IIP Placements in France
Bioversity International
Location: Montpelier, France
Bioversity International undertakes, encourages, and supports research and other activities on the use and conservation of agricultural biodiversity, especially genetic resources, to create more productive, resilient and sustainable harvests. Its aim is to promote the greater well-being of people, particularly poor people in developing countries, by helping them to achieve food security, improve their health and nutrition, boost their incomes, and conserve the natural resources on which they depend. The organization is active in over 100 countries worldwide, with more than 300 staff working from some 20 country offices. It is one of the 15 centres of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Bioversity’s headquarters are located just outside Rome, Italy, in Maccarese. Bioversity staff includes specialists in agriculture, forestry, information science and technology, socioeconomics, law and policy, finance and administration. Through the IIP internship program, Bioversity offers invaluable on-the-job training under the guidance of established experts in genetic resources, communications, and policy and law practices that encourage the production of public goods. IIP interns will be assigned to research projects and will learn to work as part of a project team and will gain a broad understanding of issues in international agricultural research for development. IIP internship projects may include a combination of literature searching, research, compilation and analysis of information, database work, and writing reports, papers, and public awareness materials. IIP candidates with interests in agricultural sciences or socioeconomics are encouraged to apply. One placement has been created for an International Internship Program (IIP) intern in France.
Here is a description of the IIP placement in France:
- Development of a Musapedia thematic portal on the importance of bananas for food security and income generation: This IIP placement is located in the France office of Bioversity International. The office, located in the city of Montpellier, is the home of the unit coordinating the activities of the Commodities for Livelihoods Programme, which also has offices in Burundi, Costa Rica, the Philippines and Uganda. The IIP intern responsibilities include conducting a literature review on the importance of bananas for food security and income generation, and compiling statistics comparing bananas with other major crops with regard to indicators such as production volume, production value, per capita consumption and contribution to energy and nutrition requirements. The data on bananas will be included in a thematic portal that will be created on Musapedia, the online compendium of banana knowledge hosted on the ProMusa website (www.promusa.org/musapedia). The portal is expected to enable scientists to make a case for bananas, whose importance as a staple crop is underestimated for lack of access to reliable data. At the end of the project, the IIP intern will prepare a seminar on the methodology used and the main findings.
Center for Structural Biochemistry, University of Montpellier
Location: Montpelier, France
The general objective of the Center for Structural Biochemistry (CBS) is to carry out research at the forefront of structural biology and biophysics as a means to reveal the fundamental physical mechanisms underlying biological activity and its regulation and, where possible, to exploit this knowledge in the conception of new therapeutic strategies in human health and disease. The selected IIP intern will be involved in one of the various research themes developed in the lab, but will be able to choose a research team and will be assigned a specific project to develop within this team. IIP candidates with interest in structural biology, biochemistry, and biophysics are encouraged to apply. One placement has been created for an International Internship Program (IIP) intern.
École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées
Location : Marne-la-Vallée, France (east of Paris)
ENPC is the oldest engineering school in France and one of the most prestigious Grandes Écoles. The IIP placements are at the Joint Research Laboratory UMR-Navier. The IIP interns will participate on one of two research projects, which mainly concern mechanical vibrations of structures and modelling and identification of mechanical systems. Two placements have been created for International Internship Program (IIP) interns.
- The first IIP placement: includes research on the civil engineering aspects of monitoring recent and aging works of art and the second IIP placement focuses on the detection and identification of damage detects on civil engineering structures. In the field of civil engineering, on the one hand, there have been studies conducted on recent art work that has become more and more sensitive to wind and thermal elements, and on the other hand, there are studies on the impact of sensitivity during the aging process of existing works of art. Monitoring is useful in the commissioning of new works and becomes an important element of diagnosis in the choice of implementation of policies for maintenance of older works. Instrumentation systems developed for monitoring health of books require an optimization (number and position of sensors for example) to meet these new needs. In parallel, the need for global methods for the quantitative assessment of the health of the works has led the development and research methods which are usually based on change of vibration characteristics (frequencies, modal and deformed depreciation modal).
- The goal of the second project is to propose new diagnosis techniques based on the exploitation of vibratory signals to improve the maintenance of the works and civil engineering equipment. Often the mechanical model of the structure or the machine is not necessarily known, and the identification of defects is based on the operation of identification algorithms. The specificity of this research is to define the principles and approaches of practical implementation of sensors in vibration for structural dynamics assessment, and in particular for the detection of damage. The lab is primarily interested in "linear" corruption, that is, the response of the structure can still be modeled retaining the linear form of the equations of motion.
For more specific details on the research projects, contact the IIP. A background in material behavior, civil engineering, or signal processing would be an asset as would MATLAB and scientific text editor skills and scientific curiosity. French language skills would be an asset.
