BUSINESS INTERNSHIPS
"Nothing ever becomes real until it is experienced."
–John Keats
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Our online business research internships provide students with the unique opportunity to work jointly with world-leading experts across the fields of economics, finance, investing, and marketing. On your internship you will advance the boundaries of knowledge in your subject, and coauthor an original research paper in collaboration with other student colleagues and under the guidance of your expert academic mentor.
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Deepen your understanding of business while acquiring practical research skills and hands-on experience into what it is like to undertake advanced study in the discipline. Become a published author when you submit your completed research paper to our open-access academic journal or an external scholarly publication.
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World Scholars Academy business internship programs are an exceptional opportunity to demonstrate your unique talents, substantiate your commitment to excellence, and individuate yourself from peers so you can stand out when applying to top universities.
WORLD BUSINESS
INTERNSHIPS
World Scholars Academy business internships for ages 15-18 investigate current issues in various fields of commerce including; finance & investment, economics, entrepreneurship, and marketing. On the internship you will work with fellow World Scholars to research and coauthor a pioneering academic paper on your topic with the close support of your mentor, a world-leading expert in the field.
During your internship you will learn specialist research techniques, survey the extant literature of the discipline, and conduct original research on your topic. You will contribute your own ideas to the project's successful completion, and will develop technical skills and practical know-how to excel in the discipline. Your final paper will be reviewed by your mentor and submitted to either our open-access academic journal or another scholarly publication.
Internships take place on either Saturday or Sunday over four weeks, allowing you to participate in an internship during your normal school year or simultaneously with a World Scholars Academy academic summer course. Interns should expect to spend a minimum of three hours outside of their live contact time each week to complete their research project. World Scholars Academy business internships include:
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Collaborative group work
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Individualized feedback and academic guidance
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Co-authored research paper submitted for publication
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Entry into the annual WSR Best Review Award competition
Please note that places on World Scholars Academy business internship programs are extremely limited and currently listed research topics may not recur. Upcoming business internship opportunities are listed below.
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Internship Details
Mainstream academic theory defines investment risk as 'volatility' as calculated by standard deviation. However, opinion is divided amongst the academic community as to the validity of this metric, and some of the world's most successful investors such as Jim Rogers, Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, and Mark Cuban openly reject it. On this internship you will (i) discover why standard deviation is used to measure investment risk and discover its limitations, (ii) investigate and critique alternative conceptions of investment risk, (iii) recognize how deficient metrics for investment risk may have directly led to historically significant investment losses and asset bubbles such as the infamous Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM) collapse and the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, and (iv) theorize how a more holistic measure of investment risk might avoid these pitfalls.
During this month-long Internship you will conduct original research on the formulation and measurement of investment risk. Collaborating with your fellow interns, you will investigate and more deeply understand this fundamental financial concept, and with your mentor's guidance you will co-author an academic research paper on this topic for publication. No previous knowledge of investment theory or economics is required to participate.
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Location: Online
Type: Academic Research Internship
Eligibility: Ages 15-18
Days: Sundays from 11am-2pm PT | 2pm-5pm ET
Dates: Four weeks: July 2nd, July 9th, July 16th, July 23rd
Price: $1895
Requirements: Interns are expected to be present for all four sessions. However, if an intern is unable to attend a particular session they will receive an update on the project progress and will be assigned additional work to complete in order to make up for their absence. Interns are expected to spend a minimum of three hours per week working on their project outside of the live contact hours.
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Internship Details
Ecosystem services such as pollination, pest control, nutrient cycling, water purification, food provision, and flood control are essential for sustaining human existence and well-being. However, many of these services are not commonly provided by the private market as a result of intrinsic challenges to market efficiency such as strategic free-riding, lack of information, and high transaction costs. As a result, the natural environment is not properly maintained or funded, and where ecosystem service provision is remunerated, it is almost exclusively via external sources such as government grants or charitable donation.
Nevertheless, the emerging field of private provision of ecosystem services represents an opportunity to tap new funding sources for improved environmental conservation. This internship will examine the theory of the private provision of public goods and research existing empirical studies of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES). This research will determine the practical feasibility of achieving fully private PES, and which forms of intervention can maximize conservation outcomes.
During this month-long Internship you will conduct original research on the private provision of ecosystem services. Collaborating with your fellow interns, you will learn how the application of economic principles can provide novel solutions to environmental problems, and with your mentor's guidance you will co-author an academic research paper on this topic for publication. No previous knowledge of economics or environmental science is required to participate.
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Location: Online
Type: Academic Research Internship
Eligibility: Ages 15-18
Days: Saturdays from 11am-2pm PT | 2pm-5pm ET
Dates: Four weeks: September 2nd, September 9th, September 16th, September 23rd
Price: $1895
Requirements: Interns are expected to be present for all four sessions. However, if an intern is unable to attend a particular session they will receive an update on the project progress and will be assigned additional work to complete in order to make up for their absence. Interns are expected to spend a minimum of three hours per week working on their project outside of the live contact hours.
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Internship Details
Economic welfare is defined as the net benefits to all consumers and producers created through market exchange. However, economists now proxy economic welfare with measures of total spending such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross National Product (GNP), which are conceptually and compositionally distinct constructs. In fact the ‘Father’ of GDP accounting, Simon Kuznets who devised it’s formulation in the 1930s is quoted as stating that, “The welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from a measure of [GDP]." Yet paradoxically, this is exactly the way in which GDP is used today across popular and academic circles alike.
Can controversies over the use of ‘Keynesian’ government spending programs to smooth the business cycle be resolved with a more holistic understanding of what GDP in fact ‘is’. Is it the case, as economist Charles Goodhart famously stated that, “Any measure [like GDP] which becomes a target, loses it’s usefulness as a measure”? Under what circumstances is GDP actually an appropriate measure of economic phenomena, where does it in fact break down in its present use, and finally, how could we in practice construct a superior measure of economic welfare to benchmark performance?
During this month-long Internship you will conduct original research on the formulation and measurement of economic welfare as proxied by GDP. Collaborating with your fellow interns, you will investigate and more deeply understand this fundamental economic concept, and with your mentor's guidance you will co-author an academic research paper on this topic for publication. No previous knowledge of economics or statistics is required to participate.
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Location: Online
Type: Academic Research Internship
Eligibility: Ages 15-18
Days: Saturdays from 11am-2pm PT | 2pm-5pm ET
Dates: Four weeks: November 4th, November 11th, November 18th, December 2nd
Price: $1895
Requirements: Interns are expected to be present for all four sessions. However, if an intern is unable to attend a particular session they will receive an update on the project progress and will be assigned additional work to complete in order to make up for their absence. Interns are expected to spend a minimum of three hours per week working on their project outside of the live contact hours.