HPCC Systems Summer Intern Program

The proposal period for 2024 internships is now open! Once you are ready to submit your proposal, please apply via our career website. The deadline for applications is March 22, 2024, 23:59 hrs. ET.

Welcome to the HPCC Systems Summer Internship wiki page! Here you will find all the information you need to become familiar with our internship program, prerequisites for attending the internship, application process and more.

The HPCC Systems Summer Internship Program is a 12-week mentor-based internship program that runs every summer as part of the HPCC Systems academic program, and whose aim is to give students an opportunity to learn soft and hard skills applicable (but not exclusive) to the big data IT industry via HPCC Systems projects. 

To get started, read our blog or watch the recording below for more information about how the internship program works and how to apply for it, including guidance for proposal content (yes! the application process is based on a proposal submitted by the student!). 

We DO NOT wait until the deadline date to make offers to students who submit an excellent proposal early.  View our intern program flyer and print out a copy to send to students or display on your school's message board,

How to become an intern with HPCC Systems!

Watch Recording/ View Slides

Completed intern projects from previous years

  • Our class of 2023 included 15 students from high school through to PhD.
  • Our class of 2022 included 11 students from high school through to PhD.
  • Our class of 2021 included 12 students from high school through to Masters level and an research assistant.
  • Our class of 2020 included 7 students from high school right the way through to PhD.
  • Our class of 2019 included 10 students studying from undergraduate level through to PhD.
  • Our class of 2018 included 10 students, including a high school student as well as undergraduates, Masters and PhD students. 
  • Our class of 2017 included 5 students and for the first time, we welcomed a high school student on to the program. 
  • Our class of 2016 included four students including a student from the LexisNexis corporate intern program and another student volunteered to work on a project for us in her own time as a community contributor.
  • Our class of 2015 was the first year we ran the HPCC Systems Intern Program. 4 students complete projects for us as part of the HPCC Systems summer intern program in 2015 and 2 students completed projects as part of the Google Summer of Code Program 2015.

Find out more about all previously completed student projects.

Most of our students work remotely, although it is possible to arrange for you to be office based, provided there is an LN office nearby that can accommodate you.

About the program...

We supply a list of projects. You choose a project of interest to you to complete during your internship with HPCC Systems. Once you have chosen a project, you must prepare and submit a proposal which shows how you plan to complete the project. You must include a timeline for each week showing what tasks you would expect to complete. We recommend that you contact the mentor of the project and discuss your ideas before submitting the final version of your proposal. Our mentors are available to give guidance and answer your questions.

We also need a copy of your resume and please note the following:

  • It's a paid program. The rate varies depending on your country of residence and whether you are a high school, undergraduate, masters or PhD student. Contact us for more information.
  • The proposal (application) period opens in the Fall and runs until the end of March every year.
  • Coding starts at late May/beginning of June running until mid/late August. But we can be flexible if your university term finishes in July and doesn't start back until September. Let us know when you contact us.
  • Project information is available on our Ideas List. You can also suggest a project of your own but it must be relevant to HPCC Systems. Contact us if you are thinking about doing this.
  • Mentor contact details are shown on each project specification page. If you have questions or want to discuss ideas before submitting your final proposal, do make contact with the mentor.
  • Final Proposals should be attached to your application in the career website, not the mentor, please.
  • You can submit a proposal at any time, when you are ready, before the deadline date. There are some proposal guidelines on this wiki. 
  • You will hear whether you have been successful as soon as possible but by May 1st at the latest.
  • You must be available in May so that you and your mentor can get you setup and ready to start coding at the start of June.
  • We ask students to complete and return 2 evaluations during the coding period. The first is due half way through your internship and the second at the end of the program.
  • Mentors require a weekly status report.
  • We also ask that students write a blog journal about their project and experience.
  • We like to publicize the work our students do at our conference (Sept/Oct), so we may ask you to prepare a video or presentation that we can showcase. This is live streamed across the internet so you can watch if you are available. We also blog about your progress.
  • We do have expectations of students that work with us which you should read.

New to HPCC Systems?

If you are new to us, then take some time to find out about HPCC Systems and what we do. Find out how HPCC Systems works, what ECL is and take a look at what goes on in our community.

If you see a project on our ideas list that you like, email us and let us know. To really make a great proposal, you'll need to get started using HPCC Systems so you can get some experience of how it works. Here are some things you should do to get started:

Ready to take the plunge?

Once you've prepared the way, you're ready to get started on your proposal.

  • Read the Other Resources section in the project specification. It contains information of direct relevance to the project such as, additional reading material, a link to the corresponding JIRA issue, links to sources etc. 
  • Contact the project mentor to ask questions or discuss your ideas. We don't necessarily expect you to have all the answers and the chances are, there are challenges that may not be visible at first sight. The mentor will be interested to hear your ideas and is perfectly placed to help you develop them and answer your questions.
  • Use our proposal guidelines to make sure you provide us with everything we need to know about you and your project plans.
  • Update your proposal with the results of any discussions you have with a mentor and also to reflect the answers to questions. Don't assume the mentor will remember. 
  • Get the final version of your proposal along with your CV and apply via our career website by the deadline date.
  • And finally good luck! 

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