Summer Internship 2023 at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Heidelberg
(Ref.no. 356)
Your tasks and our offer:
The MPIA offers up to six positions for internships every year to bright bachelor and master students who desire to acquire hand-on experience of research and instrument development in astronomy, or wish to fulfill their degree's requirement. At least two internships will be awarded to candidates from developing countries (see attached list).
The institute proposes students to work full-time for two to three months on various research projects (see attached list). Travel costs are supported and a salary is offered (~1000€/month, or ~820€/month net with full social benefits), as necessary. The internship typically takes place during the summer (between May and September) but not necessarily. Assistance will be provided to seek accommodations as close as possible to the institute or the city centre -which is not easy in such a touristic city as Heidelberg.
Your Application:
The applications for the 2023 summer internship program have been reviewed and offers have been made for all available positions. The applications for the 2024 internship will open in December 2023.
We typically have 4 to 6 intern positions.
Non-EU national bachelor students: please see the important note at the bottom of this page.
Feel free to contact the coordinator, Dr. Ivelina Momcheva at (internship@mpia.de) for more information.
All applications and reference letters need to be submitted using our online application system.
The application process is the following:
1) Register at the online application portal
2) Upload the three documents in three separate PDF files in the web portal (note: only PDF is accepted):
- your curriculum vitae (CV)
- a transcript of your grades (e.g., scans of certificates; pre-university level are not required); these do not need to be translated, but a transcription of grades written in non-latin alphabet would be appreciated
- select your top 3 projects (listed on the webpage) and give a brief statement (up to one page total!) what interests you about these projects and why you think you are a good candidate for these projects
3) Have a single letter of reference uploaded into the system.
We first select candidates based on their grades; recommendation letters, previous research experience, technical expertise and motivation. In a second stage, for short-listed candidates, we search for a good supervision match based on the student interests, schedule, and expertise.
Important note for non-EU nationals, seeking a Bachelor degree: due to administrative constraints (visa), the internship must take place while the applicant is still studying for their Bachelor, to the internship final day. The student must obtain their degree on a day (graduation date) after the end of the internship. This does not apply to students holding a Master (and technically ready to start a Ph.D.).
In addition, those non-EU students with less than four completed semesters at the beginning of the internship are not eligible for a visa and can thus not apply.
The Max Planck Society is an equal opportunity employer. Applications from women, persons with disabilities, and minorities are particularly welcome. The MPIA supports its employees in the search for suitable child care. For questions concern- ing promoting equal opportunity for all employees and prospective employees at MPIA, please contact the Equal Opportunity Officer Eva Schinnerer (equality@mpia.de) and regarding disabilities guidelines and regulations please contact Ralf Launhardt (sbv@mpia.de).
The 2023 summer internship program will be in person. In exceptional cases internship can be done remotely if supervisor and project allow this. In this case we can unfortunately not offer a compensation.