CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Meeting: November 1, 2022
Subject
FY 22-23 City Work Program item: Student Internship Program Recommended Actions
Direct staff to:
Proceed with developing the Student Internship Program by incorporating criteria from the 2022 summer intern pilot program and the existing Volunteer Intern Policy (Attachment A); and Form a subcommittee to guide the final candidate selection process.
Discussion
The Student Internship Program is part of the FY 2022-2023 City Work Program. The project objective is to implement a trial student summer internship program with the City of Cupertino. Initial year will be on a limited basis. If approved, applications will be sought for one-, two- or three-week internships during the summer, with applications to be released in mid-July. Internships will be project-focused, with participating City departments asked to identify a specific project or projects that a student intern can undertake. The internships will have a common start date, and include an orientation, group activities and exit interviews. Alternatively, if the time and resources do not permit the City to run a trial program in the upcoming summer of the fiscal year (i.e., Summer 2022), Council may form a subcommittee to share practices for student internships, and to bring a report back to Council at the end of Summer 2022 with recommendations as part of the initiation of a student internship program in Summer 2023.
This item was proposed by the City Council to continue an ongoing internship program for students who wish to experience working in local government. The intent of the program is to provide a valuable, career-growing experience for students that reside in Cupertino that can also benefit the City by allowing interns to assist City departments with projects during the summer recess.
Following the adoption of the FY 2022-2023 City Work Program, in July Mayor Paul spearheaded a pilot summer internship program. Four students were selected to assist with a variety of projects and public events.
The following highlights projects that were completed during summer of 2022:
Library Expansion follow-up: In July, the interns helped to prepare certificates and thank-you cards to supporters of the project.
Farmer’s Market Ribbon Cutting Ceremony: In August, two interns helped set up for the Ribbon Cutting to celebrate the new location of the Farmer’s Market.
Augmented and Virtual Reality Hackathon: In August, an intern served as a Teaching Assistant for the workshop held at De Anza College.
Prior to the summer activities, Mayor Paul also worked closely with interns on the following projects:
Single-Use Plastics Mayor’s Cup Challenge Event: In May, the interns helped with community engagement and outreach for the event by circulating flyers on social media and by gathering volunteers for the day of the event. After the event, they created follow-up questions for the panelists in order to continue the conversation on plastic reduction. The follow-up questions and answers can be viewed at cupertino.org/mayorscupchallenge.
Angel Island excursion: In June, the Cupertino Historical Society scheduled an excursion to Angel Island in San Francisco as part of The City’s recognition of Immigrant Heritage Month. A group of residents visited the Immigration Station facility and museum and were led by the Executive Director of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation. All four interns attended the event and took photos, videos, and wrote articles about the experience, which can be found on the Cupertino Solidarity webpage here. One intern also presented the success of the event to the Cupertino Historical Society and Museum’s Board meetings. Another intern created a short video documentary of the event that can be viewed here.
In addition to this pilot program Councilmembers have had interns in the past through the Volunteer Intern Process Policy (Attachment A). This policy became effective in November 2018 to provide guidance in the selection of unpaid volunteer interns. Since adoption, the City has had 12 volunteer interns that have worked with City Councilmembers and staff under this policy. This Volunteer Intern Policy is available year-round and allows for two interns per hiring manager, or a Councilmember, during the entire school year. This year, in addition to the four interns who participated in the pilot, there were four other interns brought under the Volunteer Intern Policy. Two were assigned to staff and two were assigned to another Councilmember.
To develop the FY22-23 City Work Program Internship Program, staff recommends augmenting the existing Volunteer Intern Policy and including the following criteria:
Eligibility limiting to 14-years or older high school students who are Cupertino residents In addition to year-long program, a focused summer program can be held for a one-, two-, or three-week period each year.
Total summer program will be up to 60 hours maximum, averaging 20 hours per week.
The interns will report directly to the assigned Councilmember and can work with a City department on specifically identified intern projects.
The application and selection process will follow the existing Volunteer Intern Policy and be published by March 1 each year.
City will work closely with Fremont Union High School District in advertising the opportunity.
In addition, staff recommends the Council to form a subcommittee to make recommendations on the selection criteria and be part of the selection process.
Sustainability Impact
No sustainability impact.
Fiscal Impact
This City Work Program item was allocated $15,000 to facilitate and advertise the Intern program. Since these volunteer interns are unpaid, these funds can be utilized towards hosting specific projects or events to support the program. _____________________________________
Prepared by: Astrid Robles, Acting Assistant to the City Manager Reviewed by: Kristina Alfaro, Director of Administrative Services Vanessa Guerra, Human Resources Manager
Approved for Submission by: Pamela Wu, City Manager
Attachment:
A – Volunteer Intern Process Policy
https://www.cupertino.org/our-city/city-news/cupertino-solidarity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crndxO3Y6NU