Internships

Internships are the bridge between training and industry and can make fast-tracked career entry possible, particularly for the historically underserved populations that RIWI serves. RIWI is developing two kinds of internships with input and buy-in from industry partners:  

Project-based In-house Internships

Co-designed internships follow an in-house, work-study model, where a team of students works on an industry partner's problem under the guidance of project-experienced RIWI technical staff, instructors, and faculty. Based on a successful co-design model established by the CIUS Building Performance Lab, RIWI technical staff, instructors, and faculty work with industry partners to define projects and deliverables, expectations, and responsibilities. As the Building Performance Lab has found, sending students off to employers to intern on-site often leads them to feeling lost or underutilized, whereas the in-house team structure enables peer-to-peer learning, mutual support, skill-sharing, and group discipline.

On-site Placement Internships

On-site or direct placement internships are valuable sources of networking and training, especially in sectors where field experience cannot be effectively replicated with simulations or in-house projects. As in the in-house model, RIWI staff work with industry sponsors to clearly define expectations and responsibilities and offer support and guidance throughout the internship.