Are you a motivated student interested in gaining real-world consulting experience in ESG topics? Looking for meaningful opportunities to build your skills for your future job search?
The Wharton ESG Integration Projects (WEIP) program offers Penn and Wharton students the ability to work with companies and organizations on real-world projects that are centered around ESG topics or questions. Teams of approximately 5 undergraduate and graduate students will work closely with their client over either a 6- or 16-week period, resulting in a final presentation to the client and ESG Initiative senior leadership.
Teams will also be supported by ESG Initiative staff and by an independent consultant available to you during evenings and weekends.
Past projects have spanned the following topics
ESG Landscape Analysis
Financial Inclusion
Impact Measurement
Operational Due Diligence
The Details
In order to apply, you must:
- Be an on-campus undergraduate, MBA, or graduate student at Penn or Wharton
- Possess strong analytical/research, verbal/written communication, and time management skills
- Commit 6-8 hours per week for the duration of your project, consisting of:
- Meeting in-person on Tuesdays from 5:30pm-6:30pm with all WEIP teams and ESG-I staff
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Meeting for one hour once per week with your client (please note in project description whether or not the client has already identified a meeting time for that group)
- Doing independent project work, attending workshops, requesting support from ESG Initiative staff, etc.
- Not be currently participating in Wharton Impact Venture Associates (WIVA) or the Penn Medicine-Wharton Fund for Health
Each team will also have one Team Leader. Team Leaders are responsible for coordinating calendars amongst the team and client, ensuring the team is on track to complete the project successfully, serving as a liaison between the team and the client and the team and the ESG Initiative, and completing weekly progress updates submitted to the ESG Initiative.
Team Leaders should be MBA or graduate students and will receive a financial award at the end of the project, dependent upon their successful completion of Team Leader duties. Students interested in being a Team Leader for their project can indicate as such as part of their WEIP application.
What is the Application Timeline?
Applications for 2024-2025 projects will open on Friday, September 20, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. ET and will close on Friday, September 30, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Late applications will not be accepted, nor will supplemental materials sent separately from the formal application. As part of your application, you will be asked to identify your first- and second-choice projects from the available list.
You may be asked to participate in an interview or submit a work sample between October 1, 2024 and October 8, 2024. All applicants will receive their admissions decision by October 9, 2024. Accepted students must commit to participating in the program by October 11, 2024.
How Long is the Program?
Please be sure to read through each of the available projects to learn which projects are six weeks long and which are sixteen weeks long.
All teams will participate in team-building exercises which will be scheduled for October 14, 2024 through October 25, 2024. All teams will begin working with their client the week of October 28, 2024.
Six-week teams will complete their final presentations during the week of December 2, 2024.
Sixteen-week teams will end their work for the fall semester by December 6, 2024, resume their work in the spring semester starting the week of January 20, 2025, and will complete their final presentations during the week of March 31, 2025.
Questions? Contact Jillian Cener, Senior Associate Director.
DISCLAIMER:
Neither the University of Pennsylvania, the Wharton School, the Wharton ESG Initiative (ESG), nor any of their respective students, faculty, directors, officers, employees, representatives, affiliates, or agents (collectively, the “Penn Parties”) (i) is acting as underwriter, broker-dealer, promoter, financial advisor, or other intermediary with respect to any offering of securities by any entity with respect to any WEIP project, or (ii) has received or will receive any compensation from any person or entity as an incentive to participate in any WEIP project. In addition, the Penn Parties have not received and will not receive any compensation or other item of value in connection with any possible or future investment in any securities issued by any entity as part of any WEIP project.
Any research or diligence that occurs in connection with a WEIP project (i) was performed by the Penn Parties solely for limited educational purposes, and not for the purpose of aiding any person in making any investment decision, and (ii) may be limited and incomplete, by its very nature, as a result of limited publicly available information and other limited information voluntarily made available to the Penn Parties. No Penn Party shall have any liability whatsoever arising from any error or incompleteness of fact or opinion in, or lack of care in the preparation or publication of, any WEIP project.
The information, methodologies, data and opinions contained or reflected in any written work resulting from any WEIP project are proprietary of the author(s) of such work, are intended for non-commercial use, and may not be copied, distributed or used in any way, including via citation, unless otherwise explicitly agreed in writing. They are provided for informational purposes only and (1) do not constitute investment or financial advice; (2) cannot be interpreted as an offer, indication, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell any securities or to undertake any kind of business transactions; (3) do not represent an assessment of any entity’s economic performance, financial obligations nor of its creditworthiness; and (4) are not a substitute for a professional financial, legal, and tax advice.