504 9556-0212 <+504%209556-0212>
www.roatanims.org<http://www.roatanims.org><http://www.roatanims.org>
Roatán Institute for Marine Sciences | Roatan |
Honduras<http://www.roatanims.org/>
www.roatanims.org<http://www.roatanims.org>
A Caribbean Marine Laboratory dedicated to the preservation of Roatan's
natural resources through education and research.

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