Our Corporate Fellowships provide a venue for deeper exploration of social responsibility issues, and an opportunity for interested students to work on real corporate responsibility issues in real companies.
The LifeScan Graduate Fellows Program is a year-long, immersive fellowship providing two second year Haas MBAs the opportunity to work with LifeScan, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with diabetes.
It’s a two-part program starting with a paid internship at LifeScan’s Global Internal Communications and Community Relations (GIC/CR) group during the summer between the Fellows’ first and second years. During the second year, the Fellows work part-time in LifeScan’s GIC/CR group on a variety of projects while continuing to pursue their MBAs. Each LifeScan Fellow receives $30,000 in compensation for working for the academic year, comprised of tuition and a stipend.
Contribute to strategic initiatives such as global health, through the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute
Work on internal and external communications related to Community Relations initiatives
Serve as internal communications liaison for clients of Community Relations (e.g.,
Employee Diversity Groups, Women’s Leadership Initiative, Employee Contributions Campaign)
Contribute articles on corporate social responsibility for company web sites and publications, including LifeScan’s Social Responsibility Report
Grow employee engagement and expand initiatives globally
Organize volunteer events at local non-profit organizations to foster strategic team building
Be involved in a unique network of fellow students, graduates, universities, and LifeScan Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) professionals
Present ideas and recommendations to senior-level management
* Responsibilities may vary depending upon which area within Global Internal Communications/Community Relations the Fellow is assigned.
Who Should Apply
The program is open to full-time Haas MBA candidates in the first year of MBA study. Those selected must commit to working as a paid Fellow during the second year of their MBA program, specifically 15 hours each week during the school semesters (other arrangements may be made during winter and summer breaks). Students will also be eligible for a paid internship in the LifeScan Community Relations Group during the summer between their first and second year. The Summer Internship is highly recommended for students interested in becoming a Fellow.
Application Guidelines
The Information Session will take place on Wednesday, March 2 at 12:30-2pm in S489
If you’re interested in applying to be a LifeScan Fellow, submit an updated resume/CV and a personal statement that addresses the following questions:
What do you bring to the LifeScan fellows program?
How will your LifeScan Fellows experience impact your post MBA career plan?
Please list any other time commitments you may have, including other programs or activities that will be pursued during the year?
Open to both first- and second-year MBAs, the Corporate Sustainability Fellowship Program gives students the opportunity to work intimately with a company, and gain an even closer look at its approach to corporate responsibility and sustainability.
Past Fellowships
Take Chevron, for example. Tackling the myriad of corporate responsibility issues facing an oil company in the 21st century is at once immensely challenging and incredibly rewarding, especially for students that want to make large-scale change. Kathryn Wendell (MBA ’10) remarked how “it was a tremendous learning experience, and I would highly recommend [it] to other Haas students.” Kathryn and her classmates focused on identifying key stakeholders around a specific refinery and made recommendations for improving stakeholder relations. One of the recommendations was to increase community involvement to help repair Chevron’s reputation.
The Walmart Fellows built the business case for MSP—My Sustainability Plan—a program designed to help Walmart employees “live healthy, live green and live better.” Students calculated the ROI on the program, including value created for the company, employees and society. They also made recommendations on program implementation and evolution over the long run.
Why You Want to Apply
Like the Strategic CSR & Projects course, this is a semester-long experiential learning opportunity with a leading company. Students receive 1-3 Independent Study Credits (MBA 293) for completing the fellowship.
The fellowship, however, allows interested students to go even deeper. Fellows conduct research, engage stakeholders and work in small teams alongside senior managers from across the company, as well as with faculty members here at Haas. The program concludes when Fellows present their recommendations to high-ranking executives at corporate headquarters. The deep company interaction gained through the Fellowship Program also presents students with an opportunity to continue working with the company as a paid intern once the Fellowship ends.
For more information on the Corporate Sustainability Fellowship Program, please contact:
Jo Mackness Executive Director, Center for Responsible Business Email: mackness@haas.berkeley.edu Phone: (510) 642-6099