Akamai Internship FAQ

You must be enrolled in an undergraduate institution at the time of application, and you must be 18 before the internship program starts (which is typically mid-june each year).

The goal of the Akamai Internship Program is to help local students get local jobs in Hawaii. To be eligible for the program, applicants must be:

1) from Hawaii;

or 2) currently living in Hawaii and enrolled at a University of Hawaii campus.

The application asks questions about dates you have lived in Hawaii and the high school you graduated from, in addition to where you are enrolled now, to learn about your connection to Hawaii.

Yes, if you graduated within the last year you are still eligible.

If you graduated longer than a year ago you may still apply, however your placement priority will probably be lower than a recent college graduate.

If you are currently enrolled as a graduate student, you are not eligible for the Akamai program.  

Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible for Akamai. Some internship sites require U.S. citizenship for eligibility.

Yes. Akamai alumni are encouraged to apply for a second internship, and in some cases alumni may want to try a different site or type of project. Selection priority given to alumni applicants varies, and at times a higher priority may be given to a new applicant.

Note: Applicants are strongly encouraged to get a reference report from their Akamai mentor from their first internship.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The application includes a section that asks about your proficiency with various skills. There are many skills on this list due to the diversity of projects within Akamai; it is common for an applicant to just have experience with a few of these skills. Applicants should not feel discouraged when they just check a few – we know you want to gain skills and that’s why you’re applying to an internship program!

Before starting your internship, we require all interns to be enrolled in a health insurance plan (coverage through parents or personal coverage are both fine) that covers the “10 essential health benefits” covered by all Marketplace plans: https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage/what-marketplace-plans-cover/.  Please shop around if you are not currently covered and find an option that covers these benefits at a cost in your range. You are not required by us to be covered at the time of application, but will need to be covered during the entire internship.

Yes. Reference reports are given very strong consideration by the selection committee.

Applications without any reference reports will not be considered.

Applications with only one reference report will be considered, but are not as strong as applications that have two reference reports.

See example questions for reference writers

Applicants should identify people to provide a reference that can directly comment on the candidate’s performance and capabilities in a technical/scientific environment. Two examples of people that might be good references:

1) college faculty member/instructor of an applicant’s recent science, engineering or technology course;

2) an engineer/STEM manager from industry who has mentored/supervised the applicant during a job, capstone project or another internship.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to identify college instructors as their reference person, rather than high school teachers.

References from people who are not able to comment directly on the applicant’s performance and abilities (people who have not had the student in a course or directly supervised their technical work) can be accepted but will make the application less competitive.

Recommended: forward the example questions for reference writers to your reference contact when you inform them you are applying to the Akamai internship program.

From your application portal, you can check the status of your application materials, such as reference reports submitted, the number of transcripts uploaded, and if there are required actions needed.

See the example application questions for candidates

The Akamai PREP Course is a 4-day preparatory workshop. It is a successful catalyst to the summer internship program and is an important part of the overall experience in Akamai.

The course takes place in Hilo, Hawai‘i Island or Kahului, Maui and all interns are required to stay in the provided accommodations (usually double-occupancy), getting to know the entire intern cohort for that summer.

During the course, interns work in teams to solve problems, and get a lot of practice working on first-time challenges (like they’ll likely tackle during their internship) and justifying their solutions.

The course is taught by a team that has been trained to teach engaging, effective laboratory-like activities and is very hands-on.

Interns get a chance to make friends with other interns, instructors, and program staff, giving them a strong support network that lasts throughout the summer and beyond. The PREP Course is hard work and a lot of fun!

The Akamai program includes participation in a hands-on preparatory course and a 7-week project in the STEM workplace.

The preparatory course is a set of lab activities in which participants manipulate materials such as lenses and optics rails and visually identify light phenomena. Some aspects of the course are in low-light conditions, and the entire course involves working in small teams to discuss and work through problems.

The 7-week projects vary widely, from working in a computer to lab work to outdoor work at altitude (see where intern do their projects and kinds of projects interns do).

During the entire program, interns interact with instructors and complete assignments online through shared documents and slides, and during the 7-week project through weekly meetings carried out by video (e.g. zoom).

In addition, if interns need housing, they are typically placed double-occupancy with a person of the same gender identity and prepare their own meals in a shared kitchen. 

Transportation between housing and internship site also varies, from using public transportation to walking a short distance to carpooling with other interns.

If you have questions please send an email addressed to Akamai Director at akamai@ucsc.edu.

Akamai sends out acceptances in early March. An acceptance is an offer to the applicant to join the program, which includes the placement offered to the applicant (site and type of project). Applicants then have a few weeks to formally accept or reject Akamai’s offer.

See Placement sites for more info.

We provide housing for all interns who need it in order to work at their internship site. For example, if you live on Maui and your internship site is in Hilo (on the Big Island), we will provide you with housing in Hilo.

We also provide housing if you will have a long driving commute to get to your internship site.

See map of project locations for more info.

The Travel Questionnaire (which will be sent to you in early 2024) includes questions about where you will need housing.

The housing provided is generally double-occupancy; you will most likely share a room with another intern. All accommodations include kitchens, allowing you to to make your own meals. Interns are expected to cover the costs of their own meals during their internship (except during the PREP course when all meals are provided at the UH Hilo dining hall).

During the PREP course, all interns stay together (first 4 days of the internship program), and we cover the cost of rooms and meals.

See additional information on the Housing & Transportation page.

In most cases, interns are provided housing that is within walking distance of their internship site. However, there are some exceptions where housing is not available near an internship site (e.g. NELHA in Kona).

In some situations we are able to provide a stipend to cover transportation costs when walking to the internship site is not possible, and this is arranged on a case-by-case basis.

The Travel Questionnaire includes a place for applicants to indicate any sites where transportation would be needed.

The application includes a place for applicants to indicate any sites where transportation would be needed.

Interns are provided transportation during the PREP course, including a ride from the airport to the provided housing.

Applicants should not let a lack of transportation get in the way of applying; we are almost always able to figure out a way to manage it.

See the project placements page to get an idea of possible internship locations.

See additional information on the Housing & Transportation page.