DSSG Internship

Internship will take place at the University of North Florida campus in Jacksonville, FL. Both undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to apply. We are looking for students who aspire to be data scientists to work as DSSG Interns in an eleven-week program. Please read the FAQs before submitting your application.

2025 FL-DSSG Summer Internship starts on May 19 and ends on August 1.

 

  2025 DSSG Internship Application  

FL-DSSG Internship application is developed based on DSSG programs in Chicago and Washington.

 

Important Announcements

DSSG Internship Application Now Open!!!

FL-DSSG is taking applications for 2025 summer internship program. Please note that this is an in-person internship. Intern applications are due by March 7, 5 PM.


 

DSSG Internship

The DSSG program is an intensive, eleven-week summer internship experience. Students are placed on multi-disciplinary teams and matched with mentors to address real-world problems for our clients. FL-DSSG program is designed to train and strengthen the data scientist workforce pipeline. The goal of the program is to give students an opportunity to solve a real problem in the community and to give do-good agencies an opportunity to work with creative social trustees of knowledge. Students will receive valuable experience with data management, statistical analysis, producing data science solutions, and addressing community needs. The cumulative DSSG internship experience will prepare students for the workforce in STEM-related fields.

For a truly interdisciplinary approach, student interns will work in teams that consist of expertise from several of the following areas: data mining, machine learning, data visualization, geographic information systems, programming, business analytics, social sciences, public policy, and statistical analysis. Interns will have access to industry mentors who have several years of experience with solving real world problems as well as creating social impact. Mentors will work closely with student teams on a project throughout the internship period. Interns will be producing data science solutions, and analysis reports for project clients who demonstrate a commitment to doing social good. They will have a mission focused on, at minimum, one of the following: education, environment, government services, health care, healthy living, safety/security, smart urban development, social & economic inequality, and sustainability.


 

DSSG Digital Badging

FL-DSSG Digital Badge

Students who complete the FL-DSSG summer internship will receive a Florida Data Science for Social Good Internship Digital Badge issued by the University of North Florida. Earning an FL-DSSG internship digital badge is indicative of the capability to work on data science projects that produce intended results, knowledge of data science best practices, engage in collaborative problem solving, work with cross-disciplinary teams, create intuitive and interactive visuals, and produce effective storytelling presentations.

To earn the FL-DSSG Internship badge, students must complete all the internship tasks, complete the assigned projects, deliver data science solutions to the project clients, submit final project reports, and make open-to-public presentations showcasing the project outcomes.

Please visit the below links to learn more about the FL-DSSG Internship Badge and UNF Digital Badging Initiative:

  FL-DSSG Internship Badge Details Page  
  UNF Digital Badging Initiative Page  

Note: FL-DSSG started issuing digital badges only in 2024. Thus, interns who completed the internship program prior to 2024 did not receive digital badges. Please see the respective year DSSG program pages for a listing of interns who completed the internship program.


 

DSSG Intern Application FAQs

The ability to affect change and do good in one’s community increasingly depends on having the right information at the right time to make the right decisions about things that are most important. Often, the information available to meet these needs is not well organized, not well understood, and not packaged in a way that helps those working in the community do their best.

Data Science for Social Good projects connect community expertise, data processing methods, computing power, and effective data visualization to help community organizations make data-based decisions to deal with wicked problems. A wicked problem is a vexing, persistent social or cultural issue that is complex, interconnected with other problems, has policy implications, and requires many people working together to affect change. Data Science projects address wicked problems in one of several areas of societal importance, including education, the environment, government services, health care, healthy living, safety/security, smart urban development, social & economic inequality, and sustainability. DSSG Student Interns have the opportunity to contribute to projects that help solve these wicked problems in their communities.

The FL-DSSG Program is an 11-week summer internship program where small, interdisciplinary groups of students work to complete projects that match data science expertise with real-world problems. Projects originate from community organizations that are trying to create positive change in their communities. DSSG interns who have data management and data science skills create socially innovative solutions that have the potential to shift understanding around a community issue, influence planning, revise practices, or make recommendations for focused community initiatives.

Each year of the program, FL-DSSG Directors will solicit data science projects from community (non-profit and public sector) agencies. Once projects have been selected, the skills and abilities needed to help solve the data science problem are identified. Student DSSG Interns are then recruited to work in interdisciplinary teams during the summer to solve the data science problem. Student interns will receive problem solving strategies and data science best practice tips from DSSG Sherpas (mentors) to ensure the project is succeeding in its mission. DSSG Interns will work with knowledgeable subject matter experts, work on dynamic data science projects, and learn important professional and technical skills during the intensive internship program.

Student interns will work closely with data science leaders and professionals on creative and impactful projects that serve a social good. DSSG interns will be equipped with the skills, attitudes, and habits of data scientists, such as creative thinking in real-world settings, coding (e.g., R, Python, SQL, etc.), data analysis (data mining, multiple regression, probability), data visualization, and design-driven problem-solving.

Students are expected to complete the online internship application. Students meeting expected requirements would be invited for a face-to-face interview with the FL-DSSG Directors.

Student interns are recruited during March and April months.

Student intern teams and project pairings will be announced in May.

Complete the DSSG internship application at   2025 DSSG Intern Application   before March 7, 2025, at 5 PM.

FL-DSSG Program Directors will select several applicants for an interview during the first and second weeks of April.

The final DSSG Intern selection will be communicated by April 30, 2025.


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