High school data science internship and research fellowship
This high school data science internship lets students in Grades 9 to 12 work with real environmental data, with a mentor who checks each step. You clean and analyse field records on waste, water and air, turn them into charts and write a short report that a school or housing society could use.
For school students who enjoy IB Maths, ESS or Computer Science, or CBSE Informatics Practices, and want to work with real data. 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 data science matters for sustainability
It’s hard to fix a problem that nobody has measured. A housing society that doesn’t know how much waste it throws away has no way to tell if things are getting better. Data scientists take untidy records, clean them up and look for patterns. They also test whether a claim from a company or a city agrees with what the numbers show.
Earth5R collects photographed, geo-tagged field data on its app in 150+ Indian cities, from waste and brand audits at lake and river cleanups to door-to-door household surveys. Its TERRA Score work sets what 1,200+ companies listed in India say in their reports beside what field data shows. As a fellow you analyse data like this and ask the same questions Earth5R’s own team asks.
This work links to the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 11, Sustainable cities and communities and Goal 12, Responsible consumption and production.
Available projects in this high school data science internship
Each project fits around school work and takes place near home. Your mentor shapes the final project with you.
Waste audit analysis
Clean and analyse waste audit records from lake and river cleanups, find which items and brands turn up most often and chart how this changes from one site to the next.
Air quality patterns in your city
Download public air quality data for your city, compare months, seasons and times of day, and test whether pollution peaks follow a pattern you can explain.
Household habits survey
Survey family, friends and neighbours about how they sort waste or save water, then clean the answers, chart the results and compare habits across buildings.
Company claims against field data
Compare what companies say about waste or water in their sustainability reports with field data, using the TERRA Score method, with company names masked.
What you do in the field
- Collect a small dataset yourself so you know where each number comes from
- Clean raw records and note every change you make
- Work out averages, ranges and trends in a spreadsheet or Python
- Make charts that someone outside the subject can read quickly
- Write up your method, results and the limits of your data
- Present your findings in a research conversation and answer questions
Skills you build
On a high school data science 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 data science internship fits your school programme
For IB, IGCSE, CBSE and ICSE students. Your school decides what counts towards its own requirements.
IB CAS
Sharing a waste or water dashboard with your school or housing society can support a CAS project with a service element. Your CAS coordinator decides what fits.
Extended Essay and IA
An IB Maths or ESS IA, or an Extended Essay, can use real data to answer a question. Your dataset can support one, and your supervisor approves the topic.
MYP, IGCSE and CBSE projects
A data project on a local problem can fit the MYP Personal Project and project work in IGCSE, CBSE and ICSE maths, statistics or computing.
University applications
A dataset you helped collect and an analysis your mentor reviewed give you a specific example to discuss in a data science, maths or economics application.
How the high school data science 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 Data Science.
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
- BSc in Data Science
- BSc in Statistics or Mathematics and Statistics
- BSc in Computer Science
- BSc in Economics and Data Science
- BSc in Business Analytics
Careers in this field
- Data analyst or data scientist
- ESG data analyst
- Climate and sustainability analyst
- Statistician
- Product analyst at a technology company
Universities to aim for in Data Science
Data science admissions tutors look for students who have worked with messy, real data and can explain what it does and doesn’t show. A high school data science internship with FIELDWORK gives you a dataset you helped collect, an analysis your mentor reviewed and a verified record on earth5r.org. Students use a high school data science internship to build a record of real work for applications to universities like these.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
USA · Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science (Course 6-14)
MIT’s Course 6-14 is a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Economics and Data Science, run jointly by the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Department of Economics. Students study algorithms, optimisation and machine learning alongside econometrics, probability and statistics.
USA · Program in Data Science
Stanford’s Program in Data Science offers a B.S. in Data Science, built on mathematics, statistics, computer science and optimisation, and a B.A. in Data Science & Social Systems that adds the social sciences. Both end in a capstone that links what students learn to the real world.
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)
USA · Department of Statistics & Data Science, Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Carnegie Mellon’s Department of Statistics & Data Science offers undergraduate majors including the BS in Statistics & Data Science, the BS in Statistics and Machine Learning and the BS in Economics and Statistics. Public Policy & Social Sciences is one of its listed research areas.
University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley)
USA · College of Computing, Data Science, and Society (CDSS)
Berkeley’s College of Computing, Data Science, and Society offers the Data Science B.A. Students take courses in probability, modelling and learning, and human contexts and ethics, plus a domain emphasis in another field. The college is also home to the Bakar Institute of Digital Materials for the Planet.
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
UK · BSc Data Science, Department of Statistics
LSE’s BSc Data Science is a three-year degree run by the Department of Statistics. It brings together data science, machine learning, statistics and mathematics, with first-year courses in programming and in managing and visualising data. The programme puts weight on how data science affects economics and society.
UK · Department of Statistics
Oxford’s Department of Statistics teaches undergraduates through the Mathematics and Statistics degree, which pairs Oxford’s mathematics course with a focus on probability and statistics. Its research groups include Computational Statistics and Machine Learning, and Statistical Genetics and Epidemiology.
UK · BSc Data Science, Department of Statistics
Warwick’s BSc Data Science is a three-year degree from the Department of Statistics, with first-year modules from Statistics, Computer Science, the Mathematics Institute and the Business School. Students can specialise in areas such as machine learning or data visualisation, and they finish with a Data Science Project.
Canada · Data Science undergraduate program (Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science and Cheriton School of Computer Science)
Waterloo offers data science as a Bachelor of Mathematics, run by the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, or a Bachelor of Computer Science, run by the Cheriton School of Computer Science. Courses cover statistics, machine learning, database management and computing systems, with a co-op option.
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Singapore · Department of Statistics & Data Science, Faculty of Science
The Department of Statistics & Data Science at NUS offers undergraduate majors in Statistics, Data Science & Applied AI, and Data Science & Economics. Its graduate options include an MSc in Data Science for Sustainability, and it runs a Data Analytics Consulting Centre.
This list is for guidance. These universities offer undergraduate study in Data Science. 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 data science internship: common questions
Do I need to know Python for this high school data science internship?
No. Beginners start with spreadsheets and learn Python step by step with their mentor. Students who already code work on larger datasets and try methods such as simple regression.
Will my child go door to door for surveys?
Only with a parent or guardian present, and mostly with family, friends and neighbours they already know. Much of the data comes from Earth5R’s app records and public datasets, which students analyse at home.
What data will I work with?
Earth5R’s field data on waste, trees and households, collected on the Earth5R app, along with public data for your city such as air quality readings. You also collect a small dataset yourself, so you understand how data is made.
Is the high school data science 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 data science 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 Data Science and Analytics internship fellowship for university students.
Apply for a FIELDWORK fellowship in Data Science
This high school data science 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.
