Types of internships

[lintool]

Broadly speaking, there are two types of internships for my graduate students:

Type (a): the type where you disappear for a few months and I don't hear from you. You get a paper (hopefully) with the organization that doesn't have my name on it.

Type (b): the type where I continue to be involved intellectually, so the internship is closer to a collaboration between our lab and the organization. It is likely that future papers will have me as a co-author.

Both types have their pros and cons:

Type (a) pros:

• You get a completely new and fresh perspective, away from your advisor. Sometimes it's good to get away from me!

Type (a) cons:

• There's a huge pressure to finish the paper before the end of your internship. Otherwise, things can get a bit messy with "wrap up" work and return to school to pick up the previous thread of research.

Type (b) pros:

• Less pressure to wrap up everything with n months; think of it as the beginning of a longer-term collaboration.

Type (b) cons:

• Sometimes you just need to get away from your advisor for a while and gain a different perspective!

It depends on the company, but for some, they only allow type (a) internships, because they want the topic of the internship to be distinct from your university research (for example, to simplify IP issues).

Ultimately, it depends on what you want and what the company allows.

I have a preference for type (b) internships, but - to be clear - I am fully supportive of what you want.

[lintool]

Came up with a nice way to frame the contrast: independence vs. alignment.