High school business internship and research fellowship
This high school business internship lets students in Grades 9 to 12 work on how companies and markets can cut waste and emissions, with a mentor who reviews each piece of analysis. You collect field data, read company reports and build a simple business case with costs and savings that a manager could act on.
For school students who take IB Business Management, Economics or commerce in IGCSE, CBSE or ICSE and want a real project with numbers behind it. Online, with field work near home and a parent or guardian present at every self-guided activity. The fellowship is paid because every student receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders.
Why business matters for sustainability
Companies decide what goes into a product, how it is packed and how it reaches the shop. Those choices shape how much waste and carbon a market produces. A manager is more likely to switch to a cleaner option when it also saves money or lowers risk. Business students learn to set out that case with costs and savings, in a form a board can review and approve.
Earth5R runs employee volunteering and sustainability training for companies. It installed solar panels and solar street lights in Mumbai as part of a corporate CSR project. Its TERRA Score work checks the BRSR filings and annual reports of 1,200+ companies listed in India against field data. As a fellow you use this work to see how companies plan for sustainability and where their reports differ from what the field shows.
This work links to the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 12, Responsible consumption and production and Goal 8, Decent work and economic growth.
Available projects in this high school business internship
Each project fits around school work and takes place near home. Your mentor shapes the final project with you.
Business case for less packaging
Use brand audit data from Earth5R lake and beach cleanups, with brand names masked, to see which packaging a market leaves behind, then build a case for one company to cut it.
Costs and savings of a zero waste building
Work out the costs and savings for a housing society that composts its wet waste, interview neighbours and building staff, and write a plan another society could adopt.
Company reports and the field
Compare what a listed company says about waste in its BRSR filing with field data, using the TERRA Score CvR Gap method, with the company name masked.
A waste plan for your school canteen
Audit the waste from your school canteen for a week, talk to the canteen staff and build a simple plan that cuts both waste and costs.
What you do in the field
- Run a waste audit at home or at school and record it on the Earth5R app
- Interview neighbours, shopkeepers or building staff about costs and habits
- Read company annual reports and BRSR filings, with names masked
- Build a cost and savings model in a spreadsheet
- Write a short business case with options and a recommendation
- Present your case in a research conversation and defend your numbers
Skills you build
On a high school business internship, you collect your own data near home with a parent or guardian, using the Earth5R app and data forms. Earth5R checks the data on its platform before it goes into your project report.
How a high school business internship fits your school programme
For IB, IGCSE, CBSE and ICSE students. Your school decides what counts towards its own requirements.
IB CAS
Helping your school canteen or housing society cut waste and costs can form a CAS project with a service element. Your CAS coordinator decides whether it qualifies.
Extended Essay and IA
An IB Business Management internal assessment or Extended Essay needs a real organisation and a clear question. A canteen or society plan can support one, and your supervisor decides.
MYP, IGCSE and CBSE projects
A business case for cutting waste can fit the MYP Personal Project and project work in IGCSE business studies or CBSE and ICSE commerce, if your school approves it.
University applications
A verified record of a business case built on field data gives you a specific example to discuss in a personal statement or an interview.
How the high school business internship works
Every student moves through four phases. Your mentor checks each phase before you move on, and sessions pause during board exams.
Observe and Map
Go into the field near home, with a parent or guardian, and collect primary data for your project in Business Management.
Frame and Design
Find the root cause in your data and frame a problem worth solving, with your mentor.
Model
Build a working model, analysis or design for your solution, and test it.
Build and Deploy
Put your solution to work, measure the result and publish a verified record on earth5r.org.
Along the way you take part in research conversations with professors at MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and other universities, and ask your own questions. See how FIELDWORK works.
Where this can take you
University courses this leads to
- BBA or BSc in Business Administration
- BSc in Management
- BA in Economics and Management
- BSc in International Business
- BSc in Business and Sustainability
Careers in this field
- Sustainability strategy consultant
- ESG analyst
- Management consultant
- CSR programme manager
- Business analyst
Universities to aim for in Business Management
Business and management admissions tutors look for students who have worked on a real problem and can explain the numbers behind their choices. A high school business internship with FIELDWORK gives you a business case built on field data, a report your mentor reviewed and a profile that admissions teams can check. Students use a high school business internship to build a record of real work for applications to universities like these.
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
USA · Wharton Undergraduate Program, concentrations
Wharton undergraduates earn a Bachelor of Science in Economics and choose a concentration, such as Management, Business Economics & Public Policy, or Impact, Value and Sustainable Business. That last concentration includes a specialisation in Business, Energy, Environment and Sustainability.
