Be the Change Funded Student Internship

Applications Due June 12

Applications will be accepted through June 12, 2023.

Purpose

The Be the Change Funded Student Internship is an opportunity for a student at an URMIA member institution to learn more about higher education risk management through a paid internship working alongside professionals at a member institution. One $7,500 scholarship will be awarded.

URMIA will award the scholarship to an institution prepared to offer this learning experience to a student from a population underrepresented in higher education risk management. Applying member institutions will be asked to explain the importance of—and demonstrate their interest and commitment in—promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) within their institution.

Eligibility

Only employees from URMIA member institutions are eligible to apply, host, and manage this funded internship. The applicant will be asked to share a preliminary internship plan that meets the following criteria:

• Those responsible for risk management at the institution will supervise the internship position.
• The student will fulfill duties in-person, virtually, or a combination of both.
• Administrative tasks should comprise no more than 20% of the intern’s time.
• The internship must begin within 2023 calendar year and last 8-12 weeks.

URMIA peers serving on Strategic Goal 4 Task Force will select the scholarship recipient.

URMIA's Strategic Goal 4

Connect our Actions to the Long-standing Values of our Members that Promote Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) within our Community and the Profession of Higher Education Risk Management

At URMIA, we believe that diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are critical to evolve our organization and profession. We are committed to taking intentional and affirmative steps as we progress into the future. See our active Strategic Plan for more details.

In 2022, a task force of member volunteers developed three Be the Change scholarship programs to serve this strategic goal. The scholarship described here was created to fund a risk management internship and to promote the profession among those underrepresented in the field, such as students of color.

Recipient Requirements

Internship Administration

The institution will be expected to:

• Develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the student intern to include a job description, understanding of supervisor expectations, and a formal evaluation at the end of the experience. URMIA will provide a MoU template to the scholarship recipient that may be used.
• Encourage applicants with minority backgrounds, non-traditional education, distinctive experiences, or unique histories to apply. 
• Employ a student to fill the internship position.

Reporting

Immediately following the conclusion of the internship, the receiving institution will be required to submit:

• A program evaluation from the intern
• A testimonial in writing or video from the intern about the benefits of the internship experience
• A formal evaluation of the internship from the institution’s perspective
• A testimonial in writing or video from the institution’s perspective about the benefits of the internship to the institution (may be one video with institutional and intern perspectives)
• A budget detailing how the intern scholarship funds were used
• Any scholarship funds not used for the internship program

Use of Funds

The Be the Change Funded Student Internship scholarship is for $7,500 and will be awarded directly to an URMIA member institution. The entirety of the internship award must be applied to the student intern's salary and related learning experience. The recipient institution will be asked to supply a final budget at the culmination of the internship, and therefore agrees to refund to URMIA any funds not directly used for the internship.

Acknowledgement

URMIA is grateful to FM Global for grant support that makes this opportunity possible.