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CALS 694: Internship

Chiefs’ Traditional Welcome

Welcome

Course Overview

The goal of the MA in Climate Action Leadership (MACAL) internship is to provide you with a space to bring classroom learning into applied practice. The purpose of the academic course is to support you in engaging with your internship host to compile and present a forward-thinking project that captures Climate Action Leadership that is rooted in multi- and transdisciplinary thinking, governance driven (accountability, transparency, and equity), and respectful of Indigenous ways of engaging in climate actions. Furthermore, it provides you with a space to explore your own climate action leadership interests and potential through reflective practice as an integral part of personal and professional growth.

Prior to embarking on this course, you will have completed the Internship and Career Management Skills course (offered by CLD) and confirmed a contract with internship host for a minimum of 420 contact hours and an onsite supervisor. You will also have completed your MACAL research course that has introduced you to navigating applied and engaged research, situating your own questions in existing literature/practice, and engaging with data collection tools.

At the outset of this course and your internship you will have identified an area you want to focus on, i.e., a concrete project or output that is relevant to you and your host in capturing climate action options addressing a complex question or need. This will be the basis of what you work on with your academic supervisor to complete the academic requirements of this course alongside your internship hours.

Before the course opens you will have identified your academic supervisor to support you in completing this course. You need approval from the MACAL program head on your academic supervisor, which you can select from a pre-approved list. Regular contact with the academic supervisor and their approval of each of the assignments is required.

While you will complete your internship at your own pace, the course units will support you in moving forward and completing the academic requirements alongside your internship hours. Consider them milestones along your internship journey.

Each unit consists of a video lecture and a selection of readings or resources that speak to key concepts for climate action practice as well as personal professional development, climate action leadership skills, and reflective practice. The units will walk your through the deliverables and provide you and your academic supervisor with guidance for your progression. Be mindful that while the course resources aim to support you in your internship, you will be required to engage in your own research and identifying sources and resources that inform your project and your overall learning.

Each internship is unique to the student and the host, each internship deliverables are unique to your project. You will be responsible for drawing on additional readings and resources from other courses in your program, materials provided by your internship host, and your own research to complete your deliverables for this course. Consult with your academic supervisor for guidance and identifying relevant materials. Consider booking appointments with the Writing Center and the Counselling / Learning Strategists for support in your progress.

Deliverables consist of individual based work and can vary in format depending on your own interests and internship focus and project output. The assignment guidelines capture expectations regarding competencies for assessment. You will be able to draw on the course to provide you with a basis for your personal professional development in climate action leadership, to engage in reflective practice, and to produce a forward-thinking climate action project that bridges theory and practice.

Note: You are responsible for finding your own internship and cover all related costs.  RRU’s CLD provides support to identify a relevant internship but it cannot offer specific placement options. CLD can support identifying funding resources to support students in completing their internships, given the students eligibility and success. Access to a database of previous internship hosts is available.

Outcomes

Stay Connected

  • To each other via the course blog and your own WordPress blogs – be sure to set up your Feedly. See here for instructions. You will need to add the OPML files to your Feedly for each course.
  • #RRUMACAL on twitter;
  • Subscribe to the Resilience by Design YouTube channel
  • Instructor email addresses can be found in Moodle

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