Internship Program & Student Positions

The Office of Technology Transfer has a number of opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students to participate in office activities for professional development. There are three types of opportunities available.

group of interns

Current and Past Interns: Front Row: Sophie Yount, Latika Luthra, Shweta Ghai, Renee Shaw, Paula Nesbeth, Christina Lester; Back Row: Sara Wilkening, Patrick Reynolds, Sommer Zimmerman, Jakob Habib

Internship Program

OTT’s Internship Programs (Licensing or Patent tracks) are unpaid volunteer positions focused on providing education and hands-on experience for graduate students and post-graduates. The internship program balances formal training in technology transfer, marketing, intellectual property protection, licensing, and contracts with projects that expose the intern to the day-to-day workings of a technology transfer office. The training and education received will help prepare students for career alternatives outside of a traditional research lab in areas like technology transfer, business development, economic development, and patent law. These programs are cohort-based, with new cohorts beginning in August or September each year. Check out the intern section of our blog site to hear more about these opportunities.

Student Employment

OTT also engages undergraduate students with writing and video experience as work-for-hire employees to assist our team with our marketing and communications program (MarComm track). These are paid (or class credit) opportunities that enable students to work with our team and apply their classroom experience, hone their skills, get real-world experience, and build their portfolio for future professional opportunities. These typically require a student to be at least a junior and are available at the start of each fall or spring semester. Check out the student section of our blog site for posts specific to these positions.

Below you will find additional details for each of these tracks.

Track Options

This track will assist the Licensing Team in its technology commercialization process. Projects include preparation of non-confidential (tech briefs) summaries, market research, and technology assessments. The licensing track operates on an academic year cohort. Applications are accepted each year during May and June by sending a resume (or CV) and a writing sample to the program coordinator (contact below). Interviews will be held during July and the program will begin in August. If you are interested in the program out of cycle please reach out to the program coordinator.

Program Goals

  • To provide educational opportunities to gain exposure to the process of intellectual property management, particularly in a university setting. 
  • To provide opportunities for interns to improve analytical and writing skills.
  • To provide guidance on a potential career in technology transfer.

Candidate Qualifications:

  • Have a minimum of a bachelors degree in a life science, the physical sciences and/or engineering.
  • Written and verbal fluency in English.
  • Must be pursuing or have received an advanced degree in law, science or engineering.
  • Have an interest in intellectual property as a career goal.

Please review our Intern Program Document for more detailed information.

If interested in the licensing track send a resume (or CV) and a writing sample with cover letter expressing interest to the program coordinator by June 30th:

Catherine Murari-Kanti
cmurari@emory.edu
Emory University
Office of Technology Transfer
1599 Clifton Rd, NE, 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322

Additional Program Details

A five week "Boot Camp" at the start of the program which covers

  • Week 1: Program overview, Intro to tech transfer, OTT & commercialization at Emory, Navigating OTT systems and processes
  • Week 2: Basic business and marketing concepts, Marketing analysis, Marketing research tools
  • Week 3: Patents 101, The anatomy of a patent, Prior art searches and tools, IP landscape analysis
  • Week 4: Technology triage, Opportunity vetting, Commercialization evaluation reports
  • Week 5: Final project presentations

Lunch & Learn series which includes topics such as

  • Contracts 101
  • Anatomy of a license agreement
  • Negotiatinga license agreement

Rotations

  • There are 3 to 4 rotations of two month duration during one year term
  • First two rotations are with a licensing associate
  • Follow on rotations can be with contract specialist, marketing manager, patent attorney, startups team

The internship program will assist the Emory Patent Group (the “EPG”) in its ongoing intellectual property evaluation and patent process procedures. Projects include conducting patent research, assisting in the evaluation of university technologies for patentability, and assisting in the preparation of patent applications and prosecution.

Program Goals

  • To provide educational opportunities to gain exposure to the process of intellectual property management, particularly in a university setting. 
  • To provide opportunities for interns to improve analytical and writing skills.
  • To provide guidance on a potential career as a registered patent agent or attorney.

Candidate Qualifications

  • Have a minimum of a bachelors degree in a life science, the physical sciences and/or engineering.
  • Written and verbal fluency in English.
  • Must be pursuing or have received an advanced degree in law, science or engineering.
  • Have an interest in intellectual property as a career goal.

Please review our Intern Program Document for more detailed information.

If interested in the patent track send a resume or CV with cover letter expressing interest to the program coordinator:

James Mason
james.mason@emory.edu
Emory University
Office of Technology Transfer
1599 Clifton Rd, NE, 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322

This track will assist the Marketing & Communications Team in the promotion of individual technologies, products, the office and technology transfer program in general. Projects include interviewing and preparing (written or video) featured innovations, blog pieces, general writing and research, and general video work.

Program Goals

  • To provide opportunities for students to gain exposure to the process and facets of marketing & communications. 
  • To provide opportunities for students to improve analytical, writing, and video skills.
  • To provide real-world assignments to apply their educational experiences to and build their portfolio.

Candidate Qualifications

  • Must be a current Emory undergraduate student and have completed some coursework in writing or video.
  • Written and verbal fluency in English.
  • Prefer a junior or senior level student.
  • Have a potential interest in writing or video as part of a future career goal.

If interested in the marketing & communications track send a resume or CV and a writing or video sample, as appropriate, with cover letter expressing interest to the program coordinator:

Asher Alt
aalt@emory.edu
Emory University
Office of Technology Transfer
1599 Clifton Rd, NE, 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322