The MUI Internship
All MUI students will complete a 2 to 4 months summer internship with a host organization between Year one and Year two of the program. Through their internship, students will apply the knowledge and skills acquired through courses and professional development activities in the first year of study.
Examples of internship activities include the development, evaluation and explanation of alternative development strategies available to support the future economic growth of a city-region and the exploration of the range of public policy tools available to support that growth and the respective role of private and not-for-profit organizations in contributing to development patterns. Students will produce a brief policy report at the end of the internship. The report will include an analysis of a key policy issue or problem that the student worked on during their internship placement, and will connect experiential learning to the key theoretical approaches and analytical techniques taught in the first year.
"My placement helped me realize the importance of including sustainability within the early decision making processes of urban development. I want to make I bring this into my future career, whether that is private or public, and as such I have enrolled in courses for the fall term targeted towards the skills required to implement sustainability within leadership roles. I gained first hand knowledge of how government processes work when evaluating projects for funding, especially within the environmental context which will only of increasing relevance in the future." Dalton Young, Junior Analyst Intern with Infrastructure Canada, MUI Class of 2023
"I feel my work contributed to the organization, because the data report that I worked on will be sent to the senior management team of the City of Toronto to make their plans and policies more productive. my placement did add to my knowledge of Urban Innovation. Throughout my internship with the City of Toronto, I was working with the Toronto Employment & Social Services (TESS) division." Tian Yang, Program Support Trainee Intern, City of Toronto, MUI Class of 2023
Past Host Organizations for Internship Placements:
2021 Partners:
- Toronto Global
- Maytree Foundation
- City of Mississauga
- Woodgreen Community Services
- KPMB Architects
- Canadian Urban Institute
- Urban Living Futures
- Province of Ontario
2022 Partners:
- Eco Lab Shanghai
- Wood Green
- PointA
- Simpact
- City of Hamilton
- GSAI
- Infrastructure Canada
- Civic Action
- City of Toronto
2023 Partners:
- City of Hamilton
- City of Toronto
- City of Mississauga
- Urban Pro
- KPMB Architects
- Ministry of Transportation
- Ministry of Economic Development
Employer Feedback
“It was a terrific experience. Length of the internship is great and knowledge MUI students bring to the field is valuable.”
KPMB Architects
“This was our first experience having a summer intern and we'll definitely be participating again next year!”
Toronto Global
“Overall positive experience as a host. Appreciate the streamlined onboarding and evaluation process through the mid-point meeting and questionnaires.”
City of Mississauga
“Everything was smooth and easy, it was a great experience for me as a supervisor”
Ministry of Energy, Government of Ontario
View or 2024 Student Internship Report below:
Class of 2024 Internship Report
Previous Student Internship Reports:
Class of 2023 Internship Report
Class of 2022 Internship Report