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Apple team-up promises more diversity among tech interns
Apple knows that improving the diversity of its workforce doesn't just depend on hiring more workers, or dishing out scholarships -- it also has to recruit a wider range of interns that could eventually become permanent staff. To that end, it's partnering with the career accelerator Code2040 to offer paid internships to black and Latino college students. Apple will start by taking on 10 of the 80 computer science fellows in Code2040's 2016 class, and will pick up two more interns beyond that.
Facebook and many other tech players looking to high school for interns
Internships aren't just for college students and bad movie premises anymore. Top tech companies like Facebook and LinkedIn are seeking interns at a younger age than ever, with the idea of converting high school-age talent into staff. Before you get all wound up -- cool it! -- know that these interns are being paid generously for their work: in the range of $5K to $8K each month. Some are courted during high school, with internships taking place the summer between high school's end and freshman year of college. Some are courted even earlier: Bloomberg reports at least one instance where an Oregon startup had pre-high school student as an intern. "I felt like age shouldn't hold me back, as long as I can code," intern James Anderson said. He's now 15.
Chinese students allegedly forced to build PS4s at Foxconn for school credit
Not all internships are as easy as making coffee in exchange for a glowing reference. In fact, according to Chinese media, over 1,000 students from the Xi'an Institute of Technology have been working on the PlayStation 4 production line at Foxconn as part of a work experience partnership. Apparently, the interns are treated much like employees, so apart from the work's questionable relevance to future careers, they get paid and have something for the CV. All is not quite as above board as it sounds, though, for Foxconn has admitted to Quartz that some students were designated night shifts and overtime in disagreement with internship protocol. Foxconn says it's taken steps to make sure it won't happen again, and was keen to highlight the voluntary nature of intern participation. However, reports claim the Xi'an Institute of Technology is withholding course credits necessary for graduation, thereby forcing students to pull drone duty and help address the rabid demand for Sony's next-gen console. While we're surprised to hear that an educational establishment is allegedly party to such a scheme, Foxconn has always had a penchant for controversial working arrangements.
Unpaid intern sues Sony, gets paid
Sony has opted to settle a suit brought against it by former intern Chris Jarvis for £4,600 ($7,189.34), reports The Independent. In 2012, Jarvis was hired by Sony Computer Entertainment Cambridge (now known as Guerrilla Cambridge, developers of Killzone: Mercenary) to act as an unpaid intern. Instead of typical intern duties, he was asked to work from 9:30AM to 6:00PM for three months as a tester on the studio's in-production games, claimed Jarvis. When he approached his bosses to ask for typical tester's wages he was instead told that his intern status effectively made him a volunteer employee, and was thus not due compensation. Jarvis reported Sony to the British customs authority and the case was scheduled to be heard in front of a tribunal. Instead of court, Sony opted to settle, awarding the former intern £4,600 - £1,000 more than Jarvis was seeking.
Foxconn admits child labor laws breached by use of underage interns
Foxconn has admitted that it employed underage interns in breach of China's child labor laws. An internal investigation at its Yantai factory found some of the young trainees were aged 14- and 15-years old (16 being the legal minimum). In a statement received by CNET, the company advised that "this is not only a violation of China's labor law, it is also a violation of Foxconn policy and immediate steps have been taken to return the interns in question to their educational institutions." This comes as a further blow to the firm's employment record, after recent riots breaking out and strikes over iPhone 5 quality standards. These interns were sent to the facility from schools, with Foxconn carrying out full investigations with the relevant educational bodies to try to work out how this was allowed to happen. The tech manufacturer has been keen to accept responsibility for its part in the situation, advising strong action will be taken against any full-time members of staff found to have played a part in the breach.
Wingnuts Moto Racer for the iPhone
Our friends over at Freeverse have been working on a racing game (undoubtedly going to be one of a few released by different companies) for the iPhone called Wingnuts Moto Racer, but various NDAs, game mechanics secrets, and developer confidentialities have kept them from being able to talk about it too much, with us or anyone else. Still, demand has apparently pushed them to release something, and so they have posted this heavily-edited- with-red ink "review" of how the game plays.It sure sounds like, as expected, you use the accelerometer to drive, and while their intern says that it controls beautifully, of course he'd say that -- he's their intern. The art looks good, though -- there's a highway at sunset, some Oriental and Forest style racing, and even a Miami-style tropical cityscape. Unfortunately, that's the extent of news here -- no idea how many tracks or vehicles there are, or if there are any other iPhone-specific innovations.Not that the game still doesn't look like fun -- it does, and if you're a racing game fan, you'll definitely have plenty of games to choose from in the early days of the App Store. But NDAs aside, we'd sure like to hear something new about Freeverse's iPhone games.
Sony Online Entertainment is looking for interns
If you live and breathe gaming and are looking for some experience in the games industry, then you'll probably want to note that Sony Online Entertainment is currently looking to fill a number of intern positions. SOE is responsible for a whole swag of MMOs, including EverQuest, EverQuest II, Pirates of the Burning Sea, and Star Wars Galaxies, and some experience with them would likely be a valuable asset for further work in the industry, if not with SOE themselves.They say that an internship with them would stretch 9 weeks, is a part time and paid position, and each intern will have a mentor to help them develop during the program. Taking a look at the drop-down menu on the SOE Career Opportunities page shows that quite a range of internships are available, from working with the community, to programming and developing, to art and even QA. Pretty much all of SOE's internships are based in San Diego, but it looks like there may be a couple for Seattle and Denver as well.
