MATE Center Technical Marine Internships: Mentor Your Future Employees
Authors: Lunsford Tami L. , Butcher Saundra 
Published: October 2008

Today's students are your future employees, and you can help prepare them by hosting student interns at your workplace! The Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center coordinates a national marine technical internship program for college students. Hosting an intern allows students to receive invaluable hands-on experience and insight into the reality of the marine technology industry, while you receive assistance with your current projects and a close look at a potential employee.

Program History

The MATE Center is a national partnership of organizations and individuals concerned with marine science and technology and the education of people to work in that field. Located at Monterey Peninsula College (MPC) in Monterey, California, the MATE Center was established with funding from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Program as a Center of Excellence in September 1997. Additional NSF funding was received in 2003 for MATE to continue its very successful programs.

Over the past seven years, MATE has conducted workshops and surveys with industry and research institutions to gather information on the skills, knowledge, and abilities needed to perform in several marine technical occupational areas. Products generated include employer guidelines for several occupational areas and curricula based on these guidelines. Workshops have been held for Marine Research (shipboard) Technicians, ROV Technicians, Hydrographic Survey Technicians, Aquaculture Technicians, and Oil Spill Response Technicians. Additional workshops are planned for the future. The Marine Technical Internship Program began in 1999 with a supplemental NSF grant to place student interns on University National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) and Ocean Drilling Program vessels. UNOLS is an organization of 63 academic institutions and national laboratories involved in oceanographic research. There are 27 research vessels involved in this coordinated effort, including the R/V Atlantis, R/V Thompson, and the R/V Cape Hatteras.

Since 1999, 107 student interns have been placed on research vessels, in laboratories, and in industry settings throughout each year. Of those interns, 58% were women, 41% were men, and 27% were ethnic minorities. Forty-three percent of the students were looking for work as technicians on vessels or in private industry.

Students in the Workplace

Internships are an integral part of MATE educational pathways. When placed in industry laboratories and projects, students gain hands-on experience using state-of-the-art tools and techniques, and they improve their teamwork and time management skills. The experiences they gain in MATE internships allow them to be an asset to their employers much earlier than other new graduates. As Dirk Rosen, Vice President of Special Projects at Deep Ocean Engineering, said, "Most companies in our field are small and don't have the resources to properly train incoming employees. MATE trains its students to 'hit the ground running' " (1).

Interns are selected from colleges and universities across the country. The MATE Center currently has official partnerships with 23 community college and 6 universities ranging geographically from Prince William Sound Community College in Alaska, to the College of Oceaneering in southern California, to Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Florida. In addition, MATE works with over 150 other educational institutions around the country. Preference for internships is given to students from technical community college programs and students in their first two years in a baccalaureate degree program.