Accelerate Your Career
Innovation Central Perth (ICP) is an industry collaboration centre located at Curtin University, solving real-world problems by connecting industry to students and academia.
Led by Cisco and Curtin University, the centre solves real business problems by connecting industry to Curtin University. ICP Staff collaborate with Curtin academics, Curtin facilities and Cisco Engineers to nurture student interns throughout a paid real-world project.
ICP projects have ranged across a vast variety of different sectors, spanning engineering, data science, computing, science, finance, marketing, cyber security and more!
If you’re currently looking for paid work experience and would like to apply your studies to a real-world environment – this may be the perfect opportunity!
ICP Programs
ICP has two internship programs, a summer program and an on-demand program. Both are paid.
Summer program:
The Summer Program offers the best value for industry partners by supporting students throughout an intensive 12-week program. Successful students will be invited to participate in the program and work with industry to deliver a tangible project outcome, based on their own degree and skills.
The summer program runs from November to February (over the summer holidays). Projects run for a period of 12 weeks with students working full time, 37.5 hours per week.
On-demand program:
The on-demand program runs from March to October (throughout the academic year). The project durations vary based on the client’s needs and are tailored to the student’s availability during semester.
Selection Process
To apply for our summer program, students will need to complete an application form for our Talent Pool. This can be found at the bottom of the page.
Once the form is completed, your application, resume and academic transcript are reviewed, and you enter our Talent Pool. As we receive new project opportunities on a regular basis, we regularly review our Talent Pool for students to place on projects.
Our project team scopes a project plan with our client, and because each project plan is different, the skills and study discipline area will vary each time. The project team can consist of ICP staff, academic supervisors and Cisco engineers, who all review the applications to find the right student to match to a project.
From there, students will be invited to ICP for a meet and greet. This could be followed up with a more formal interview with the client. For specific fields of expertise, we will conduct a 30-minute assessment at ICP.
Roles & Responsibilities
An intern’s roles and responsibilities will vary based on the project they are allocated to work on. Some students may be expected to develop a prototype or dashboard, whereas other may be expected to work on a feasibility report or a marketing strategy. It depends on the client’s expectation and the student’s skill level!
As part of the internship, students will be required to complete the following:
– Arrange weekly progress meetings with the allocated academic supervisor;
– Complete and submit weekly progress reports to ICP, the client and academic supervisor;
– Complete and submit a final project closure report for the client; and
– Complete and present a final project presentation to the project team.
By the end of the program, ICP students can expect to have gained a variety of invaluable skills, in addition to tangible resources that will look great on a resume!
Working Locations
Work location will vary depending on the project that is allocated to each student. Typically, interns can expect to either work at the client office, at ICP, from home, or a hybrid of these locations.
There are multiple hot desks available at ICP for students to use during their internship, where support will be readily available.
The ICP team will determine the location of the internship when scoping the project and will communicate the location to you prior to your commencement.
Networking Opportunities
In addition to project work, students will be invited to attend a variety of ICP hosted events. These events consist of workshops, presentations and even sundowners where industry decision-makers will be in attendance.
Each event is an excellent opportunity to network with like-minded students and industry professionals. At the end of the summer program, ICP also host a celebratory awards night which will serve as a great opportunity to celebrate your achievements, chat with industry, and indulge in free drinks with incredible food!
Payment
Summer program
Students will require a current student ID number and are paid via a tax-free scholarship. Payments are made fortnightly over the course of 12 weeks.
On-demand program
Students are onboarded as Curtin Casual Professional staff members and paid an hourly casual rate. Timesheets need to be submitted in accordance with Curtin’s fortnightly pay cycle.
Questions?
If you have a question about our summer program, feel free to reach out at innovationcentral@curtin.edu.au
