Frequently Asked Questions for SIP Mentors

FAQs

What does it mean when we say SIP is about real research?

Being a primary SIP mentor means involving three or more high-school students (SIP interns) in your current research. The intern(s) should help you carry out a research project that you are leading and working on and need to get done soon. It should not be something you have made up just for the intern — it shouldn’t be an exercise — it needs to be an actual research project. Having said this, the focus of the intern’s portion may be adjusted slightly to best match the intern’s interests and skill set. The idea is for the experience to have mutual benefit — to the intern and the mentor. The SIP intern benefits from the experience of being immersed in a research project and learning sophisticated research techniques, understanding the broader context of their project within the overall scientific discipline, and, most importantly, becoming familiar with the sociology of collaborative research. The mentor’s research project is helped by the intern’s contribution.

What is in it for the mentors?

• The high-school interns’ work advances the mentor’s research
• Optional mentor workshops for researchers to improve their mentoring and supervising skills
• Partial summer stipend for mentors
• Broadening of the societal impact of the mentor’s research

What are the dates, format, and schedule of the SIP summer program?

SIP interns commit to working at least six of the seven active research weeks during the summer. Both mentors and interns are allowed to take one week off, but these should not be the first two weeks of the seven weeks of active research. Mentors and interns are responsible for creating a workable schedule for both parties. A typical project begins on the first day of the seven active research weeks, Monday, June 24, 2024 (Sunday, June 23 is the kickoff/orientation event) and continues until Saturday, August 10, 2024 – with a possible short break or two in between. This year, we are asking that students begin working remotely on June 10 during the two Research preparation weeks, so that they have two weeks to get in contact with their mentors and complete any online training that may be required of them before they begin to work in their assigned labs. Mentors should be prepared to provide information to their interns on what is expected during the two Research preparation weeks from June 10-21, 2024.

For each project, the SIP intern(s) and their mentors typically tailor the exact duration and pace of the project according to their mutual convenience to work around their summer travel schedules. Interns are usually available from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday.

Are there post-summer activities?

Maybe. The official end date of the 2024 SIP program will be Saturday, August 10, the final presentation day. There are at least three items that may extend beyond this date. First, some SIP interns opt to write up their research project as a paper for the nationwide Siemens science competition (due late September) and/or the Regeneron (formerly Intel) Science Talent Search (due mid-November). They consult their mentors as they write their papers. Second, the results from the SIP project are often worthy of publication as a poster in a scientific conference (e.g., American Astronomical Society or American Geophysical Union meeting) and/or as a journal article. This naturally involves the SIP mentors who are typically the lead authors of these journal articles with the SIP interns and others as coauthors. Third, SIP interns who will be rising seniors during the summer typically ask their primary mentor for letters of recommendation for college.

Does SIP offer stipends to mentors?

Yes, SIP does offer stipends to primary mentors who are graduate students, postdocs, or research staff, but not to faculty. Each research project should list only one primary mentor. The stipend amounts below are for the entire summer and are per primary mentor, independent of how many interns or projects she/he supervises. Our general framework is SIP will offer each postdoc and research staff a mentor stipend of $2,200 (in lieu of a proportional amount of vacation time) and will offer each graduate student a mentor stipend of $4,000. In terms of appointment percentage, the SIP appointment counts as about 25%, so the remaining GSR and TA appointments for the summer should not exceed 75%.

Do interns have to be supervised all the time?

Interns in lab-based research projects must be supervised at all times when they are in a lab. Mentors should please keep this in mind when thinking about the interns’ schedule. A mentor can have a colleague do the supervision, or, if she/he is not going to be in the lab on a particular day, she/he can assign the intern literature review or computer work to do elsewhere. SIP is bound by UC policy to supervise minors (interns) 100% of the time, and since this is impossible, we have developed systems to know where interns are located at all times.  During the 9am-4pm internship day, mentors should know where their interns are at all times: in the lab, at the library, at lunch, in a designated study area, or another location. mentors should report intern attendance to the SIP office first thing in the morning, and should also report any missing interns immediately. Interns are released back to the dorms or the bus stop at 4pm, and are expected to check in once they reach their destination and transfer into the care of the residential life team or their parents.

It is also important for mentors to follow the Rule of 3: make sure you have either 2 adults and 1 intern or 1 adult and 2 interns to avoid isolating situations. This applies to all situations including but not limited to: supervising interns, driving, field trips, lab work, social situations, etc.

How many interns should a mentor sign up for?

