More detail on preparing is available in the WD&E Internships Mentor Handbook. Please review the handbook before your intern arrives.
Programs: BLUFF BLUR CCI GEM MLEF SULI VFP
Before the intern arrives
Contact the intern
We’ve asked interns to contact you to ask for background material or just to get acquainted. Sometimes interns are reticent, so if you do not hear from your interns go ahead and email or call.
We encourage you to do the following to get acquainted with your intern:
- “Friend” them on Facebook or LinkedIn.
- Arrange for the intern to visit one day as a guest to get acquainted with the Lab site, to meet others in your group, and to complete Work Planning and Control (WPC) prior to orientation.
- Note: Workforce Development & Education interns cannot begin work prior to attending orientation.
Mentor Resources
Please ask to join the WD&E LBNL Mentors Facebook group to connect with other mentors and learn about additional STEM programs and opportunities:
Faculty and Student Internship Calendars
Affiliate Process
WD&E processes all WD&E interns via the LBNL Guest Affiliate Registry. Please DO NOT initiate affiliate processing through your group/division. LDAP, email, and calendar accounts will be established for interns by WD&E.
WPC, GERT, and Environment/Health/Safety (EHS):
All interns must be added to work activities within the WPC system (Activity Manager) that covers the scope of the work that the interns will perform. Interns should discuss this process with mentors via phone before they arrive at the Lab. Interns must “accept conditions” and complete all training before they are authorized to perform any work. (Please note interns will need their LDAP, username, and password to access Activity Manager.)
Assess intern’s activities for WPC
- Work with your intern to delineate the activities they will perform very clearly
- Determine the potential hazards associated with these activities
- Determine the correct controls to mitigate these hazards
Complete the process with your intern and add your intern to the appropriate work activity
Mentors or day-to-day supervisors are to discuss work activities with the intern, add the intern to the appropriate work activities, and go over the questions and answers they may have before they arrive at the Lab. Interns should understand what work they are authorized to do at the Lab, what hazards they may encounter, and what controls they need to use or follow.
There are several EHS roles involved with mentoring interns who participate in WD&E programs.
Supervisor: Colette Flood, Department Head of WD&E is the “Supervisor” for all interns who participate in our programs.
Activity Lead: Mentors are defined as “Activity Leads” for all interns who participate in our programs.
Please see the Q&A provided by EHS regarding the roles of Supervisor and Activity Lead below:
Q: What is an Activity Lead?
A: An Activity Lead is anyone who directs, trains, and/or oversees the work and activities of one or more Workers. Activity Leads provide instruction on working safely and the precautions necessary to use equipment and facilities safely and effectively. Activity Leads may authorize Work with the concurrence of the Worker’s Supervisor.
Q: How is an Activity Lead different than a Supervisor?
A: Supervisory Employees are defined by the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA) as “any individual, regardless of the job description or title, having authority in the interest of the employer to hire, transfer, suspend, layoff, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline other employees, or responsibility to direct them, or to adjust their grievances, or to effectively recommend such action, if, in connection with the foregoing, the exercise of such authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment. Employees whose duties are substantially similar to those of their subordinates shall not be considered to be supervisory employees.”
Activity Leads direct, train and/or oversee the Work and activities of the Worker. He/she is not necessarily that individual’s Supervisor (i.e., he/she may not have the additional authority to hire, transfer, suspend, or take other personnel actions). Put another way, a Supervisor always has the authority to act as the Activity Lead, but an Activity Lead does not necessarily have the authority to act as Supervisor.
Q: What are the responsibilities of an Activity Lead?
A: Activity Leads
- Utilize the WPC process as a mechanism to authorize Work under their control when the tasks, locations, hazards, and controls have been properly analyzed.
- Consult with new Workers, or Workers whose tasks have changed, to assure that their Work Authorizations accurately describe the tasks, hazards, and controls inherent in the Work.
- Ensure that WPCs are updated annually or more frequently if required.
- Stop authorized Work when hazards and controls change, and do not reinitiate Work until the Work Authorizations for all Workers performing that Work have been updated, and the required controls are in place.
Please work with your intern to ensure all WPC, GERT, and EHS requirements have been completed prior to the beginning of the internship.
- Work Planning and Control (WPC)
- General Employee Radiation Training (GERT)
- LBL 0010, Overview of Safety, Emergency Management & Trafficking Victims Protection
For more information, tutorials, and videos about WPC, please visit http://wpc.lbl.gov/training/
First day
Most of the day will be given for orientation, basic EHS training, and administrative matters. We will plan to have your intern meet you sometime in the afternoon.
Note: Mentors whose interns are starting late for academic reasons will receive separate notice.
First week
During the first and second weeks, interns will need to complete a number of administrative and programmatic tasks, some of which you will need to help with or sign:
- Internship Work Plan
Mentors and interns are asked to meet and work out general assignments, expectations, and deliverables, then sign and return the Internship Work Plan. Internship Work Plans are to be turned in to WD&E at the Brown Bag meeting. This form must be typed and signed. Scan and upload the document in PDF format to the Google Drive folder WD&E has created for the intern. No hand-written forms will be accepted. This is required from all interns. - EHS MOU
Mentors need to sign and interns need to submit the EHS MOU to WD&E at the Brown Bag meeting. This MOU must be signed by the mentor or the associate mentor to be considered complete. Scan and upload the document in PDF format to the Google Drive folder WD&E has created for the intern.This is required from all interns. - Research Proposal
This is a two- to three-page paper where the student briefly describes the nature of the work the research group is doing, the significance of the work, and the student’s role in the research. This is required from all interns.
Additional Internship Information
Assignments & deliverables: Mentors are expected to supervise their interns’ work on all assignments and deliverables. Final deliverables require signed approval from a mentor prior to submitting to WD&E. A list of assignments and deliverables is available online by program on the WD&E website. Please check it often, as updates may occur throughout the program. BLUR BLUFF CCI GEM MLEF VFP SULI
Calendar: A program calendar is available on the WD&E website.
Evaluations: In an effort to improve and strengthen WD&E internship programs, we greatly appreciate feedback about the experience of participating in our programs. Interns are required to complete an evaluation survey of the WD&E program as well as of their mentor. Mentors are required to complete an evaluation of the WD&E program. These evaluations are emailed to mentors and interns and are necessary for reporting to the Department of Energy as well as other funding sources.
Final Week and Checkout: The final week culminates in all interns presenting a research poster at a poster session open to all Lab employees and guests. Final assignments and deliverables are to be approved by mentors. Interns submit these to WD&E and upload to Edulink at Checkout. Mentors are to complete the Mentor Checkout Form for the intern to submit to WD&E at Checkout. BLUR CCI VFP SULI
Mentor Orientation: This online mentor preparation course must be taken every two years.
