URI awarded $4 million U.S. Navy contract
Contract funds national internship program run by
College of Engineering
KINGSTON, R.I. -- August 16, 2000 -- The University of Rhode Island's
College of Engineering has been awarded a $4 million contract by the U.S.
Navy to fund the national Student Services Program. URI has run the program
since its inception in 1984.
The URI Student Services Program is the only national program to link
undergraduate and graduate science and engineering students from across
the country with paid internship opportunities at the Naval Undersea Warfare
Center (NUWC) in Newport. The program's previous contract, awarded
in 1995, was to expire in September. The current contract will fund the
program until 2005.
The program provides students majoring in engineering, computer science,
mathematics, chemistry and physics with the opportunity to work on research
projects with professional scientists and engineers at NUWC.
"The Student Services Program gives students an excellent opportunity
for hands-on learning that helps to sharpen their critical thinking and
problem-solving skills," said Thomas J. Kim, dean of the URI College
of Engineering and director of the program. "The award of this contract
will ensure that we can continue to offer our students, as well as students
from other colleges and universities, as many opportunities as possible
to strengthen their experience and knowledge in applied science and engineering."
As manager of the contract, URI is responsible for soliciting interested
students, screening applicants, overseeing hiring, conducting security clearances,
coordinating payroll, and assisting with travel arrangements.
"Students are typically assigned to a particular project that might
include engineering design work, prototypes, data measurement, and testing,"
said Kim. "All are quite challenging positions. And some internships
result in full-time jobs after the students graduate."
The program annually receives more than 200 applications for internships
from students around the country. About 75 students are hired each year,
with about half coming from URI. Students hired into the program are allowed
to work 20 hours per week while school is in session and 40 hours per week
during the summer. They must maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average.
The salary range is $9.60 - $16.73 per hour.
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For Information: Thomas Kim 874-2186, Todd McLeish 874-7892
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