BU URBAN Internship Course

BI/EE/EH 795: Urban Biogeoscience and Environmental Health: From Research to Policy

Spring 2023 meetings: 1 hour over Zoom (https://bostonu.zoom.us/j/97020697383?pwd=amxCam1RVWNJZ3VUQVQ1b3Y4M3Vadz09&from=addon)

Download Syllabus

Course description

This course prepares graduate students to address urban environmental challenges through hands-on training in a semester-long internship with the government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and/or the private sector to learn how cities are tackling environmental challenges, including but not limited to mitigation and adaptation to climate change, protecting vulnerable populations from air pollution, and issues related to water quality and quantity.

The course consists of 7 required sessions, described in detail below.

 

Peer Review Information and Timeline

  • Peer Review of trainee internship products is included in the internship course as a way to improve the quality of the product and provide an opportunity to practice and improve peer review skills. Peer review is helpful for two major reasons. First, this process should help the writer by providing them with constructive criticism so that they can improve their product. The second purpose is for the reviewer to see commonly made mistakes so that they can avoid them in their own writing.
  • Given that each internship timeline is unique, each peer review timeline will also be unique and should be agreed upon by the writer and the reviewer. The goal is that eventually, each trainee receives peer feedback, even if it isn’t until October! Please communicate with your peer reviewer about a feedback timeline that works for your internship. If you are able to follow the timeline below, that’s great, but not necessary.
  • When initiating peer reviewer, the writer should identify what exactly they would like feedback on. Examples could include ideas and assumptions, grammar and spelling, clarity and concision, or a general sanity check. It can also be helpful to explain what you don’t want feedback on, so that the reviewer doesn’t waste time focusing on the wrong thing. A helpful strategy could be for the peers to agree upon how much time they will spend on the review (e.g., 1 hour) and therefore what the priority should be during that time.
  • The course instructor will also provide feedback on your product.
  • ASAP: Decide on your internship product/deliverable and agree on a timeline for sending the draft to and receiving input from your reviewer. If product size or complexity differ between reviewers, agree upon portions of products that result in a fair amount of work done by each party.
    • Emma to Leila | Leila to Emma
  • March 7:  Send a draft of your product to your peer reviewer and the course instructor.
  • Marh 15: Provide/receive feedback on draft internship products/deliverables.