Supply chain internship fellowship
This supply chain internship follows waste from homes to recyclers, with a mentor who reviews your maps and numbers. You trace how recyclable material is collected, sorted and passed on, find the points where it is lost, and design changes that keep more of it in use.
For school and university students interested in logistics, operations or the circular economy who want to study a supply chain they can walk through. Online, with field work near where you live. The fellowship is paid because every fellow receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders.
Why supply chains matter for sustainability
Every product moves through a chain of suppliers, factories, shops and homes, and each step uses energy and creates waste. When the chain ends at a mixed bin, the material is often lost to landfill or washes into rivers. Operations specialists design reverse flows that bring used material back to recyclers. That work starts with a clear map of who handles each material and where it goes next.
Earth5R’s field work touches many points in this reverse chain. Volunteers sort and count items in waste audits, and zero waste housing societies compost their wet waste in drum composters. Teams also visit informal recycling units to see how material is handled. The Earth5R app records geo-tagged data from this work. As a fellow you use these records and site visits to find where material leaves the chain.
This work links to the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 12, Responsible consumption and production and Goal 11, Sustainable cities and communities.
Available projects in the supply chain internship fellowship
You join Earth5R’s live work through your own subject. Your mentor shapes the final project with you.
Map a recycling chain
Map how one material, such as PET bottles or newspaper, moves from homes to collectors and recyclers in your area, and mark each point where it is lost.
Waste audit loss analysis
Use waste audit counts from lake, river and beach cleanups to see which recyclable items escape collection, and trace where in the chain they leak out.
Society composting operations
Study how a zero waste housing society runs its drum composters, from daily collection to finished compost, and design a simple routine that keeps the process steady.
Packaging flows and company reports
Compare a company’s packaging and waste disclosures in its BRSR filing with brand audit data from cleanups, using the TERRA Score method, with company names masked.
What you do in the field
- Visit waste collectors or an informal recycling unit near you
- Run waste audits and log counts on the Earth5R app
- Draw process maps for each material you follow
- Estimate volumes and losses at each step in a spreadsheet
- Interview residents, building staff and recyclers about how material moves
- Write up your map and fixes, and present them in a research conversation
Skills you build
On a supply chain internship, you collect your own data near where you live, using the Earth5R app and data forms. Earth5R checks the data on its platform before it goes into your project report.
How the supply chain internship fellowship works
Every fellow moves through four phases. Each phase is checked by your mentor before you move on.
Observe and Map
Go into the field near where you live and collect primary data for your project in Supply Chain and Operations.
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
Degrees this work supports
- BBA or BMS with an operations focus
- BTech or BE in Industrial or Production Engineering
- MSc in Supply Chain Management or Logistics
- MBA with an operations and supply chain focus
- MSc in Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Careers in this field
- Supply chain analyst
- Operations manager
- Sustainable sourcing or procurement specialist
- Circular economy consultant
- Logistics planner
Universities known for Supply Chain and Operations
Strong supply chain and operations programmes look for applicants who can map a process, find where it fails and back a fix with numbers. A fellowship project gives you a material flow map from real sites, reviewed by your mentor and recorded on your earth5r.org profile. Students use a supply chain internship to build a record of real work for applications to universities like these.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
USA · MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (CTL)
MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics runs the Supply Chain Management (SCM) master’s programme, along with online and executive education. Its research labs include the Sustainable Supply Chain Lab, which works on decarbonisation and greener logistics, as well as FreightLab and the Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab. CTL also publishes the State of Supply Chain Sustainability report.
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
USA · Supply Chain and Logistics Institute (SCL), H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Georgia Tech’s Supply Chain and Logistics Institute links research and professional education in supply chains. Degrees run through the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, including an MS in Supply Chain Engineering, and through the Scheller College of Business. Research threads range from warehousing and distribution to humanitarian relief, and the Physical Internet Center has studied last-mile delivery.
USA · Department of Supply Chain Management, Eli Broad College of Business
Michigan State’s Department of Supply Chain Management is part of the Eli Broad College of Business. It teaches an undergraduate degree in supply chain management and an MS in Supply Chain Management in a blended format that mixes online and on-campus study. The college also offers online certificates in supply chain management.
