Internships
Internships at Xinchejian
So you want to be an intern at Xinchejian?
You ready to join our merry band of passionate individuals doing all sorts of creative projects?
As an intern, you get to help out with keeping the space alive.
Past and current interns
Pitch
XinCheJian mission as an hackerspace is to support makers through a community. The community offers a working space for makers, electronics and mechanical tools, Internet access and most importantly access to other makers. XinCheJian is the first hackerspace in China and is a well known part of the makers landscape.
- Get some valuable work experience
- Hang out with crazy and weird people!
- Master administrative skills!
- Attend workshops for a reduced price
- Be the smart ass guy who knows what's going on in the space
Benefits
- a dedicated experienced internship manager
- clear set of measurable Objectives and Key Results
- free membership for the duration of the internship + 1 month after internship
- recommendation at the end of internship (blog post and/or LinkedIn and/or email)
- reimbursement of 10 RMB for transportation per day they come to XinCheJian
- referral for follow up internship with our partners and sponsors (ex: DFRobot)
- support to complete at least one physical computing project (to be presented to the community)
Requirements
Commitment Requirements
- Time Commitment: minimum 100 hours+ (minimal 5 hours/day)
If you can't commit to this amount of time. Then you're not ready to be our intern.
If you just want to hang out, then go pay the membership fee and do your own thing. Being an official Xinchejian intern means privileges AND responsibilities.
Other Requirements
- Reliable - If you are not dependable, this is not for you.
- Speak English and Chinese (intermediate communication level)
- Have your own laptop
- Positive attitude
Intern General Duties
Responsibilities of XinCheJian interns are shared with any/all of the following:
Startup tasks
- Read previous internship reports on blog
- Get wiki account created
- Get the XinCheJian blog account created
- introduce yourself on the XinCheJian blog (projects, experience, what going to do as an intern)
- Add link to blog post created in this wiki
- Add project to wiki (explain the plan for the end product and requirements)
- Get familiar with other members projects and write up projects
- Make sure you meet & greet all staff members
Start combined tasks Event Manager, Support Staff, Space Manager
Workshop Duties
- Helping to manage our workshops
- Collecting fees for workshops
- Marketing our workshops
Technology Duties
- Helping to manage our social media
- Helping to manage our website
Space Duties
- Checking if people in the space are members
- Helping to keep the space open during daytime hours and weekends
- Helping to organize the space
- Acting on suggestions to improve the space
Interns Project Duties
In addition to their general duties, interns are expected to have an ongoing physical project that can be completed and presented to the community before the end of the internship.
- Should require about 50% of the internship time
- Should be documented under "Projects"
- Should be presented at the last Wednesday OpenHouse before the intern leaves
- Should combine mechanical, electrical and software engineering into one project.
- Can be a build following instructions online (example: from hackaday or instructables)
Interns rules
You will be penalized and possibly lose your internship:
- Do NOT play video games. The space is not for LAN party.
- Do NOT check constantly your online social networks.
- Do NOT break the rules of the space.
- You make your own schedule, but make sure you follow it.
Tips
Recommendations
- Reach out and communicate better challenges encountered and get help quickly to get past stumbling blocks
- Set realistic goals and make sure to update the community on progress
- Maximize visible impact
- Expected to provide more self-initiative given the wide range of freedom given to the interns
- Spend more time hands on producing concrete results instead of unrealistic designs without concrete experience.
Expectations from people managing interns
- Figure out upfront what the intern is planning as a career and fit the internship goals to that
- Make sure they are properly introduced and connected to the community
- Prepare shared Google Docs with the intern and anyone else expected to supervise the itnern
- ask what they are about to do
- ask how many working hours are they planned to support their project
- establish and track a schedule
- share plans widely to the community
- meet weekly with intern and update on progress
- write a final report and rating for intern (have it reviewed and edited collaboratively by the intern)
Grading scale
Grading scale:
- A range (A+,A,A-): Excellent. Consistently outstanding performance throughout the semester, with plus grades being reserved for superior work.
- B range (B+,B,B-): Good. A solid performance that is above average.
- C range (C+,C,C-): Satisfactory. An average performance.
- D range (D+,D,D-): Minimal pass.
- F Failure. Work that fails to meet the minimum criteria in all aspects.
How to apply
- Send your CV to staff@xinchejian.com
- Write us a short cover letter explaining who you are, and why you want to work at Xinchejian
- Tell us if there is anything specifically that you want to do at the space (electronics, urban farming, etc.)
- Tell us your proposed internship dates, and your proposed weekly work schedule.
- Come to the space on Wednesday night and introduce yourself to the staff members there.