Mentors are expected to take a minimum of 3 interns on their project. This is important for several reasons: based on mentors’ experiences over the past 15 years, it is usually just as easy for a mentor to take two interns as one; secondly, this offers the intern a peer collaborator they can work with when the mentor isn’t available; and finally, having three interns reduces the chances of isolating the minor intern with adults during their time on campus; If one intern is absent, there are still two with the mentor, so we are not left with one intern and one mentor and thus not following the rule of three.

Can a mentor help with the selection of interns?

Yes, the SIP staff would love to have input from mentors. For the mentors, it entails reading essays and teacher recommendations during the April admission review period, and ranking applications according to SIP rubrics. Interested mentors should please contact SIP staff at ucsc-sip@ucsc.edu.

What is the history of SIP? What is the track record of the program?

The SIP program started in the summer of 2009 when three rising seniors from the Harker School in San Jose worked on their respective astronomy research projects with Professor Raja GuhaThakurta in the astronomy/astrophysics department. The number of SIP interns has grown exponentially since that time: 15 in 2010, 29 in 2011, 43 in 2012, 61 in 2013, 68 in 2014, 104 in 2015, 142 in 2016, 157 in 2017, 165 in 2018, 180 in 2019, 225 in 2020, 313 in 2021, 326 in 2022, and 394 in 2023. 485 different high schools have been represented in the 15 years of SIP. Many SIP interns have gone on to garner honors in the Siemens and Intel/Regeneron national science competitions and present papers at scientific conferences. SIP alumni have also enjoyed an outstanding record of college placements.

Which high schools do SIP interns come from?

SIP is open to all schools and the program staff are proud to have had students from 89 excellent public, private, and charter schools – most in the Bay Area, but some out of state, and some international. SIP has partnerships with several Bay Area schools and organizations: Alisal HS (Salinas), Castilleja School (Palo Alto), Ceiba College Prep (Watsonville), College Track (East Palo Alto, Oakland, Sacramento, and San Francisco), Digital Nest (Watsonville), Downtown College Prep (San Jose), Eastside College Prep (East Palo Alto), Georgiana Bruce Kirby Prep (Santa Cruz), Gonzales HS (Gonzales), Harker School (San Jose), Minds Matter of San Francisco, Peninsula Bridge (Palo Alto), Santa Cruz HS, Soquel HS, Watsonville HS, and Yerba Buena HS (San Jose), to name a few. A partnership means the institution’s staff help us with SIP intern selection from their school. The main goal of these partnerships is to expand its outreach to local high schools, with a particular emphasis on underserved student populations. The SIP staff anticipates that this summer the intern pool will be more diverse than ever before.

For more information on the high schools represented in SIP, please see the Diversity Efforts page.

Does each mentor need to fill out a CANRA form?

Yes, please. Please click on this link to access California’s Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA) packet and form. All mentors will also have to complete the CANRA online training through the UC Learning Center each year, even if they have taken it before.

Each non-faculty mentor will have to undergo a Live Scan (background check, fingerprinting) on campus to comply with UCSC regulations. The SIP program will cover Live Scan costs.

If a mentor doesn’t have a lot of experience working with high-school students, what are some of the things she/he should keep in mind?

The SIP program usually attracts very motivated, focused students. Nevertheless, there are many aspects of working with high school students that the mentor may want to consider:

• SIP interns are high-school students, not college students – they are minors. Interns will need to comply with any lab safety procedures followed in the mentor’s lab. If the project involves fieldwork, mentors should contact SIP staff to ensure that their safety and oversight measures are appropriate for high-school students.
• Mentors should follow the Rule of 3: make sure you have either 2 adults and 1 intern or 1 adult and 2 interns to avoid isolating situations. This would apply to all situations including but not limited to supervising interns, driving, field trips, lab work, social situations, etc. Mentors are expected to take two or more interns on a project to ensure that interns are not isolated.

What else should a mentor know about working with high-school students?

Interns in this age group are generally mature, proactive, and easy to communicate with. However, some interns are a little shy and may need some practice communicating with adults. The SIP FAQ page outlines expectations for interns to check email regularly and communicate with their mentor about scheduling, meetings, etc. If, however, a mentor feels that an intern is having trouble with time management or is not communicating, please let the SIP staff know as soon as possible. There may be something else going on, or the staff may be able to talk with other adults (parents, counselors, etc.) and work with the intern to help her/him improve in this area. The mentor should not have to handle this alone.