Presenter: Patricia Albano (NOAA Ocean Exploration)

Description:
NOAA Ocean Exploration has a long history of promoting student opportunities by hosting students through agency-wide programs, leveraging partnerships, and managing our in-house internship opportunity, the Explorer-in-Training Program. Since the office’s founding in 2001, over 150 students have participated in internship opportunities hosted by NOAA Ocean Exploration. For many, this first experiential opportunity is invaluable in subsequent academic and career pursuits.  The COVID-19 pandemic forced scientists, educators, and program managers to reevaluate their approach to ocean science operations and related outreach and education. Leveraging available technologies, NOAA Ocean Exploration reassessed its approach to internships during this time, turning pandemic-associated challenges into opportunities for innovative adaptations to continue training the next generation of ocean scientists and communicators through meaningful experiential learning opportunities. In 2020, NOAA Ocean Exploration hosted four students for remote internships as the office pivoted into a virtual work environment.  In addition to three traditional offshore internships in 2021, Ocean Exploration hosted nine remote interns, offering a wide variety of experiences ranging from sonar data processing in the virtual cloud environment, science communication, and expedition operations planning. This presentation will describe and discuss these twelve internships, including key internship details, steps taken to provide a cohort environment and foster connections for professional development, the summarized results of intern exit interviews, and NOAA Ocean Exploration’s plans to offer remote internships into the future, beyond the global pandemic.