Planetary Solutions in Clean Energy

Do you want to help build the clean energy workforce of the future?

We do too!

That’s why the Yale Center for Business and the Environment is excited to offer Planetary Solutions in Clean Energy. This program provides summer research and internship opportunities for Yale students who are eager to develop the skills, experience, and professional networks needed to pursue careers across the clean energy sector. Through hands-on projects and real-world exposure, students gain practical insight into how clean energy is being financed, deployed, and scaled—preparing them to become the next generation of leaders in this rapidly growing field.

Selected interns and research fellows will each receive:

a $11,000 stipend for the summer.
supervision and guidance, and share and learn from peers in weekly meetings as a cohort.
support and guidance from Rob Klee, Yale lecturer and former Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Note:

This program supports a total of 10 interns/fellows for the summer period.
- Eight focus on policy and investment in clean energy access and decarbonization
- Two have a focus on STEM aspects of clean energy and decarbonization
Students with financial need and those who are underrepresented in the field of clean energy are strongly encouraged to apply.
These opportunities are open to returning Yale students. Graduating students are not eligible.

We will offer 10 opportunities this summer...below are the first seven. Please have a read and apply! Application instructions are noted within each opportunity.

Equity and the Investment Focused Opportunities:

STEM-Focused Opportunities:

Oxylus Energy - Electrochemistry Intern
GridStatus.io - Description forthcoming

January 26th - applications open
February 19th (11:59 PM ET) - applications close
February 2nd - March 2nd - rolling interviews
Decisions sent on or around week of March 9th

In addition to working at the host organization or on the proposed research question over the summer, we build a cohort-based experience for participating students. We believe that the most benefit comes when students are well-supported by mentors and have the opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences with their peers. The below is our framework in support of this effort:

Welcome lunch at the end of April/early May, once the cohort is finalized (students + CBEY team)
Official start of 10-week summer internship or research fellowship on or about May 31st
Weekly check-in as a group on progress-to-date and plans going forward, likely Monday mornings, for 1 hour, from 9 am – 10 am ET (students + Rob Klee)
Weekly “brown bag” lunches with a guest from one of our eight host organizations to talk about their work, a challenge they are facing, and how this internship is helping, and open Q&A, likely Tuesdays, for 1 hour between 11 am – 2 pm ET (students + hosts + CBEY team)
Weekly one-on-one mentorship meetings with Rob Klee, for 30 minutes, likely towards the end of the week, flexibly scheduled (individual student + Rob Klee)
Official end of the 10-week summer internship or research fellowship on or about August 4th
Clean energy field trip and hike in Connecticut in late August/early September (students + CBEY team)
Fall Showcase, where students are invited to present their “culminating piece*” from their summer work, in November alongside Yale's Clean Energy Conference (students, hosts, CBEY team, and other interested members of the Yale clean energy community).

*The “culminating piece” from the students’ summer work could be something they create while on the job for their host, such as a white paper, guide, policy memo, or the like. Or, it could be an academic poster, a talk with slides, art project, video blog, social media campaign, op-ed article, news article, peer-reviewed article draft, or any other creative content.

Watch us on our field trip!

Watch this video featuring our first cohort on a field trip to Quantum Biopower and Sessions Woods. We had an excellent time learning about biodigesters and solar arrays....and we also ate some ice cream...