News Story: Thursday, November 7, 2024 - 12:00pm to 1:30pm

The NISS Internship Opportunities Panel for New Researchers focused on internship opportunities for new researchers, with speakers from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Citizen Bank, and Meta discussing their respective companies' roles, opportunities, and internship programs. The speakers emphasized the importance of critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills, as well as the role of analytics in shaping product development and decision-making processes. The conversation ended with an introduction to Meta's data-driven approach and the availability of internship opportunities at the company.

Jeremy Seeman, a Research Associate at the Urban Institute and affiliate faculty at the University of Michigan, moderated a session on internship opportunities for new researchers. The session was hosted by the National Institute of Statistical Sciences and organized by our New Researchers Network, aiming to connect student researchers and early career statisticians in our field.

Vertex Opportunities for Statisticians | The first speaker was Yaohua Zhang Associate Director at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, who discussed the role of statisticians in pharmaceutical companies, using Vertex as an example. Yaohua highlighted the company's focus on understanding diseases, utilizing cutting-edge techniques, and working with the right tools to drive medicines to the market. He also emphasized the critical role of statisticians in pharmaceutical companies, working in a team mode and collaborating with various functions. Yaohua concluded by outlining the responsibilities of a statistician, including study design, writing statistical analysis plans, data monitoring, delivering results to senior leaders, and interacting with regulatory agencies.

Yaohua discussed the various activities and opportunities available for statisticians at Vertex, including journal clubs, working groups, and seminars. He emphasized the importance of critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills for success in the role. Yaohua also introduced the company's internship program, which offers 12-week summer internships for Ph.D. level graduates. He encouraged attendees to apply and mentioned that there are currently four open internship opportunities. Yaohua also addressed questions from the audience, including inquiries about the hiring process for interns and the possibility of hiring individuals with a Master's degree in mathematics or statistics.

Claire's Internship Experiences and Advice | Claire Kelling from Carlton College shared her personal experiences with various quantitative social science internships, encouraging further discussion and questions. Claire is an Assistant Professor of Statistics at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. She received her Dual PhD in Statistics and Social Data Analytics from Penn State University. Claire participated in internships at the Social and Decision Analytics Lab, the RAND Corporation, and the Metric Geometry and Gerrymandering Group during her time as a graduate student. Claire graduated with a background in spatial statistics, shared her experiences and insights about internships she had during her undergraduate and graduate studies. She highlighted the importance of internships in shaping her research trajectory and developing valuable skills. Claire emphasized the benefits of early internships, such as the opportunity to gain mentorship and network with professionals in the field. She also advised on how to find internships earlier in one's graduate studies, suggesting to reach out to peers who have done internships early on and to leverage coursework and research experience. Jeremy added that having transferable skills from coursework and research can make it easier to secure internships earlier in one's graduate program.

Citizen Bank Overview and Culture | Jeremy initiated the next speaker, Johanna Plank, a Data Science Manager from Citizen Bank, to start the session. Johanna, along with John Lesniak (Senior Data Scientist) and Yasomitra Sampat Kota (Data Scientist), introduced themselves and their roles in the data and analytics department at Citizen Bank. They discussed the various sectors of the bank, including consumer banking, private banking, business banking, and corporate banking. They also highlighted the bank's size, with 200 billion dollars in assets, 1,722 branches, and 18,000 employees. The speakers emphasized the bank's culture, benefits, and flexibility, including a strong focus on volunteerism, good health insurance, and a supportive work environment. They also mentioned the bank's employee stock purchase plan and flexible PTO policy. The session was interactive, with the speakers encouraging questions from the attendees.

Citizens Data Analytics Internship Program | Johanna and John discussed the various roles and opportunities within the data and analytics space at Citizens. John highlighted the importance of 21st-century skills, such as communication and translation of technical concepts, in working with business partners. Johanna then introduced the internship program, which offers a 10-week project experience and individual placement in existing teams. The program is open to undergraduate and graduate students, including international students. The application process includes a recorded interview, technical assessment, and a project presentation. The conversation ended with Sampat, a former intern, sharing his positive experience and emphasizing the importance of communication and teamwork skills in the data science field. To conclude the presentation, Johanna discussed the upcoming job applications for internships, which are expected to open in January of 2025. She mentioned that there would be a way to sign up for job alerts and an email blast for those interested in the internships.

Meta's Internship Opportunities Using Open-Source AI | Jeremy then handed over the floor to Mei Li from Meta, who gave an introduction about Meta's products and its mission to enhance human connection through technology. She also highlighted Meta's open-source AI models and its company structure, including its major business lines. Mei emphasized the importance of the Meta infrastructure layer, which powers both business lines and enables teams to scale their products.

Data-Driven Approach at Meta |Mei discussed the data-driven approach at Meta, a company she joined after 10 years in the finance and investment industry. She highlighted how decisions at Meta are made using data, not opinions, and how experiments are conducted to determine the best strategies. She also explained how performance evaluations are linked to product performance metrics, making the system more fair for employees. Mei further emphasized the role of analytics in shaping Meta products, from creation to success measurement.

Meta's Internship Program and Analytics | Mei discussed the importance of analytical teams in product development at Meta, highlighting the role of data engineers, data scientists, and data analysts. She also introduced the company's internship program, emphasizing its unique and real-world experience. Mei provided tips on creating a resume, stressing the importance of highlighting achievements and leadership experiences. She also mentioned the availability of open positions for interns, including those for PhDs. Jeremy thanked the panelists and assured that all resources shared during the meeting would be available on the website.

Thanks and Recognition

NISS would like to give a huge thank you to all of the panelists and organizers for this event focusing on internship opportunities for new researchers! To our panelists – thank you for sharing your expertise and offering such practical advice on what it takes to succeed in the industry. Your perspectives on the skills, qualifications, and qualities companies seek in interns were enlightening and will surely guide many students as they prepare for internship applications. NISS and the New Researchers Network would like to express our heartfelt thanks for your invaluable participation in today’s Internship Opportunities Panel! A special thank you to Jeremy Seeman for expertly moderating the session for his guidance that kept the discussion engaging and relevant, allowing attendees to benefit from a range of perspectives and insights. We truly appreciate their time and dedication to supporting the next generation of data science and statistics professionals.

About the NISS New Researchers Network

The National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS) is a national organization that works on issues related to information and quantitative analysis. The goal of the NISS New Researchers Network is to create connections among undergraduate and graduate students from different academic institutions and early-career professionals within the NISS Affiliates Program.

The NISS New Researchers Network fosters collaboration and support among early-career statisticians, graduate students and undergraduate students offering resources and opportunities for professional growth.