Internships with the Empire of Australia are available for a minimum of 1 quarter starting in the second week of February, May, August and November.
Interns are expected to devote a minimum of 5 hours per week to internship activities. Of this time, approximately 15-60 minutes will be spent on directing the time of the intern on what projects to approach and the balance of this time will be spent by the intern working on those projects with oversight only when requested. While there will be minimum oversight, Interns are expected to be highly self-directed, to ask for help or guidance when needed, and to produce an output of work that is something to be proud of.
These internships are 100% remote and “in-person” meetings will be conducted via Slack, Zoom, or some other electronic means.
The goal of each project will be to create a portfolio of work that the intern may use to showcase their abilities and efforts as well as add value to the Empire Universe in some lasting way. Interns will be advised on how to showcase their efforts to best effect on their LinkedIn profiles, resumes, bios or other areas and will be provided with a written recommendation attesting to their stellar efforts that can be included on their LinkedIn Profile or used with other applications or processes (provided that their efforts meet the minimum standard of effort). Internships are not paid at this time.
Internships are available in the following areas:
Linguistics
Language interns help create content for learning the two threatened languages that are at the heart of the Empire Project: Chinook Wawa and Te Reo Maori. This content can take the form of: simple language lessons within our game app, Cascadia; tests and challenges created to challenge the knowledge of learners within Cascadia; content created within Cascadia that utilizes these languages. Every effort will be made to connect the intern with native speakers of or experts in these languages that may assist with their work. Up to four internships are offered each quarter.
This internship is ideal for students of linguistics wanting an opportunity to work on the preservation and cultivation of languages that are at significant risk of being lost to history.
Creative Writing and Editing
Creative Writers and Editors will work primarily in English to create content for the Empire Canon, Cascadia, the Empire Instagram account, or other creative projects like creating excerpts from creative works referenced within the Empire Universe (for example, Fear of a Black Rabbit or the works of Morena Arshagouni). Interns may also serve as editors in the area of Deconflicting Narratives: working to ensure that the content of the Empire of Australia is creatively aligned and the Canon adhered to with itself and with other content. Up to four internships are offered each quarter.
This internship is ideal for students looking to be a part of a collaborative writing effort like those found in television writer’s rooms.
History
The Empire Universe seeks to create a parallel universe that is different from our own, but based on a plausible alternative history of the world. It is not grounded in magic, but rather seeks to ask the question: “what if?”, and to create a believable world following from that question. In the case of the Empire Universe, history divides from that of our own most noticeably in 1151 of the common era, with the creation of the Empire of Australia and the dynasty of Empresses named Eleanor that followed. This intern, in addition to creating their own content will be asked to support other interns asking their own “What If” questions. Up to two internships are offered each quarter.
This internship is ideal for those historians who love to ask “what if X had happened instead” and to play with the answer they find.
Graphic Design
Designers will work to create visual content for the Empire Universe, including illustrations, sketches, photos, photo-manipulations, maps, flags, logos and all manner of other types of creative graphic design. These designs may be featured in the Empire Canon, the Empire Instagram account, within our game Cascadia, or in some other aspect of the Empire Universe. Up to three internships are offered each quarter.
This internship is ideal for students looking to develop their own visual style through experimentation and interaction with a largely green-field world which allows them tremendous freedom within an established framework.
Promotion & Marketing
Marketing and Promotion interns will learn the fine art of getting the efforts of our teams out into the world through Social Media (IG, FB, TikTok, etc.), old-school media (print, television, radio), and other guerrilla means. Interns will learn hashtag research, search engine optimization, and how to write a press release. Up to two internships are offered each quarter.
This internship is ideal for those who use social media but want to become experts with the ultimate goal of seeking a job in marketing and promotion through web and social media channels.
Project Management
For the born organizer, this internship will work with interns from each area as well as other collaborators and creators in the Empire Universe to manage projects and ensure that timelines are outlined, understood, achievable, and met. This is also the most limited opportunity with the Empire Internship Program. There can only be one Project Management Intern per quarter.
This internship is ideal for the most organized, dedicated, and put-together folks who love creating order out of chaos and ensuring smooth sailing for a larger team. Stage or production manager types who wish to expand their experience to more generalized project/product management will be given special consideration and are highly encouraged to apply.