USA · NASPO Department of Supply Chain Management, W. P. Carey School of Business
The NASPO Department of Supply Chain Management sits in ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business. It teaches bachelor’s degrees, an MS in Supply Chain Management, MBA concentrations, a PhD and a DBA. Its Center for Responsible Supply Chain Management works on resilient, sustainable and socially responsible practice, and CAPS Research carries out procurement benchmarking.
Pennsylvania State University (Penn State)
USA · Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems (SCIS), Smeal College of Business
Penn State’s Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems is part of the Smeal College of Business. Its B.S. in Supply Chain and Information Systems covers sourcing and procurement, manufacturing and service operations, demand planning and the information systems that link supply chains. A Master of Supply Chain Management is taught at University Park and through World Campus.
UK · Centre for Logistics, Procurement and Supply Chain Management, Cranfield School of Management
Cranfield School of Management’s Centre for Logistics, Procurement and Supply Chain Management teaches two full-time MSc programmes, a part-time online MSc and executive courses. Research covers agile and lean supply chains, procurement, supply chain strategy, food and retail supply chains, and sustainability and circular economy. The centre also runs the Agile Supply Chain Research Club.
UK · Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), Department of Engineering
Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing teaches the Manufacturing Engineering Tripos, taught master’s courses, and MPhil and PhD research degrees. Its Supply Chain AI Lab studies autonomous supply chains, supply chain digital twins and supply network dependencies. Other research groups work on industrial sustainability, industrial resilience and international manufacturing.
Netherlands · Department of Technology and Operations Management, Rotterdam School of Management (RSM)
Rotterdam School of Management’s Department of Technology and Operations Management researches and teaches supply chain management, business information management and innovation management. Its supply chain work focuses on the economical and sustainable transformation of processes, materials and information. RSM also teaches an MSc in Supply Chain Management.
Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e)
Netherlands · Supply Chain Management research, Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences (IE&IS)
TU/e’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences teaches a Bachelor in Industrial Engineering and a Master in Operations Management and Logistics. Its supply chain research analyses chains from raw materials to end-of-life operations, with topics such as high-tech system operations and smart mobility. Projects include Data2Move on data-driven decisions in logistics.
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Singapore · Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Management (ISEM), College of Design and Engineering
NUS Industrial Systems Engineering and Management offers a BEng in industrial systems engineering, with a specialisation in sustainability analytics, and an MSc in Supply Chain Management. Graduate certificates cover supply chain analytics and decarbonisation analytics. The university’s Logistics Institute Asia Pacific (TLI-AP) works on humanitarian logistics, supply chain risks and collaborative urban logistics.
This list is for guidance. These universities are widely known for Supply Chain and Operations. Earth5R has no admissions arrangement with them, and admission decisions rest with each university. Fellows 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 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.
Supply chain internship: common questions
What will I study in this supply chain internship?
You study reverse supply chains, the routes that bring used material from homes back to recyclers. You map who collects, sorts and buys each material, estimate volumes at each step, and find where recyclable material is lost.
Do I need an engineering or business background?
No. Your mentor teaches you process mapping and simple volume estimates from the start. Engineering and business students can add cost models, route planning or capacity analysis to their project.
How does a supply chain internship connect to ESG work?
Companies report on packaging and waste in their sustainability filings. Earth5R’s TERRA Score work compares these reports with field data, with company names masked. Your map of where material is lost helps test those reports against what happens on the ground.
Is the supply chain internship fellowship paid?
Yes. It is a paid, mentored internship fellowship. 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 I do this supply chain internship online?
Yes. FIELDWORK runs online, and your field work takes place near where you live. Your mentor guides you through each step.
Who can apply?
School and university students from India and other countries. The fellowship prepares you for university, postgraduate study and work.
What do I get at the end?
A certificate, a letter of recommendation, a project report and a verified profile on earth5r.org, where universities and employers can check your work.
Related internship fellowships
Apply for the supply chain internship fellowship
Work on a live Earth5R project in Supply Chain and Operations with a mentor, take part in research conversations with global researchers, and build a verified record of your work. Fee details available on request.
