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Internships
Motu offers internships to excellent students who are interested in further study and research. We offer three main types of internships, but are flexible about timing and stage of study in some cases. The key characteristics we are seeking are intelligence, motivation, and interest in the issues we study.
Download printable info sheet including past interns’ experiences at Motu (687KB).
Internships we offer (click on each internship to read more):
Stanford University SEEPAC Fellowship for environmental economics internship at Motu
To apply for any of the following internships, please send your cover letter, CV and academic record (with contact details for at least two academic referees) to Isabelle Sin at .
Summer internships
Applications for 2013/14 are closed. See our Vacancies page in early 2014 for more information and to apply for the 2014/15 summer.
The programme: Motu’s internship programme is designed to apply and extend students’ empirical skills and assist with their development as researchers. Its underlying aim is to build research capability, improving the skills of young researchers and the quality of New Zealand research. Motu interns work on research projects led by one of the Senior Fellows, and are encouraged to think critically about the public policy and research issues involved. Internships build students’ skills, as well as providing our researchers with useful research assistance. Ultimately we hope our interns will be better equipped to consider a career in research or public policy analysis.
Who are we looking for? We are looking for smart students who are interested in further study and research. While we mostly do economic research, we are not necessarily seeking economics students. Students should have a strong background in economics, mathematics, statistics, geography or a similar field. Internships typically last around twelve weeks over the summer months, though this is flexible. Interns work a paid 40 hour week at our Wellington office.
Current summer interns: Over the 2012-13 summer Motu had two summer interns, Gemma Wills and Josh Pemberton. Gemma joined us from the University of Auckland and Josh attends the University of Otago. Josh worked with Suzi Kerr to explore how economists think about environmental value, and Gemma worked with Arthur Grimes on a project studying alternative measures of wellbeing. In 2013, Josh will complete his BA in Economics, Politics, and Philosophy, and his Law degree, and will write his Law Honours dissertation. Gemma will complete her BCom/BSc in Economics, Human Geography and Statistics.
Past summer interns (click on the names to see more info about their time at Motu, including any publications): Alex Olssen, Andrew McCarthy, Darian Woods, David Kennedy, Emma Brunton, Hugh McDonald, Jasmine Lawrence, Kerry Paps, Michelle Poland, Morag McDonald, Nicholas Tarrant, Oliver Browne, Riddhi Gupta, Robert Sourrell, Ruth Pinkerton, Stephen Hutton, Wendy Pottinger, Zack Dorner
Māori internships
Two Māori internships are available for 2013/14. Applications close 7 June 2013.
Poutama Trust Māori Internship
The internship is funded by the Motu Research and Education Foundation in association with Poutama Trust. It is envisaged that the intern will work with a Motu Senior Fellow (Dr Arthur Grimes) on aspects of Māori Business relevant to the vision and mission of Poutama Trust.
We are looking for a tertiary student (at any level of tertiary study) who is keen to explore new ideas and who has good written and oral communication skills. Some study in economics, commerce and/or other social sciences is desirable but not necessary. The intern will work with an experienced Motu Senior Fellow, gaining invaluable research skills. The exact nature of the work will depend on the background of the intern.
While the internship will operate over the summer vacation of 2013/14, it will be of use for the intern also to spend one to two weeks at Motu over a prior tertiary study break during 2013. All domestic interns at Motu receive a stipend.
To apply, please send a cover letter, a CV, academic record and the contact details of at least two academic referees to Isabelle Sin at . Applications close on 7 June 2013.
Wellbeing and Sustainability Māori Internship
Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, New Zealand’s leading independent economic research organisation, is currently accepting applications for a Māori intern.
The internship is funded through a Marsden Fund grant received from the Royal Society of New Zealand. The programme funded by this grant investigates the validity of wellbeing and sustainability indicators for New Zealand, including Māori perspectives on wellbeing and sustainability.
We are looking for a tertiary student (at any level of tertiary study) who is keen to explore new ideas and who has good written and oral communication skills. Some study in economics, commerce and/or other social sciences is desirable but not necessary. The intern will work with an experienced Motu Senior Fellow, gaining invaluable research skills. The exact nature of the work will depend on the background of the intern.
While the internship will operate over the summer vacation of 2013/14, it will be of use for the intern also to spend one to two weeks at Motu over a prior tertiary study break during 2013. All domestic interns at Motu receive a stipend.
To apply, please send a cover letter, a CV, academic record and the contact details of at least two academic referees to Isabelle Sin at . Applications close on 7 June 2013.
Past Motu Maori interns (click on the names to see more info about their time at Motu, including any publications): Bobby Brooks, Dale Warburton, Renee Tipene, Simon Ngawhika
International internships
Motu also brings students as interns to Motu from abroad. Interns work on one of our major research projects led by a Senior Fellow, and in some cases may be hosted at Motu and work on another project. These internships are currently organised on a case-by-case basis, so if you are interested please get in touch (recruitment contact details at top of page).
Past Motu international interns (click on the names to see more info about their time at Motu, including any publications): Mohit Thukral, Madeline Duhon, Juliette Grangier, Eric Karpas, Jason Funk, Maribeth Todd, Marie-Laure Nauleau
Stanford University SEEPAC fellowship for Motu environmental economics internship
Stanford Environmental and Energy Policy Analysis Center (SEEPAC) and Motu are collaborating to bring a Stanford student to New Zealand. SEEPAC are providing funding for a Stanford student to come to Motu as an intern in environmental economics as part of Motu’s building capability programme.
Read more and get application details on this website…
Read more about SEEPAC on the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research website…