Keller Center launches internship portals for engineering students

While the portals will allow students to research and apply for internships, they also aim to “create a strong sense of community amongst past and current participants in the program,” center director Sanjeev Kulkarni explained in an email. In addition to viewing internship listings, students will be able to read about past interns’ experiences via testimonials and find out about related events associated with any of the programs.

Kulkarni said the center expects to have a completed list of internships for summer 2012 updated by Dec. 9.

The Center operates three main programs: the Preparing to Lead internship program, Princeton Entrepreneurial Internship Program and REACH, the International Research Exchange Program.

Preparing to Lead offers internships in which students engage in close relationships with a mentor at the company who spends at least 30 minutes per week one-on-one with the student.

Through Preparing to Lead, Raffi Grinberg ’12 spent the summer at Elysium Digital, a company founded by a University alumnus. Grinberg, who is concentrating in mathematics with a certificate in computer science, said his experience in code analysis and litigation support for legal cases related to technology allowed him to gain new computer skills.

“It was incredibly fun and interesting,” said Grinberg, who lived with fellow interns from peer universities in addition to working at Elysium. “The culture of the workplace was very friendly, and people got along very well.”

The Princeton Entrepreneurial Internship Program, jointly created by the Keller Center and Princeton Entrepreneurs’ Network, provides students with opportunities to experience working in entrepreneurial enterprises. As part of this internship, students attend a preparation program before the summer, which features speakers and workshops catering to their interests.

The center also sends students to Germany or Hong Kong through REACH, a partnership with the International Internship Program. According to Kulkarni, the program emphasizes a hands-on research internship in an international context. The program also aims to broaden students’ perspectives and to prompt them to think on a global scale.

Josphat Magutt ’12, who spent the summer at the University of Science and Technology in Hong Kong through the REACH program, said his internship was extremely helpful in “getting to know what exactly research and development is, and how it works.”

Meanwhile, Peter Iskaros ’13 described his experience at TU Dortmund in Germany through REACH as “life-changing.”

“I’ve now strengthened and solidified the globally and culturally minded perspective I had before with real experiences, and I am better for it,” he said.

The Keller Center’s special programs and internships are complementary to those of other programs such as Career Services, Kulkarni explained, adding that they are “aimed at offering students the largest and best selection of opportunities.”