ICONS Simulation Internship

ICONS Simulation Internship

ICONS is a unit of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland, College Park. ICONS creates simulations, wargames, and scenario-driven exercises to advance participants' understanding of complex problems and strengthen their ability to make decisions, navigate crises, think strategically, and negotiate collaboratively. ICONS’s web-based simulations for educators place college and high school students from around the globe in challenging online simulation and gaming exercises that allow them to role-play resolving contentious geo-political issues. ICONS also creates customized simulations to support think tanks, cabinet-level agencies, and Department of Defense major commands as they tackle complex national security challenges, and public and private sector organizations as they engage in crisis management training, forecasting, and policy planning. ICONS develops and manages the ICONSnet software platform for hosting role-play simulations, computational models, wargames, and scientific research on topics affecting democracy, security, and prosperity. Visit www.icons.umd.edu for additional background on ICONS’ work.

ICONS is seeking an upper-level undergraduate or graduate level intern for the Spring 2025 semester. The intern will:

• Work with the ICONS staff in researching, updating, and potentially contributing to the design of simulations;
• Learn the ICONS simulation methodology; and
• Support ICONS client engagement and outreach.

Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Contributing to simulation scenario research and updating current simulation content;
• Contributing to research and design of new simulation content;
• Supporting senior staff in research on topics related to democracy, security, or prosperity; and,
• Supporting marketing and outreach initiatives.

Supervisor: Bob Lamb, rdlamb@umd.edu
Deadline:  October 24, 2024, 11:59pm ET
U.S. Citizenship Required: Yes
Team Meeting Times: Wednesdays at 10am ET

Required/minimum qualifications:

• Graduate students or undergraduate seniors and juniors only;
• Strong English-language communication, research, and persuasive writing skills;
• Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills;
• Strong editing skills; and
• Must be in good academic standing.

Preferred/ideal qualifications:

• Demonstrated academic proficiency or personal experience in one or more of the following:
  • Regional expertise (e.g., East Asia, Arctic, Sub-Saharan Africa, Russia, China, Latin America, etc.);
  • Functional expertise (e.g., democracy, disinformation, climate, extremism, cybersecurity, nuclear, etc.);
  • Technical expertise (e.g., data science, system dynamics, systems thinking, modeling & simulation, R, Python, SQL, Node.js, LLMs, AWS, etc.)
  • Journalism, English, Cultural Studies, History, or Policy
• Experience with ICONS simulations, wargaming, red-teaming, serious games, game design, LARPing, or similar interests;
• Previous administrative or office experience