On May 6 2014, we celebrated the fifth year of BRITE internships, with a panel discussion on careers and networking and a reception under the whale at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum.
BRITE or Biodiversity Research: Integrative Training and Education is an NSERC-CREATE-funded training program. For the past five years, the Biodiversity Research Centre (BRC) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) has hosted the BRITE Internship Program. The program has connected graduate students with non-governmental organizations, government agencies, and industry partners through paid internships, linking scientists-in-training with organizations that need them.
Close to 40 people attended to show their strong support of the program, including past and potential interns and hosts, faculty, and other supporters. We are very proud of the accomplishments of our graduate students and thank Andrew MacDonald, Manon Picard, and Matt Siegle for telling us about their experiences as interns for Project ASRI in Indonesia, the Convention for Biological Diversity, and Parks Canada.
The BRITE program has always depended on vision and financial support from biodiversity leaders. In order to make sure this program continues, BRC director and MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” recipient Dr. Sally Otto founded the Biodiversity Internship Fund at UBC with a personal gift of $100,000. The reception was the occasion to thank our initial donors (Dr. Sally Otto, Dr. Kai Chan and an anonymous donor) and to publicly launch the effort to raise $1 million towards the Fund to guarantee that the BRITE Internship Program continues now and into the future. Read more about the Biodiversity Internship Fund here.