ORGANIZATION
The mission of the Contemplative Sciences Center (CSC) is to advance the study and application of human flourishing at all levels of education—K-12, undergraduate, graduate, professional, and lifelong. In particular we are focused on how educational institutions can better understand and facilitate the types of knowledge, mindsets, and practices that promote flourishing.
MENTOR(s)
Dr. Aneel Chima, Associate Executive Director, Contemplative Sciences Center
Prof. David Germano, Executive Director, Contemplative Sciences Center, Professor of Religious Studies (Buddhist Studies)
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
This internship will prepare interns for careers in any of the following:
- Communication, Outreach, and Publishing
- Consulting
- Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital
- Industry and For-profit
- Non-profit
- Transformative Technology and Design Thinking
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
This internship will provide experiences to develop and polish the following skills:
- Communication (written and/or verbal)
- Teamwork and Collaboration
- Problem-solving and Analytical Thinking
- Project Management
- Thought Leadership and Innovation
MENTORING PLAN
The intern will…
- Join executive leadership and leadership team meetings with the Executive Director and Associate Executive Director, as appropriate. Will work closely with CSC Directors, particular the Director of the Contemplative Commons.
- Meet weekly with Executive Leadership of the CSC. Feedback will be given in verbal and written forms with an individualized development plan with goals being co-created with the intern. This will take the form of a coaching and development model. (The AED is a former executive adviser who has worked with over 350 C-level executives in the business and non-profit spheres.)
- Accompany ED and AED on leadership meetings with high level strategic partner networks, including the CSC Innovation Collaborative (prominent technologists, VCs, tech founders, designers, etc.), the Flourishing Academic Network (national network of leading centers and institutes focused on wellbeing and flourishing), among others. These are networks comprised of world leaders in their respective spaces.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
The intern will learn how to:
- Generate innovative programming across disciplines and sectors of people in support of transformation and flourishing.
- Build strategic plans and strategic networks of thought leaders in service of generating measurable outcomes and hone the communication skills necessary to do so.
- Build and sustain communities of academics and non-academics around compelling intellectual and artistic content rooted in transformative technologies.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Curate for the new Contemplative Commons building and the CSC, under mentorship of the Executive Director and Associate Executive Director, a national and international network of transformative technologists, designers, digital artists, contemplatives, and pedagogical experts who create immersive multi-media art, transformative experiences, and/or learning environments that support connection, wellbeing, and flourishing.
- Co-create, with ED and AED, a strategic plan that outlines key domains of transformative technology for programming and partnership and articulate a position paper for the vision for utilizing transformative technologies in the Contemplative Commons.
- Create transformative technology and digital arts and learning programming for the inaugural season of the Contemplative Commons with particular emphasis on programming, experiences, and learning opportunities that will magnetize students to the building for signature events.
- Understand how transformative technologies can be used for positive purposes in educational environments and developmental experiences.
- Learn how to build fundraising networks, identify grant opportunities and build case statements and write grants.
DESIRED QUALITIES
A successful candidate will be:
- Cognitively flexible and creative in how they approach tasks.
- Willing to work in cross-functional and agile teams.
- Has meaningful understanding and/or genuine interest in technology, transformative technologies, design/design-thinking, and social entrepreneurship.
- Has project management skills.
- Is interested in going outside the box of typical academic endeavors and working at the intersection of technology, design, and flourishing through a trans-disciplinary lens.
NOTE: We do not expect someone to be expert in all of these areas, but we want them to be willing to learn fast.
MODE OF INTERNSHIP
Hybrid (Combination of in-person and virtual work)
DURATION
Flexible (Combination of semesters, including Summer 2023, Fall 2023, and/or Spring 2024