Computing Internships

These internship placements provide the opportunity to experience the professional workplace and apply knowledge and skills learnt in courses to solve real world challenges.

Learning outcomes for the course include:

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with others in a team
• Demonstrated capacity to work independently with minimal supervision
• Professional conduct at work including in presentation and communication
• Positive attitude towards learning new things and tackling challenges
• Ability to derive project requirements from understanding of user needs including use of creative approaches.

Undertaking an internship also provides insights into industry, and valuable professional work experience and networks, that will benefit your future career.

What does the internship involve?

The Computing Internships are undertaken over one semester (for 12 units of academic credit).

Participation in the internship involves 20hrs per week, consisting of:

• 15 hours per week undertaking a project within a host organisation

• 5 hours per week of:

  • Weekly tutorials
  • 1-on-1 and group mentoring to assist students to adapt to business environments and successfully complete their projects

Types of host organisations and projects

Host organisations represent Federal and ACT Government, private sector, SMEs and the not-for profit sector.

Internship projects provide the opportunity to apply academic knowledge and skills to real-world challenges. Projects are sourced for a variety of areas including software development, data science and analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Activities may include developing a proof of concept, new features for existing software products, data visualisation and automation of current manual process.

To check out computing internship projects visit the School of Computing projects.(Please search using the keyword “internship”.)

Computing Internships are only available to School of Computing students enrolled in the following programs:

• Bachelor of Advanced Computing (Honours)
• Master of Computing
• Master of Machine Learning and Computer Vision

Eligibility for Computing Internships will be assessed based on a student’s current program at the time of application. Students must enroll in one of the eligible programs while students are applying for the Computing Internship and must remain enrolled in one of the eligible programs when undertaking the Computing Internship if they secure a placement.

Eligibility will also be reassessed prior to enrolment in the Computing Internship. Therefore, students must be enrolled in one of the eligible programs and meet all conditions, including the successful completion of any prerequisite courses, if applicable.

Undergraduate eligibility criteria

To be considered for an internship position, you will need to check you have met the requisites. Please see Advanced Computing Internship - COMP4820:

• you will need to be studying a Bachelor of Advanced Computing (4716)
• you will need to have successfully completed COMP2100 and COMP2120 and 12 units of 3000 COMP courses
• you are not able to enrol in this course if you have previously completed COMP4500, COMP4550, COMP4560 and COMP4810.
• you will need to have space in your program to accommodate a 12-unit Internship (i.e. COMP or University Elective Space) without overloading, in a single semester (not across two semesters)

If you have completed or are planning to undertake COMP3500 (TechLauncher), please seek program advice from your Program Convener before applying to undertake the Computing Internship.

Postgraduate eligibility criteria

To be eligible to be considered for the Computing internship COMP8830 you need:

• to be enrolled in the Master of Computing AND have successfully completed COMP6442 (Software Construction) and COMP8260 (Professional Practice 2), or
• to be enrolled in the Master of Machine Learning and Computer Vision* AND have successfully completed COMP6710 (Structured Programming) or COMP6730 (Programming for Scientists) AND COMP6250/ENGN6250 (Professional Practice 1) or COMP8260/ENGN8260 (Professional Practice 2)
• no plans to complete COMP8715 - i.e. NOT completed, NOT be enrolled in and/or NOT planning to complete COMP8715 (Computing Project) or COMP8755 (Individual Computing Project)
• space in your program to accommodate a 12-unit internship (i.e. COMP or University Elective Space) without overloading, in a single semester (not across two semesters)

All current available Computing Internship Projects will be listed on the School of Computing Project Opportunities page. Please search using the keyword “internship”. Look for project details that contain the sentence “This internship position is being offered through the Computing Internships courses COMP4820/8830.)

Please note the dates of the application rounds (see ‘Application dates’ at the top right of this page). When the application round opens, a link will be made available, where you can apply.

Please note:

• There will be ONLY ONE Main Round and a Supplementary Round for Computing Internship applications. Eligibility will ONLY be assessed in the Main Round, so you must submit your application during the Main Round.
• You must apply in the Main Round to remain eligible to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) for new projects in the Supplementary Round.
• The Supplementary Round of projects nominations will ONLY be available to those Main Round applicants who were eligible but unsuccessful in securing a project (placement).
• BYO students must submit the Computing Internship Student Application in the Main Round, including their Host organisation’s details and be confirmed as eligible by CSS Student Employability.

Application

Eligibility requirements (see Eligibility above) and ‘Room Available in Degree’ (RAID) checks will be assessed at time of application. If you meet these requirements, your application will be progressed to the next stage.

