Internship Host

We thank you for providing our Masters non-thesis students with a bridge between academic studies and professional practice. By taking part in the Graduate Internship Program for Engineering and Computer Science, you will be supporting Masters non-thesis students in the application of the advanced skills and expertise they have developed during their studies. We invite you to look at the benefits and responsibilities outlined below to evaluate if a graduate student intern is a good fit for your organization.

Skills developed by graduate students for industry:

  1. Professional and scientific production (trained researchers)
  2. Knowledge and critical thinking
  3. Strong communicators
  4. Highly skilled problem-solvers
  5. Professional and personal development

(Polytechnique de Montréal. (2014). Compétences, éléments de compétences et ressources à mobiliser pour le dess, la maîtrise professionnelle, la maîtrise recherche et le doctorat)

With these skills, graduate students set themselves apart and give your organization a competitive advantage.

Benefits for hosts:

  • Access to the top graduate students in engineering and computer science
  • Gain an employee with fresh insights and ideas
  • Foster relationships with graduate programs and students to aid in recruiting future employees
  • Achieve your organization’s goals faster with students who are highly critical and innovative thinkers

Host responsibilities:

  1. The internship site will identify one of its employees as the internship site supervisor to oversee the intern's work activities during his/her internship.
  2. The internship site requires the student to begin his/her internship only after final approval by the GPS Funding Internship Unit.
  3. The internship site supervisor is required to notify the student and the GPS Funding Internship Unit immediately should he/she change the nature of internship which was initially approved.
  4. At the end of the internship, the site supervisor will commit to completing a short internship assessment.

FAQ

  1. Hourly salary for student interns?
    Masters student internship hosts are recommended to pay interns a salary. If you are uncertain how much to pay an intern, please refer to the federal government’s pay scale.
  2. What about unpaid internships?
    For unpaid internships at NGOs and certain government agencies, the GPS funding internship unit may compensate the intern with an award of up to $2000 per month for a full-time internship. The eligibility of an unpaid internship will be decided on a case-by-case basis, contact the internships.gps [at] mcgill.ca (GPS funding internship unit) for eligibility and questions.
  3. Internship length options:
    Internships are 4 to 8 months in length either full-time or part-time or a combination of both.  
    Full-time internships are often only available in the Summer and part-time internships are available in the Winter and Fall because students must take courses at this time. For example, an internship could start part-time in the Winter semester and transition to full-time in the Summer semester or start in the Summer as a full-time internship and end as part-time in the Fall semester. 
  4. When can the internship begin?
    The internship can begin at any of the following start periods: September to December, January to April, or May to August.
  5. Can international students apply?
    You are welcome to hire students from all nationalities if you respect their immigration status within Canada, and they possess the proper work documentation. 
  6. Can an internship be extended?
    You may extend the student's internship beyond the initial time period; however, it will be considered outside the range of GrIPECS and new arrangements must be negotiated between yourself and the student alone. 

Host Testimonial:

Hamidreza Yazdani, Ph.D. National Research Council of Canada

Graduate student supervisor Hamidreza Yazdani from the NRC
"My name is Hamidreza Yazdani, Research Officer at National Research Council Canada (NRC), Aerospace Portfolio. NRC is the primary national research and technology organization of the Government of Canada, in science and technology research and development. The NRC's Aerospace Research Centre is a pillar of Canada's aerospace industry, with a track record of successful collaborations with Canadian and international organizations leading to a vast opportunity in interdisciplinary and collaborative research.

Starting in 2014, NRC has invested on the development of a research program on design, simulation and advanced fabrication of bioinspired ceramic materials. We have supervised 5 PhD graduate students through the Doctoral Internship Program and 2 Master's students through the GrIPECS working on different aspects of bioinspired ceramics and additive manufacturing of advanced industrial ceramics. Through this supervision, we had the chance to work with the smart and hardworking students who they spent a lot of time to make a progress in NRC projects by bringing new ideas. The team has successfully developed methods to enhance the toughness of ceramics with improve the multi-functional properties for different aerospace applications."

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License.
Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, McGill University.

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