MIT Sloan School of Management (MIT Sloan)
USA · MIT Sloan Undergraduate Programs (Course 15)
MIT Sloan teaches undergraduates through Course 15, with majors and minors in 15-1 Management, 15-2 Business Analytics and 15-3 Finance. Management students can choose a concentration or a double major with subjects such as economics, mathematics or mechanical engineering.
University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley)
USA · Haas Undergraduate Program, Haas School of Business
Berkeley Haas awards a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. High school students can apply to the Spieker Undergraduate Business Program, the Global Management Program, which teaches business from a global perspective, or the Management, Entrepreneurship, & Technology Program, which combines business with engineering.
USA · Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Ross School of Business
Michigan Ross teaches a Bachelor of Business Administration built on action-based learning, with chances to start, advise and invest in real businesses. About half of the coursework is taken in other schools on campus. The Erb Institute links Ross with the School for Environment and Sustainability.
UK · BA (Hons) Economics and Management, Saïd Business School
Oxford’s three-year BA in Economics and Management is run jointly by Saïd Business School and the Department of Economics. The management side studies how organisations work and how they coordinate their resources to meet their objectives. Teaching is full-time and in person in Oxford.
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
UK · BSc Management, Department of Management
LSE’s three-year BSc Management, run by the Department of Management, has a strong quantitative focus. First-year courses include Operations Management and Organisational Behaviour and Leadership. Students can apply for an exchange year between the second and third years.
UK · BSc Business & Management, Warwick Business School
Warwick Business School’s three-year BSc Business & Management lets students take a flexible, generalist route or follow a pathway in Accounting, Finance or Entrepreneurship. A separate version of the course adds a placement year, where students learn about a particular industry.
Netherlands · Bachelor International Business Administration (IBA), Rotterdam School of Management
Rotterdam School of Management’s three-year BSc in International Business Administration is taught in English and covers areas such as marketing, sales and finance. The school aligns its mission with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Third-year courses include finance for positive change and organising for grand challenges.
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Singapore · Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), NUS Business School
NUS Business School’s four-year Bachelor of Business Administration starts with a common curriculum that includes a work experience milestone, a global experience milestone and a field service project. Students then declare a major, and the school hosts a Centre for Governance & Sustainability.
This list is for guidance. These universities offer undergraduate study in Business Management. Earth5R has no admissions arrangement with them, and admission decisions rest with each university. Students get help researching universities, scholarships and applications, depending on the programme.
What your fellowship fee pays for
An internship fellowship at Earth5R is time and attention from senior researchers and leaders. Each part below takes staff time and resources that we set aside for every fellow.
Live mentoring with experts
One-to-one mentoring in most fellowships, with regular check-ins on your project.
Dialogues with global researchers
Academics from international universities and renowned scientists, who answer your questions and discuss your work.
Support in the field
Guidance while you collect data and work on your project in the field.
References for your next step
References when you apply for jobs, higher studies and research programmes.
Your work, hosted for life
Your work and data stay on Earth5R’s website and servers for life, where universities and employers can check them.
Time from senior people
Each fellow receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders, set aside for them.
Fee details available on request.
Choose your fellowship
The Multi-Year Fellowship can run from Grade 9 to Grade 12, with more scope each year.
The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details available on request.
High school business internship: common questions
Will my child be dealing with companies directly?
Students work with public company reports and Earth5R’s field data, and company names are masked in student work. Interviews with shopkeepers, neighbours or building staff take place near home, with a parent or guardian present at every self-guided activity.
Do I need to take business at school for this high school business internship?
No. Students who take business, economics or commerce join, along with students who take only sciences or humanities. Your mentor shows you the tools you need, such as a simple cost model and a short business case, and sets the level to match your grade.
What business tools will I learn?
You’ll use spreadsheets for cost and savings models, read annual reports and BRSR filings, and work with field data from the Earth5R app. You also learn how to size a market and how to write a business case a manager can read in a few minutes.
Is the high school business internship paid?
Yes. FIELDWORK is a paid, mentored programme. The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details are available on request.
Can my child do this high school business internship online?
Yes. Mentoring sessions run online, and field work takes place near where you live.
Is a parent or guardian present during field work?
Yes. A parent or guardian is present at every self-guided field activity. Online sessions are for students.
Does FIELDWORK pause during board exams?
Yes. Sessions pause during board exams, so the fellowship fits around school work.
What do students get at the end?
A certificate, a letter of recommendation, a project report and a verified profile on earth5r.org, where universities can check the work.
Related subjects for school students
Already at university? See the Business Management and MBA internship fellowship for university students.
Apply for a FIELDWORK fellowship in Business Management
This high school business internship is for students in Grades 9 to 12. Work on a live Earth5R project with a mentor, take part in research conversations with global researchers, and build a verified record of your work. Fee details available on request.
