The CITRIS Workforce Innovation Program is now accepting applications for the 2024-2025 year. Undergraduate students from all majors at UC Berkeley — as well as UC Davis, UC Merced, and UC Santa Cruz — are welcome to apply.
Managed by the Center for Information Technology in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute (CITRIS), the CITRIS Workforce Innovation Program offers students the opportunity to participate in eight-week paid internships at an established company, startup, national lab, campus lab, government agency or nonprofit engaging in an emerging area of innovation. For UC Berkeley students, the internships will run between May–August 2025. Interns will receive $7,500 for participating.
Interns develop in-demand skills through on-the-job experience, and they receive training in leadership and project management. They are supported throughout the internship program by dedicated CITRIS staff, as well as the community of peers in their cohort.
“One of the attractive things about this program is that we financially support the student,” says Nicole-Marie Cotton, CITRIS Workforce Innovation Program Manager at UC Berkeley. “A lot of students need to work during the summer, so they can’t they can’t afford to do an unpaid internship. That’s where this program comes in.”
Cybersecurity — described as “enhancing security of systems and data, increasing availability of cyber solutions, and furthering understanding on the intersection of human nature and cyber risk” — is one of six areas of focus for the program. Other areas include aviation, climate and energy, data and artificial intelligence (AI) for social impact, digital health, and semiconductors.
Last year, students in the cybersecurity cohort had opportunities to work at host organizations such as Vagaro, Joby Aviation, Okta, Skihigh Security, AI Squared, Threater, Inc., and Beyond the Arc, Inc. “Last year was our first year to integrate cybersecurity, so we’re hoping to expand to more host organizations and students,” Cotton says.
In addition to their internships, students participate in a series of co-curricular workshops to gain communication and leadership skills. “We have a concurrent 12-week workshop series where the students level-up their skills in areas like design thinking, market research, and workplace communication, which helps them grow their confidence,” Cotton says. Upon successful completion of the program, students will be eligible to receive a certificate in careers in emerging technologies.
All students, including women, people from underrepresented backgrounds, Pell Grant recipients, undocumented students and first-generation students, are encouraged to apply, regardless of disciplinary background. “A goal of the program is to bring people into these fields who do not have technical degrees,” Cotton says.
For more information, contact Nicole-Marie Cotton at ncotton@berkeley.edu.
Watch an online information session about the Workforce Innovation Program, recorded on August 23, 2024.
