Cal Energy Corps is a summer intern program that matches talented UC Berkeley students with host organizations working on energy and climate change solutions. Over the past nine years, our interns have worked in California, throughout the U.S. and in 12 other countries, positively impacting the lives of participating students and contributing to groundbreaking research and application of energy and climate technologies and policies. We welcome new partnerships with leading energy and climate organizations (companies, government organizations, non‐profits, research organizations, etc.) to host our students.
What Cal Energy Corps Does
Cal Energy Corps provide host organizations with access to top UC Berkeley undergraduate students who have an active interest in energy and climate technology and policy. Importantly, for host organizations we also simplify the process of advertising, recruiting, and identifying exceptional candidates. We solicit applications from a wide range of majors across campus. Then, we review all application materials and propose the best candidate(s) for the hosts’ consideration and final approval. It is usually a simpler process for your organization to directly hire the students from Cal. However, if preferred, we can do so and will work with Berkeley HR to hire and pay the student. You don’t have to deal with FICA, withholding, and other employment paper work.
What Host Organizations Do
Host organizations provide an 8‐12 week project or program for one or more students to work on and a supervisor to whom they can report. We will ask you to sign a non‐binding letter of intent in which you provide a short 1‐2 paragraph description of the internship opportunity and any required skills or characteristics you may be looking for, such as internship dates, majors, or technical skills. If you choose not to hire directly, you will repay us for the cost of the weekly stipend for the student, see “Salary” below.
Student Selection Process
Eligible applicants to the Cal Energy Corps are highly motivated UC Berkeley undergraduates in good academic standing, from a wide range of disciplines and majors. Interested students submit an application form, 3‐page statement of purpose, academic transcript, and letter of recommendation from a UC Berkeley faculty member or approved supervisor, as well as a placement preferences form.
An interdisciplinary selection committee from the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and the California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE) reviews and chooses participants on the basis of merit and matches each internship opportunity with qualified applicants. Hosts are offered an opportunity to meet with their candidate to determine whether a good match exists prior to confirming the internship. If a good match does not exist, we will continue to work with you to identify other potential candidates for consideration. Upon agreement with respective program hosts, CITRIS and CIEE will notify selected students and the hiring process will commence.
Prior year student participants and their internship descriptions can be found on the Cal Energy Corps website.
Salary
The Cal Energy Corps offers a salary of $600 per week in order to attract accomplished students to the program. We want to ensure that all students, regardless of their financial means, can participate. This helps us to base our selections on the merit of the candidate alone. Host organizations are expected to cover the cost of the internship.
Next Steps for Host Companies
If your organization is or might be interested in participating, we will ask you to register by completing a letter of intent. Demand can be high for these sponsorships, so those organizations interested in participating should register by November 30, 2019 and should expect to be connected with potential interns by no later than April 15, with internships typically starting around one week after school ends (May 15) and ending 8‐12 weeks after the start of the internship.
If you have any questions, please contact Eric Lee (calenergycorps@berkeley.edu, (510) 664‐7133).