The Duke University Stanback Internship Program provides Duke students with project-based learning experiences in energy, conservation, advocacy, policy, research, law and applied resource management. The Internship Program is open to any Duke student - undergraduate, graduate, and international students - who will be enrolled in Fall 2019 classes. Internships are located throughout the US, and the internship is for 11-weeks and interns receive up to $6,000 stipend.
The majority of intern candidates will be Nicholas School students pursuing the degree of Master of Environmental Management (MEM) or Master of Forestry (MF). The MEM and MF degree programs stress interdisciplinary approaches to environmental problem solving. Program specialization tracks within the degrees include conservation science and policy, forest management, coastal management, environmental economics and policy, global environmental change, and water and air resources.
This Stanback internship is limited to Duke University students only. Students from the Duke Law School, Fuqua School of Business, Sanford School of Public Policy, Pratt School of Engineering, and other undergraduate programs are also invited to apply for Stanback internships.
The IPCC’s fall 2018 report finds that if the 1.5˚C goal is to be met, investments in low-carbon energy technology and energy efficiency will need to increase by roughly a factor of five by 2050 compared to 2015 levels. Similarly, making the investments necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals will require 5-7 trillion dollars annually. In sum, the imperatives of green, equitable and sustainable development will require an unprecedented mobilization and redirection of domestic and international capital. In short order, successful strategies will have to be adapted and scaled and new financial instruments will have to be deployed to apportion risk in novel ways. Stable and effective enabling environments will have to be put in place that are nevertheless sufficiently flexible to account for rapid change.
Neither the public nor the private sector is fully equipped to deal with scale and speed of change required. What is needed is a re-imagination of the boundaries between the public and private sectors and a re-calibration of the tools used by each side so that they can collaborate to achieve climate and equity goals.
The Center for Market Innovation – which in 2019 will be re-launched as the Center for Green Finance and Resilient Infrastructure (GFRI) – is animated by three strategic principles that aim to develop this space:
- The public and private sectors need to come together around new kinds of partnerships, built not on notions of privatization and risk-shifting, but on principles of equity, innovation and the sharing of both risks and benefits — i.e., of “upside and downside”;
- For sustainability, limited public and donor funds that are available should be used to stimulate private investment through demonstration, targeted risk mitigation and aggregation of small projects; and
- In the case of our most vulnerable communities, subsidies, concessional financing (such as program-related investments) and commercial capital should be blended to lower costs to ensure access for all.
- The intern will work supporting one or more of the following areas in the U.S. and/or internationally (India, China or Latin America):
- Sustainable/high road infrastructure, which brings cities and investors together around standards for low carbon resilient infrastructure, green bonds and new kinds of public-private partnerships;
- The green bank movement, which uses targeted public money to increase private investment in sustainable infrastructure;
- Equitable finance/mission-driven investing, which is focused on tackling the challenges of underserved markets and prioritizing the integration and mainstreaming of health, climate change and social justice in infrastructure investments; and
- Local and regional financing strategies that support cities and regions that are committed to dramatically decreasing their carbon emissions and adapting to the effects of climate change.
- The internship supports the broader goal to create significant impact in advancing strategies that achieve a cleaner economy for all.
- Research, analysis and writing on relevant issue areas. Analysis may be turned into public reports, depending on timing and status of work at the end of the internship.
- Ability to synthesize various sources and communicate clearly. Understand financial terminology and concepts. Master’s Degree preferred. Finance background is strongly preferred. Understanding of finance structures a plus, but not essential.