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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 .
Summer internships
All summer 2011/12 internships are filled. Look out for more opportunities in 2012.
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. Contact Rhylie Alexander (details above) to apply or for more information.
Current summer interns: This summer we have two summer interns, Morag McDonald and Katy Bergstrom, both planning on their Honours in Economics next year. Morag and Katy are working with Arthur Grimes and Steven Stillman on comparing Housing New Zealand data with census data, and on what determines spatial changes in state housing density.
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, Nicholas Tarrant, Riddhi Gupta, Robert Sourrell, Ruth Pinkerton, Stephen Hutton, Wendy Pottinger
Maori internships
Filled for 2010. Look out for more opportunities in 2011.
In addition to our open-entry internships, additional funding is available for students of Maori descent. Our research programmes include several issues of direct relevance to Maori. Interns are often involved in this work, but we are not expecting them to bring specific skills because of their Maori heritage. Dates are flexible.
Bobby Brooks is the current Motu Maori intern. Bobby is working on an afforestation project with Suzi Kerr.
Past Motu Maori interns (click on the names to see more info about their time at Motu, including any publications): 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): 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…