XSEDE EMPOWER Internships Now Available

Nov. 7, 2018 — XSEDE EMPOWER internships are now available.

Application deadline for Spring 2019 participation: November 23, 2018

An XSEDE-wide effort is underway to expand the community by recruiting and enabling a diverse group of students who have the skills – or are interested in acquiring the skills – to participate in the actual work of XSEDE. The name of this effort is XSEDE EMPOWER ( Expert Mentoring Producing Opportunities for Work, Education, and Research ). XSEDE invites staff, researchers, and educators to recruit and mentor undergraduate students to engage in a variety of XSEDE activities, such as computational and/or data analytics research and education in all fields of study, networking, system maintenance and support, and visualization. The program provides a stipend to students and resources for the training of those students who work on XSEDE projects for one semester, one quarter, one summer, or longer.

To participate, undergraduate students from any US degree-granting institutions are matched with a mentor who has a project that contributes to the work of XSEDE. Participation is strongly encouraged for mentors and students belonging to groups traditionally underrepresented in HPC, including, but not limited to, women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. There are three tiers of participation for students depending on existing skill level: learner, apprentice, and intern. Appropriate stipends will support each student.

WHICH STUDENTS ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE?

Students must be enrolled as an undergraduate at a US degree granting institution through the duration of their participation. Each participating student will receive a stipend. There are three levels of participation:

- Learners spend time acquiring the necessary skills to contribute to the work of XSEDE through tutorials, individual instruction, remote or in-person workshops, and self-learning. The expectation is that learners will have a high desire to participate, but have not yet had extensive experience. Learners will be given a stipend intended to recognize the extra effort needed to acquire the desired skills as an introduction to the field of high performance computing under the following guidelines:
  - $750 per semester assuming a minimum level of effort of 12 weeks, 8-10 hours per week, or
  - $500 per quarter assuming a level of effort of 8 weeks, 8-10 hours per week, or
  - $1500 per summer assuming 10 weeks at 30 hours per week.

- Apprentices improve and apply their skills, spending the vast majority of their time doing tasked but not necessarily completely independent work, with training in specific areas or skills as needed. Apprentices need not have previously spent time as a learner participant. Apprentice applicants who do not meet the full expectations may be asked to start as a learner. Apprentices will be given a stipend of:
  - $1200 per semester assuming a minimum level of effort of 12 weeks, 8-10 hours per week, or
  - $800 per quarter assuming a level of effort of 8 weeks, 8-10 hours per week, or
  - $2400 per summer assuming 10 weeks at 30 hours per week.

Interns demonstrate the ability to do more independent work, tasked and as part of a project or group effort. Interns will be given a stipend of:
- $1500 per semester assuming a minimum level of effort of 12 weeks, 8-10 hours per week, or
- $1000 per quarter assuming a level of effort of 8 weeks, 8-10 hours per week, or
- $3000 per summer assuming 10 weeks at 30 hours per week.
Interns need not have started as learners or apprentices, but the expectation is that learners would advance to apprentices and then to interns, so prior participation will be taken into account in the selection of interns.

At each interval during the year (end of each semester or quarter, and at the middle and end of each summer), a mentor/supervisor may propose that a learner be promoted to apprentice, or an apprentice be promoted to intern. Student positions are renewable for up to a year, after which time the expectation is that the mentor/supervisor would take over the financial commitment to enable the student to continue and advance.

PETASCALE INSTITUTE

The Blue Waters Student Internship Program offers a 2-week, highly-intensive, hands-on institute in the rudiments of high performance computing once per year. Learners, Apprentices, or Interns may be selected to attend this institute (with travel and local expenses covered) if appropriate and beneficial to enhance their ability to contribute to the work of XSEDE. The institute takes place in late May / early June.

HOW TO APPLY

Mentors can apply by clicking the “New Position” button at the top of this page. Students can apply by clicking the “New Student Application” button at the top of this page.

Applications will typically be reviewed in early November, March, and June for projects starting the following spring, summer, and fall, respectively. While the program will continue to accept applications year-round, the cut-off for applications reviewed for the next cycle of funding will be the first Friday of the month in which reviews take place, except when otherwise noted at the top of this page. Applications completed after the cut-off will be held until the next round of reviews.