École Polytechnique (Research in Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Mechanics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science, Economics)
Location: Palaiseau, France (near Paris)
École Polytechnique is a state-run institution of higher education and research, renowned for its Ingénieur Polytechnicien (polytechnic engineer) program. Established during the French Revolution in 1794, Polytechnique became a military school under Napoleon in 1804. It relinquished this status to become a public educational establishment in 1970, though it is still overseen by the Ministry of Defense. It is a founding member of the ParisTech grouping of leading Paris-area engineering schools, established in 2007. Students can apply for a research internship in any research group within one of the 22 laboratories at École Polytechnique (you may also want to peruse the internship subjects within the research groups). Two placements have been created for International Internship Program (IIP) interns. French is not required. Do not fill out the application on the École Polytechnique website. If you are applying for this placement, put École Polytechnique on the IIP Placement application as your first or second choice and then indicate your top three choices of research groups in the "additional information or comments" section of the IIP Placement application. In your personal statement, be sure to clearly indicate why you are interested in these research groups and why you are qualified to work on such projects.
Hystra **NEW**
Location: Paris, France
Hystra is a global consulting firm that helps corporations, social entrepreneurs, foundations, and public sector actors design hybrid strategies for sustainable change. They work with businesses and social sector pioneers to design, scale, and execute sustainable strategies that combine the insights and resources of business and citizen sectors to profitably eradicate social and environmental problems. The responsibilities of an IIP intern will include researching and analyzing best practices on market-based approaches serving the BoP, preparing and conducting expert interviews (social entrepreneurs, business leaders, NGO managers, etc.), reviewing and analyzing social enterprise business plans, preparing and presenting proposals and clients' documents, actively participating in meetings, and other assignments as needed. IIP candidates with prior consulting experience and a proven interest in social enterprise are encouraged to apply. French and additional languages would also be an asset. One placement has been created for an International Internship Program (IIP) intern.
Kilo Architectures
Location: Paris, France
Kilo Architectures is a small architectural studio with a large number and variety of projects. Their projects range from international cultural and institutional projects to housing, urban planning studies, and research. Kilo challenges the limits of established norms and architectural and urbanistic assumptions by devising fresh design alternatives to combat an increasingly standardized world. The trajectory of the office has been constructed through a series of projects spanning a great diversity of scales and programs which share a communal approach and philosophy. French is not required but would be an asset. One placement has been been created for an International Internship Program (IIP) intern. View a Powerpoint presentation (.pdf) by a past intern.
Librarie Droz
Location: Paris, France
The Librairie Droz was founded in 1924 by Eugénie Droz and publishes between 100 and 120 works every year on the social sciences, the Middle Ages, and modern history. Some topics addressed are intellectual history, literary criticism, linguistics, history of political theory, sociology, and human rights.The intern will assist in the preparation of the first copies, editing of proofs and camera ready copies (i.e. manuscripts handed in by the authors themselves to be included in the books), proofreading the edits added by the authors, preparing files for the printer, proofreading pamphlets and publicity materials in general, and answering correspondence. This internship is appropriate for any student interested in the above mentioned fields and in Classics. Near fluency in French is preferred, Latin or Ancient Greek would be appreciated. One placement has been created for the International Internship Program, preferably for 8 to 11 weeks.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Location: Paris, France
OECD brings together the governments of countries committed to democracy and the market economy from around the world to support sustainable economic growth, boost employment, raise living standards, maintain financial stability, assist other countries' economic development, and contribute to growth in world trade. The Organisation provides a setting where governments compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice, and coordinate domestic and international policies. OECD is one of the world's largest sources of comparable statistics and economic and social data. As well as collecting data, OECD monitors trends, analyzes and forecasts economic developments and researches social changes or evolving patterns in trade, environment, agriculture, technology, taxation, and more. OECD is also one of the world’s largest publishers in the fields of economics and public policy. OECD publications are a prime vehicle for disseminating the Organisation's intellectual output, both on paper and online. The IIP intern will work in OECD's Editorial & Rights Department. The IIP intern will assist in preparations for the Frankfurt book fair and of the Rights catalog (collecting information, editing text, organizing appointments, prospecting new publishers), reading and evaluating manuscripts and book proposals, and preparing manuscripts for production. This IIP placement is a great opportunity to learn about book publishing in an environment in which the IIP intern can work closely with editors.The IIP intern will also attend editorial board meetings. Excellent French is required. One placement has been been created for an International Internship Program (IIP) intern.
Pasteur Institute, Department of Cell Biology and Infection
Location: Paris, France
Since its creation in 1887, the Institut Pasteur has become famous throughout the world as a symbol of science and French culture. For 120 years, its foundation has contributed to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases through research, teaching, and public health initiatives. The Institute enjoys an independent status and has numerous other assets, with its research laboratories, technological platforms, teaching center, and medical center all located on one campus in the heart of Paris. The IIP intern will participate full-time in an ongoing research project in molecular genetics. The laboratory in which the intern will be placed is interested in deciphering the molecular and cellular mechanisms of bacterial invasion of host cells. Therefore,the host laboratory has developed several novel approaches to investigate the intimate interactions between the host and invading pathogens in single cells in space and in real time developing novel microscopic techniques. We will employ our innovative, single-cell based, microscopic approaches to elucidate the apparent contradictory effects of multiple secreted effector proteins processes. French is not required but would be an asset. One placement has been been created for an International Internship Program (IIP) intern.