The Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Centre (AITC), at the Mount Stromlo Observatory, is pleased to partner with the Northrop Grumman Externship Program to offer summer scholarship positions for undergraduate students studying engineering, science, computer science or mathematics. Interns will complete a defined research project and participate in activities that develop technical skills and help prepare them for professional employment. They will be supervised and mentored by AITC scientists and engineers and will be required to work as a team in completing set tasks.

2023/2024 AITC Summer Student Program

This year's AITC Summer Student Program will be run as part of the Australian National University's Summer Research Scholarship/Student program, commencing Monday 20th November 2023 and finishing Friday 19th January 2024.

Important information for applicants:

Applicants must be currently enrolled at an Australian university in their 3rd or final year and must hold Australian citizenship.

Benefits:

• Summer Research Interns will receive a weekly stipend scholarship (tax-free) of AUD$150 for the full duration of the program.
• Out-of-state students will receive accommodation at Burgmann College. This includes room and all meals provided, as well access to activities and other amenities offered by Burgmann College.
• Out-of-state students are eligible for reimbursement of one return domestic airfare.

Applications for the 2023-24 intake have closed now. Please check back on this page for future intakes in 2024-25. 

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students: The AITC has dedicated places for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students are strongly encouraged to apply.

The Program

Students will complete a defined project under the supervision of an AITC staff member. In addition to completing a specified project, all students will participate in activities that develop their professional skills and expand their understanding of the Australian Space Industry, including:

• Tour of the AITC
• Access to technical experts from Northrop Grumman in Australia and the US
• Expert speaker program in astronomy, instrumentation and space engineering
• Development of report writing skills
• Development of presentation skills

Deliverables

• Project plan (within one week of start date). This must be approved by the project supervisor and will define the project milestones.
• Literature review. All references and sources must be cited.
• Progress reports
• Written project report
• Abstract for a conference paper and abstract for public talk
• Public presentation of project and results at the end of the internship

Available Projects

You can find available summer scholarship projects on the potential projects page. 

General

• All participants will receive a statement of participation at the end of the program.
• The primary working location will be Mount Stromlo Observatory.  
• Transport to and from Mount Stromlo Observatory is the responsibility of the student. A free shuttle bus is available to students between the ANU main campus in the morning (leaving campus at around 8:20 a.m. and arriving at 9:00 a.m. at Mount Stromlo) and the evening (departing Mount Stromlo at 5:00 p.m.).
• Students must be available for the full duration of the program (with the exception of the Christmas break). This is a non-negotiable requirement. The internship runs Monday-Friday, from 9 am to 5 pm. For work out of normal business hours, arrangements have to be made with the supervisor (for example for lab work, testing etc.).
• The program offers approximately 280 hours of supervised work. Requests for program extensions beyond the normal program duration must be submitted to the AITC Summer Program Convenor before, and no later than, the week prior to the Christmas break. Extension requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis, subject to the availability of supervisors, the availability of a project, and the performance of the student.
• IMPORTANT: The ANU Summer Research Scholarship/Internship cannot be extended beyond the normal duration of the scholarship program. Students interested in applying for a program extension must therefore plan to support themselves, and find alternative accommodation, beyond the normal duration of the scholarship program.

Contact

Please direct any enquiries to rsaa.sa@anu.edu.au and Associate Professor Tony Travouillon (tony.travouillon@anu.edu.au), AITC Summer Student Program Convenor.

This program would not be possible without the support of a number of organisations and individuals. The AITC would like to thank ANU and Northrop Grumman.