The Akamai Workforce Initiative announces that telescopes have been offering science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) summer internships to local college students since 2003. To date, over 350 students from Hawai‘i have gone through the program and over a hundred alumni have found local STEM jobs in Hawai‘i.
To celebrate these accomplishments all Akamai intern alumni dating back to 2003 are invited to a Akamai Hana Hou event on Friday, June 15, 2018, at the Grand Naniloa Hotel in Hilo.
The Akamai Hana Hou event is designed to complement their internships by helping the alumni get the local jobs they desire. Akamai alumni will participate in mock interviews, resume workshops, and a job fair with local STEM industry. Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory, all major telescopes in Hawai‘i, and many tech companies will be there to find local talent, network with potential future employees, and celebrate the accomplishments of Akamai.
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The Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory has been investing in local workforce development for 10 years by partnering with the Akamai Workforce Initiative, and is now a major funder of the program
The Akamai Workforce Initiative is a unique internship program that has created a network of mentors dedicated to working with local students to develop a local workforce and provide training for the community. Mentors provide on-the-job training through a summer project, and the program follows up to help alumni find jobs after they graduate. Akamai has deep roots in astronomy, and nearly all funding for the program is related to telescopes, but the program offers opportunities at tech companies and other organizations in a broad range of STEM fields.
TMT has provided a substantial increase in funding to the Akamai Workforce Initiative this year that will enable a cohort of 38 local students, and fund a career advancement and reunion event, Akamai Hana Hou, on June 15 at the Grand Naniloa Hotel in Hilo.
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Since launching in 2002, over 350 college students have participated in the Akamai program and at least 140 alumni are now working in science and technology jobs, with nearly two-thirds of them working in Hawai‘i and contributing to the local STEM workforce. Akamai accepts college students from Hawai‘i (80% graduated from a Hawai‘i high school or were born in Hawai‘i), and a key objective is to increase the participation of underrepresented and underserved populations in STEM. The Akamai Workforce Initiative alumni demographics include 37% women, 24% Native Hawaiian, and 47% underrepresented minorities. To learn more about the Akamai summer internship program, go to www.akamaihawaii.org
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