Careers Opportunities

Internship Opportunities in Federal Technology Transfer

The NIH Office of Technology Transfer has internship opportunities available to qualified Master´s or Doctoral students in the fields of law, business, or life sciences. These unpaid internships enable candidates to combine their legal, business, or life science background with training and experience in the technology transfer field. The Office of Technology Transfer is responsible for patenting, marketing, and licensing technologies resulting from basic research done at NIH. Our industry partners license these basic inventions and commercialize them for the benefit of the general public. Interns will work with OTT staff in the areas of patenting, marketing, licensing, and technology transfer policy; NIH scientists; and outside industrial or academic collaborators in pursuit of these goals.

These are volunteer positions to provide candidates an opportunity to receive training in the field of intellectual property management, patent prosecution, licensing, marketing, or technology transfer policy. They are generally limited to part-time (1-2 days per week) and a maximum of 6 months. Variations may be approved on a case by case basis. Requests for internships must be forwarded to the OTT Training Coordinator by the 15th day of November, February, May, or August. Requests are reviewed by OTT Senior Staff on a quarterly basis.

Duties & Responsibilities

Interns will receive hands-on specialized training.
Interns will be mentored in and assigned tasks related to:

• Intellectual Property Basics
• Marketing of Technology
• Introduction to Licensing and Negotiation Practices
• Technology Transfer Policy
• Monitoring of Technology Development
• Customer Service and Interpersonal Relations

Examples of Intern Projects

• Analysis and organization of patent family tree
• Evaluation of technology for patentability and commercialization
• Analysis of patterns and demographics of licensee recruitment
• Survey of medical device industry and re-classifying NIH technologies to fit the market mold
• Developing marketing materials, such as brochures, posters, or technology summaries
• Targeted marketing of selected technologies
• Organization of specialized meetings or conference sessions
• Developing technology transfer success stories

Who May Apply

• Candidates must have a minimum of a Bachelors degree in a Life Science and must be pursuing, or received an advanced degree in law, business, or life science
• Candidates must be a U.S. Citizen or have a valid visa, if applicable. Ability to commit to a minimum of 1-2 days a week is required (8-16 hours per week)


Special notes:


• Participants who are not currently employed in the Federal Government are not considered federal employees during their internship, and may NOT represent the government as such
• Internships are unpaid
• Proof of health insurance is required

How To Apply

Submit:


• Resume
• A statement of interest to include the following:
  - A brief history of yourself.
  
  - Why you are interested in working in the Office of Technology Transfer.
  
  - Area(s) you are interested in working at OTT (for example, developing strategies for patent prosecution, assisting with negotiation of licenses, policy, international program, analysis of the scientific and business potential of new inventions, etc.) Detailed information on OTT is available at our website at www.ott.nih.gov
  
  - A project you would like to undertake during the internship. (Project should be based on information listed on our website.)
  
  - Length of proposed internship and availability dates and times.  Some of our interns share cubicles/office space.  Please be specific about the time commitment you are willing to dedicate to the internship and identify the days of the week and times you would be physically at OTT, i.e. Monday Thursday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
  
  
• Non-Federal Employees must complete NIH-590 Internship Approval Form
  
  **Your application will not be considered if you do not submit the required information.

OTT Training Coordinator
NIH Office of Technology Transfer
Attn: Susan Bruff
6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325 (MSC 7660)
Rockville, MD 20852-3804
Fax: 301-496-9056


Applications are accepted throughout the year. In some cases academic credit can be obtained for the internship, and these can be scheduled during the relevant academic semester/quarter.