PREPARING FOR THE Akamai internship: 

DRESS CODE & SITE SAFETY

This page has information for individuals who have been confirmed acceptance into the Akamai Program (have received an offer and have returned signed agreement and other acceptance documents), and includes information about the following:

• COVID-19 safety requirements at site
• Work hours
• Dress code

This page does not include detailed information needed for interns once the program has begun, which will be provided when the program begins.

COVID-19 safety requirements at work site

Interns need to adhere to the host organization’s COVID-19 safety precautions while working on-ite. Mentors should provide guidelines to their intern as soon as possible, and cc akamai@ucsc.edu.

Work hours

Mentors should establish regular working hours with interns. Generally, interns are expected to work 9am-5pm with an average of ~5 hours/week set aside for Akamai program activities (interns attend a weekly 1.5 hr virtual meeting for the communications course, usually during lunch Hawaii Time on Wednesday or Thursday). Some of the interns might be working irregular working hours at site, such as 4x10hour days with long weekends.  If this is the case, the intern and the Akamai Program should be notified as soon as possible. 

Dress code

Akamai interns are expected to dress “Hawaii business casual.”  In general this means a collared shirt and slacks, or pants/skirt and a blouse, or a dress are advised, while t-shirts, shorts and ripped pants are to be avoided. Nice jeans might work, if it looks like others wear them. Avoid tank tops, shorts, slippers, t-shirts with a lot of graphics or slogans, bare midriff or strapless tops, skirts well above the knee, or other revealing garments. Interns working in a lab or on the summit, you typically can wear casual clothes like jeans.  You may find that some work environments are more or less casual than the general rules above. If your workplace is more formal, please dress according to their rules and norms.  If your workplace is less formal, however, please adhere to Akamai dress standards, as it is good practice for future entry into the workforce and maintains a level of professionalism we expect from Akamai interns.

Safety attire

Some placements involve work in labs, with equipment, or on the summit.  These may require special forms of attire such as closed-toe shoes, steel-toed boots, safety glasses, cold gear, etc.  Mentor should be sure to communicate safety attire requirements to intern as soon as possible so that the intern will be prepared.

Symposium attire

At the very end of the internship, every intern will present a 10 minute technical presentation on their project in front of an audience of their peers, mentors, and professionals from the scientific and engineering community.  For this presentation, please bring with you one nice outfit (“business attire”) which would be similar to what you would wear to a job interview or if you were presenting at a conference.  If you have questions about this, please ask anyone on the Akamai staff. Or you can see a few pictures of previous Symposiums in our gallery pages.

As always please let us know if you have any questions.