The application process will include the following steps:

• Completion of an application form - including nomination of your preferred internship projects, and submission of the following documents and information:

  • Details of your current degree program including the Program Rules year that you are following, your major (if applicable) and specialisation (if applicable) and other details of your current degree program for the Eligibility and Room Available in Degree to undertake COMP4820/COMP8830 Assessment.
  • An Expression of Interest (EOI) (limit 350 words) for each organisation you wish to apply to (for organisations with multiple projects only submit one Expression of Interest but state clearly which project/s you wish to be considered for).

  • A current resume or CV (Main Round only)

    There are some points you may wish to consider in the information you include in your resume and EOI regarding your personal and private information. The following are items students should consider in their Resume or EOI to limit privacy risks, but also present a more professional Resume:

    Photograph: in Australia photographs are generally not expected to be included in resumes and as a result their inclusion may make a Resume appear less professional. We would recommend that photographs be removed from resumes. If you would like for a potential employer to see your photo you can include a link to your LinkedIn account.

    Date of birth: date of birth is not required for Australian resumes. Your age should not be considered relevant to an employment decision. As a result, and to protect your personal information, you should remove your date of birth from your Resume.

• Applications from eligible students will be sent to your nominated host organisations for shortlisting
• Host organisation interviews
• Offers will be made to students selected by the host organisations.
• Students are not allowed to change placements after they have accepted an offer from the Host organisation.

Important

• When selecting the Organisations and Projects, you must check:

  • the delivery mode
  • student location requirements, and
  • project’s special requirements/special conditions. E.g. some internships require Australian citizenship or may require security clearance.
  • select only those projects that you meet all the requirements.
• You will be asked to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) for each organisation you wish to apply to. For organisations with multiple projects, submit one EOI, but state clearly which project/s you wish to be considered for.
• If you do not follow the document naming conventions outlined in the Computing Internships Application form, your applications will not be put forward to the Organisations.

Main Round

• There will only be ONE main round of applications for the Computing Internship. Ensure you are aware of the dates, posted above on this page and/or you can also note the Key Dates for the semester at Internship Program - ANU School of Computing.
• Even if you do not wish to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) for projects available in the Main Round, you must apply in the Main Round to remain eligible to submit EOIs for new projects in the Supplementary Round.

Supplementary Round

• A Supplementary Round may occur when Hosts do not find a suitable candidate through the Main Round
• A Supplementary Round may also consist of new Hosts and Projects who did not participate in the Main Round.
• Updated CV will NOT be accepted in the Supplementary Round.

• Eligibility: The Supplementary Round in only open to students who meet ALL of the following:

  • applied during the Main Round, and
  • were found eligible for the Main Round, and
  • have not yet secured a placement

Supplementary Round projects

• As an eligible candidate, the Supplementary Round provides another opportunity for students to apply for a placement.
• To find the projects available for the Supplementary Round, go to the School of Computing Projects page when the Supplementary Round dates open.
• How to apply: If you are eligible, you will receive an email with instructions and application link, when the Supplementary Round opens.

If you are intending to bring your own project (BYO) to the Computing Internship program, please note it needs to be a paid internship in Australia.

Please note the following steps:

1. Students intending to utilise BYO projects must still apply via the usual application method of submitting the Computing Internship Student Application during the Main round, including details of their Host Organisation.
   • Student must be a current employee of the nominated Host Organisation.
   • The nominated Host Organisation must be the one to submit the BYO Project Proposal specifically for the BYO student.
2. CSS Student Employability team will assess the eligibility of Student Applications submitted during the Main round and notify eligible BYO students. Eligible students will be advised to instruct their Host Organisation to submit a BYO Project Proposal.
3. The Host Organisation must submit the project proposal by the specified deadlines, refer to the ‘Propose an Internship Project’ information on the Internship Program - ANU School of Computing.
   • A BYO project cannot be a project that has been advertised as s School of Computing sourced project for the Computing Internship program.
4. The Host Organisation will be contacted to arrange a meeting with the School of Computing Engagement and Impact team and the Engaged Education Convenor.
   • The BYO project will be reviewed and assessed by the Engaged Education Convenor.
5. If the project is approved, the School of Computing Engagement and Impact team will notify your Host Organisation. The Host Organisation will then be required to sign the ANU Employer Work Integrated Letter.
6. Once the ANU Employer Work Integrated Letter is finalised between ANU and your Host Organisation, the CSS Student Employability team will contact you with the next steps to complete and finalise your Computing Internship application.

CAREERS SKILLS CONSULTATIONS

Students can book an appointment with ANU Careers Consultant via ANU Career Central. Find more details.

More resources

For more useful resources and tools for your application and interview preparations, see ANU Careers.