JOBS AND INTERNSHIPS

 REU HIGHLIGHTS

• 10-week in-person program opportunities:
• Student research projects supervised by multidisciplinary faculty members and graduate student mentors
• Weekly research team meetings with mentors to discuss progress and present their work
• AI Foundry for Ag Applications and Hackathon (weeklong short course hosted by AIFARMS)
• Professional development seminars, including topics such as imposter syndrome, scientific writing, scientific posters/presentations, resume writing
• Enrichment in entrepreneurship with seminars and workshops, including customer discovery, technology commercialization, and startup funding
• Site visits to farms, companies, and government offices
• Attend and present research at the AIFARMS Annual Conference
• Develop an abstract and scientific poster that can be presented at other conferences
• $600/week stipend, paid housing (arranged by program), one covered meal per day, one round trip travel allowance to and from UIUC campus
  

   

  
  

  IMPORTANT DATES

  • Online applications are due February 16, 2023, to receive full consideration for the program. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until all REU positions are filled. 
  • Program Dates: May 30^th – August 4, 2023. All accepted REU participants should be available for the entire program period unless an exception is approved prior to acceptance. 

Other considerations for student applicants: 

• Students do not need to have previous programming experience. Students will be matched to projects taking past experience into account. 
• Preference will be given to rising juniors who have completed their sophomore year by the program’s start. All other student levels are welcome to apply and will be considered. 
• Priority will be given to populations historically underrepresented in STEM, including those from minority-serving institutions (MSIs)—such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and schools with low levels of research activity, including community colleges, applying from outside of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Find out more details about the program and check out our FAQ's!

2023 Program Overview

• Scholars will be independent, non-tenure track Principal Investigators. They will be scientifically independent of their previous mentor. They will be given their own independent resources and CAN. They will be invited to participate in faculty meetings and other Institute/Center (IC) activities along with tenure-track and tenured investigators.
  
  
• Eligible candidates include current NIH FTE research fellows and non-FTE postdoctoral fellows, as well as candidates from outside the NIH. Scholars must have no more than 4 years postdoctoral research in total, and if an internal NIH candidate must also have less than 3 years postdoctoral research in the NIH IRP, as of January 1, 2023. Graduate students currently completing their doctoral degrees may apply. However, it is a Federal government requirement that they must have received their doctoral diploma before they can be hired as an IRS investigator, because these are FTE positions.
  
  
• Applicants with a Ph.D., M.D., or other biomedical doctoral degree and with relevant research experience, are eligible for acceptance into the program. The candidates must be US citizens or US permanent residents (“green card“). The position is designed for a three-year period, during which they will be encouraged to apply for a K99/R00 grant (if eligible). Ideally, the participants should apply to NIH Investigator positions, including the Stadtman search, no later than during their third year. The IRS position may be extended, upon approval of OIR, for a 4^th year and no more than a 5^th year, but only to allow for the scholar to finalize starting on a tenure-track position here or outside. The extensions must be within the IRP 5yr/8yr rule.
  
  
• Independent resources allocated to participants - 2 postbaccs or other time-limited technical staff positions (term/temp FTE technician, post-baccalaureate fellows, temporary contract worker, displaced technical staff) and supplies

• Participants, in consultation with their mentors, will design a research proposal and career development plan with milestones to be achieved during their time in this position. Each participant must have mentors in addition to their lab mentor. The mentors’ involvement is envisioned as a key component for the success of the IRS. Participants should meet with their mentor(s) quarterly, at minimum, to ensure that milestones of the research plan are met.
  
  
• Scientific Director (SD) must approve the choice of mentors in advance.

Application Process

A central NIH application and review process for the IRS Program will be done once per year, aspiring to a cohort concept (for mentoring and other career development activities with others in this position in the same application pool). The deadline for applications is March 1, 2023 to avoid overlapping with Stadtman recruitment efforts. Applications should be submitted to Rena Rodriguez.

Interested graduate students or early postdoctoral fellows can initiate the process by contacting a relevant Principal Investigator who will serve as primary mentor. This PI should then contact the Scientific Director. If the SD supports the nomination, then an application is developed and submitted by the SD for central review. Alternatively, IC leadership can identify a candidate, and then proceed with an application. All applications, both from internal and external candidates, must be approved and submitted by the Scientific Director of the sponsoring IC.

