Bioversity International was privileged to be a hosting partner for the BRITE Internship Program for the past three years. It is unusual to find an academic internship program focused on conservation of biodiversity and thus very well aligned with objectives of Bioversity’s research agenda. It was a truly a win-win situation for both the interns and Bioversity. The BRITE fellows were very well-prepared academically and were highly focused and organized to get the most out of this very compressed and intense internship experience. Bioversity offered them a unique opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience. The interns worked alongside experts in the field and applied their strong theoretical knowledge and methodological skills to on-the-ground projects addressing urgent research questions with partners in developing countries around the world. Some of the interns have even been invited back to continue working with Bioversity on these projects—a testimony to the quality of the academic program at UBC and the efficient management of the BRITE Internship Program, in particular. I have collaborated with many international internship programs over the years helping to match young talent with senior mentors, but enjoyed the experience with BRITE more than others. There should be more programs such as these.

The BRITE internship program has enabled West Coast Aquatic to partner with students that have specialized knowledge relevant to our needs. The result has been students developing and sharing knowledge in an applied, ‘real world’ situation, and WCA enhancing and advancing technical products. These outcomes would not have been achieved without the BRITE internship program. We think it is a good model and we strongly support it.

Living Oceans has benefitted greatly from the two BRITE interns we have hosted. They have been able to come up to speed quickly on complex marine conservation and policy issues, complete valuable research working largely independently, and synthesise and present information in a very professional and accessible manner. The interns have brought new energy and up-to-date knowledge to our organisation and the program has been a win-win for us and the interns!

The interns that CPAWS-BC had the opportunity to work with through the BRITE program added immeasurable capacity and insights to our conservation work. Having access to innovative thinkers who could tackle complex policy and research issues is invaluable to a non-profit conservation organization and we look forward to working with BRITE scholars in the years to come.