The MATE Internship Program By Nandita Sarkar, MATE Internship Coordinator
Sowhat is thisMATE internshipprogram?ManyofyouhaveprobablysailedwithaMATEintern onboard your cruise andmay not evenknow it. The Marine Advanced TechnologyEducation (MATE) Center’s Marine TechnicalInternshipprogramhasbeenworkingwiththeUNOLS/USCGfleetforseventeenyearsandhasplaced 303 students in marine technicalinternships,over250ofwhichwereshipboardpositions. Internshavebeenplacedwithboththe shipboard Marine Technicians as well asthe science party, where the science partyoperations aremore technical in nature. TheMATE program has two goals. The first is toprovide real-life shipboard technicalexperiencetomakestudentsmorecompetitiveinthejobmarket. Thisisespeciallyimportantin a field where potential marine techs getcaught in the paradox of not being able to beconsidered for positions without at-seaexperience, but not being able to gain at-seaexperiencewithoutbeinghired!Also,forthosestudents who are newly exploring shipboardtechnical work, the program provides amechanism to expose students to shipboardtechnology and life. There are 50-100applicants for the program each year.Matching the interns to the hosts is no easymatter. Behindthescenes,theMATEprogramcoordinator works hard to specifically matcheachqualifiedinternwiththeneedsofthehost.When more experience is required, a moreexperienced intern is sent. When lessexperienceissufficientandthecruisedurationis shorter, a less experienced student may besent. The host can be as involved as he/shewould like in the selectionprocess andmakesthefinalchoiceontheintern.
The program is funded by the NationalScience Foundation’s (NSF) Ocean SciencesResearch Experiences for Undergraduates(REU) Program and places 10-15 interns onUNOLSandUSCGvesselsforafewweekseachsummer. In addition, in 2011, the Long Terminternship program started, in which oneintern works with one to two
institutions/ships for up to six months. Thislonger internship allows the intern to trulydive into the position and gain the in-depthexperience required to be successful in theworld of science support. The program hasbeenquitesuccessfulingettingstudentsreadytoworkintheUNOLSfleet.Boththe2014and2015LongTermInternsarecurrentlyworkingas Marine Technicians within the fleet (NickMathews, BIOS, and Sonia Brugger, UH) andthree other former long-term interns areworking or have worked as fill-in MarineTechniciansforthefleet.Ofthe11totalinternsthisyear,fourhavealreadyreceivedjoboffersas marine technicians. Many thanks to all ofthe hosts and mentors for providing suchvaluableexperienceforthesestudents!
The MATE internships do not just benefitthe students, they also benefit the shipboardtechnical groupand the scienceparty. EarlierthissummerakeytechnicianhadtodeparttheR/VMarcus Langseth for a family emergency.AstheirTechnicalSupportManagerscrambledto find a replacement, his lead shipboardtechnician commented that “…Tyler [MATEintern] has grabbed on to what needs to bedone so quickly that I am totally comfortablehandingovertohim...”Tylerwasaskedtostayfor another cruise and was an importantfunctioning member of the science supportteam. Similarly, onboard the R/V Oceanus,Chief Scientist Kim Thramatrackholn ofRutgers University commented that SoniaBrugger, a MATE intern, "was incrediblyhelpful andwas ahugebenefit tohaveon thecruise.”OverontheR/VThompson,theMATEintern played an important role during anexceptionallybusy cruiseby adding that extraset of skilled hands. TheirMarine Techniciancommented,“ThankfullywehadaMATEintern[PamWard]helpassistwiththemajorityoftheCTDcasts.Undernormalconditions[withoutaMATE intern] this would have requiredmuchmorecreativesolutions.”
Theprogram is awin-win, giving studentsthenecessaryon-the-jobexperiencewhilealsosupplying the shipboard technicians andscientistsanothersetofhelpinghands.
We are already looking ahead to the2016season. Pleaseconsiderhosting/mentoringan
intern! For more information contact me [email protected]. If you know of studentswhomightbenefitfromashipboardinternship,please send them to our website at:http://www.marinetech.org/internships/
Summer2015MATEintern,PamelaWard,onR/VThomasG.Thompson.PhotoprovidedbyU.Washington
MartineHolmquistworkingwithamagneticdrilltomakeholesinto1"steeltoboltawinchontothedeckoftheR/VMarcusG.Langseth.PhotobyKateTremblay.
TomSoto(ChiefScienceEngineer,R/VLangseth)andKateTremblay(MATEIntern)inthemainlababoard
R/VLangseth.PhotobyKateTremblay