The application will include the Nomination Coversheet (PDF file) and the following materials, submitted by the Scientific Director on behalf of the applicant [submit all nomination materials as one pdf document]:

• The candidate’s CV/Biosketch, including a list of publications, mentoring and leadership activities, awards, etc.
• A diversity statement (up to one-page). Include evidence of direct involvement in mentoring and commitment to diversity through outreach activities for women and persons from other groups which are underrepresented in biomedical research.
• A maximum one-page proposal titled "Research Goals" (i.e., the research the candidate hopes to perform at NIH). If currently in a post-doctoral position, explain how the work will be independent of the current advisor.
• A maximum one-page statement titled "Long-term Research Vision" (i.e., what the candidate hopes to achieve for her/himself, their field, and society).
• Three professional letters of references. One letter can be from the proposed mentor/sponsor, but this does not take the place of a Career Development Plan.
• Career Development Plan co-signed by the mentor.
• Description of the Budget Plan (Word document) including one-time request for OIR start-up funds (up to $100,000), completed by the Scientific Director.
• (Optional) Applicants may include an appendix (up to one page) describing how the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affected their productivity.
  
  

Candidates will be evaluated in three categories:

1. 1. Candidate’s qualifications and potential
   2. Candidate’s commitment to building a diverse workforce
2. 3. IC commitment to the candidate

Dr. Charles Dearolf and Ms. Rena Rodriguez will be the contact points for the IRS program to answer questions from applicants and manage the central application and review processes.

The UNCF/Old Dominion Scholars Program, sponsored in partnership with Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc., is seeking full-time juniors enrolled in any accredited College or University majoring in business, logistics, supply chain management, communications, or industrial engineering, whose college experience demonstrates community service, leadership, and analytical ability during their college career. Candidates will be selected to intern for summer 2023. 

Program Components

Summer 2023 Internship- Juniors selected for the paid 2023 summer in person internship with Old Dominion Freight Line Inc., will be placed in one of the following locations: Atlanta, GA; Columbus, OH; Harrisburg, PA; Morriston, TN; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Houston Tx; Memphis, TN; St. Louis, MO; Jackson, MS and Greensboro, NC.

UNCF Student Leadership Conference (SLC)- Prior to the start of the internship students will participate in the UNCF Student Leadership Conference (SLC). This four-day professional development and leadership conference in Washington, D.C. aims to provide a framework and forum for equipping students with the skill sets that they will need to be successful as interns and early career professionals.

During SLC, participants will:

• Enhance critical thinking skills
• Develop stronger project management abilities
• Improve verbal and written communication
• Sharpen workplace productivity
• Hone quality workplace readiness and etiquette
• Improve networking skills
• Experience highly motivating industry, corporate, and national leaders 
  
  

Eligibility Criteria

All qualified participants of the UNCF/Old Dominion Scholars Program must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Junior undergraduate student enrolled full-time at an accredited educational institution (must be junior at the time of application)
• Minimum GPA of 2.8 on a 4.0 scale
• U.S. citizen or permanent resident
• Majoring in Business, Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Communications, Information Technology or Industrial Engineering Business at the undergraduate level

To be considered, candidates must submit the online application for the program, a one-page personal statement of career interest, resume and current transcript. All application materials must be received by the application deadline.

Applicants who have submitted complete applications will be notified within 8 weeks after the application closing date.

For account login issues, call a UNCF representative at 202-810-0258 Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM EST.

For more information, contact: Yves Pierre, Director of Professional Development Programs at yves.pierre@uncf.org. 

Alabama Ag Credit is a financial institution that provides financing for agriculture, agribusiness and rural real estate purchases and improvements. The institution is headquartered in Montgomery with nine offices that service the lower 40 counties of Alabama. With over $1.1 billion in assets, the institution is a cooperative and part of the nationwide Farm Credit System.

Education: Must have a HS diploma or the equivalent. Must be a student at a HBCU university or college in the state of Alabama. First consideration will be given to Juniors and Seniors. Must have basic knowledge of MS Office suite.

Job Responsibilities

May- Student will work with our Marketing Director/Coordinator, Relationship Managers, Montgomery branch office, IT, and the Montgomery Admin office. They will be identifying marketing opportunities through a study of geographic data of loans booked and determining if there is value in marketing to existing customers for repeat business.

June-They will see our relationship managers' processes for obtaining new loans and customers. Interns will visit properties to assess the potential loan value with the appraisers.

July- Student will work through the loan credit process. They will learn about credit requirements, shadow credit analysts, work through loan review and processing steps, and then complete some credit processing exercises. They will be working with our credit analysts, Chief Credit Officer, and Senior VP of Credit.

July/August- Students will see the IT department and how sound business decisions impact the bottom line as they conclude their internship program in the accounting department.

Expected workdays: Monday- Thursday from 8am to 4pm, with a 1 hour lunch. Total of 28 hours per week.

*Hours may be modified based on marketing and branch events, never to exceed 7 hours/day.

Pay will be $10/hour. Housing will not be provided.

Interns may be eligible for stipend program offered through the HBCU- Farm Credit Partnership. Human Resources can provide additional information regarding this potential opportunity.