Programmes

The new norm of creating an impact within a community is going “glocal”. The new generation of social innovators is gifted with multiple skills such as the adoption of technology, wide networks and entrepreneurial mindset. These skills give them an edge when it comes to creating impactful solutions that break barriers and addresses socially sustainable topics. 

As a generation who are strong believers in the power of change and innovation, the Lien Centre for Social Innovation (LCSI) at SMU is keen to create synergy and provide a positive experience through its Summer Associate Programme.

The Summer Associates Programme

The Summer Associates Programme is designed to provide talented young people from all around the world with an opportunity to gain meaningful work experience in the area of social innovation, with the aim of wanting to create an impact towards a better community. 

The Summer Associate Programme is an 8 to 10 week internship. Students will not only have an opportunity to contribute to our research and programmes, but also a great avenue to bring about their ideas and knowledge and share it across LCSI’s flagship digital platform, Social Space. 

Get up close and personal with past summer associates in Meet Our 2021 Summer Associates, Meet Our 2020 Summer Associates, Meet Our 2019 Summer Associates (Part 1) and Meet Our 2019 Summer Associates (Part 2).

As an LCSI Summer Associate, you will get to:

• Be mentored by a diversified team of experienced professionals
• Attend customised training sessions and masterclasses to equip you with practical workplace skills
• Go on field trips to visit social enterprises / organisations
• Complete a final project and present your work to the team

For 2022, we have the following position available:

1. Editorial Intern
Editorial Intern will have the opportunity to hone their journalistic and editorial skills by writing articles and producing content for our flagship content platform, Social Space. This is an unpaid internship. Students must ensure they are sponsored by or receive credit from their respective institution for this internship.

Job description

• Work with team members on assigned articles and research/ programme/ event writeup.
• Keen on sharing and highlighting social innovative and social sustainability topics and would be keen to write with accurate information and clear stories.
• Reviewing written work for accuracy, sense, content, and readability and making suggestions for improvements.
• Choosing supporting material, including graphs, images, and charts, to complement the written piece.
• Performing research, conducting interviews, and compiling information to write compelling, informative, and engaging articles.

2. Social Media Intern
Social Media Intern will have the opportunity to research and develop social media posts for LCSI’s social media platforms. He/she will be keen to learn and understand related conversations/ discussions and events that are taking place online that could be a valuable inputs for the team in curating partnerships and research suggestions.

Job Description 

• Work alongside the team to create and manage social media campaigns/ strategies monthly via social media calendar
• Assist in the growth of the brand by raising awareness through various social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and LCSI website.
• Copywrite and monitor these postings to ensure the brand message is constant from the terminology used to images posted

3. Social Innovation Intern 
Social Innovation Intern will have the opportunity to craft social innovation programmes from a Singapore and ASEAN perspective This is an unpaid internship. Students must ensure they are sponsored by or receive credit from their respective institution for this internship.

Job Description 

• Work with programme managers to plan, support, and deliver projects and programmes
• Participate in ideation, research, writing, design and/or presentation activities for existing and emerging projects
• Contribute copywriting, graphic design or other skills for Marcomms or events
• Provide communications and administrative support to programme managers

4. Design Thinking Intern
Design Thinking Intern will have the opportunity to  work with the research and programme managers to sketch and design solutions that focus on the holistic experience and a human-centred approach for LCSI’s programmes. This is an unpaid internship. Students must ensure they are sponsored by or receive credit from their respective institution for this internship.

Job Description 

• Understand the tenets of social innovation and the tools used.
• Brainstorm and sketch journey maps and systems design that is closest to the experience the team would like to achieve.
• Be part of the prototype development team and measure its effectiveness.

Eligibility for all internship opportunities

• Strong interest in producing content for a social innovation magazine
• Keen interest in social issues or human interest stories
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Creative, innovative, and open to new ideas
• Comfortable working on multiple assignments at the same time
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively with the team
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

This internship will be conducted in a hybrid format for local interns and 100% virtually for overseas interns. Working days and hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30am-5:30pm (40 hours per week), with a one-hour lunch break. Interns will be expected to attend and participate in virtual meetings over Zoom or MS Teams. Please note that is an unpaid internship. Students must ensure they are sponsored by or receive credit from their respective institution for this internship.

Internship Period (2022)

Non-SMU students: 7 June 2022 to 1 August 2022 (8 weeks)

SMU students: 7 June 2022 to 15 August 2022 (10 weeks)

How To Apply

Application is now closed. 

For help or any other questions, please email liencentre [at] smu.edu.sg