We are excited to announce the ACE SkyLab Innovation Center Collegiate Internship and High School Junior Internship Programs. This scaffolded internship initiative offers future aerospace and aviation professionals hands-on training and on-the-job experience in a laboratory setting. Here, interns and junior interns alike can engage, educate, and accelerate a top-down mentorship model. With thorough learning, understanding, and application of the variety of pathways through STEM, Aerospace, and Aviation, in alignment with collegiate goals ACE has set a mission to impact a variety of people and barriers to employment.
Studies indicate that this top-down model is highly effective in cultivating new staff for participating organizations by over 50%, and students that participate in this scaffolded model are over 60% more likely to choose a career in the field of their internship. In order to achieve maximum reciprocity for our collegiate interns and our CFAA Jr. interns, ACE and the ACE SkyLab Innovation Center will follow this 20/20 model of internships.
What does that mean for our interns and their time here at ACE and the ACE SkyLab Innovation Center? Here, our ACE interns and junior interns will be provided with an academic space to learn and grow both with ‘In-School’ time and ‘In-Service’ time of equal value. Specifically, students participating as interns and Jr. interns will complete in-service hours for the organization in equality to in-school space and tutoring. This will provide an enrichment environment here at the Aerospace Center for Excellence (ACE) which is in complete alignment with our steadfast commitment to ‘engage, educate and accelerate the next generation of aerospace professionals’ with hands-on learning by doing and academic direct classroom support. Some of the schools and Universities that are targeted for the initiation for this particular program with ACE are: Polk State College, Florida Polytechnic University, Central Florida Aerospace Academy High School (for our junior intern initiative), Travis Technical College, University of South Florida, and Southeastern University. If you are interested in participating in this initiative, contact the Dean of Academic Affairs and Museum Sciences at ACE, Robin Kirk
