Student Program

Law students at the University of Ottawa and beyond can work with CIPPIC through the internship programs we offer, as research assistants, or as volunteers.

Internship Program

CIPPIC's internship programs offer students an opportunity to work with experienced lawyers on real-life, cutting-edge legal issues arising from the use of new technologies. CIPPIC is engaged in high-level advocacy and policy work related to a wide range of technology law issues including privacy, free expression, intellectual property rights, data governance, and algorithmic accountability. Clinic work involves research, policy analysis, strategy development, and drafting of legal and policy documents, all from a public interest perspective. Typical clinical projects include:

• submissions on government policy consultations and policy/law reform initiatives;
• development of public education materials for the CIPPIC website or for community groups;
• research and policy papers designed to influence public policy;
• interventions in precedent-setting court cases; and
• provision of legal advice to clients on issues involving privacy, copyright, domain name disputes, consumer rights, and other issues arising from new technologies.

Interns are selected on the basis of academic and extracurricular achievement and demonstrated interest in technology law and public policy issues.

We plan on offering all of our internship programs on a hybrid basis for the foreseeable future, though our ability to offer an in--person component will depend on the public health situation over time.

Academic Internships

Upper-year J.D. and graduate students in law at the University of Ottawa can intern at CIPPIC in any of the three academic terms for credit (3 credits/term). Preference is given to students who commit to two terms (6 credits) of clinic work. Interns attend training sessions and tutorials, participate in case rounds, and work closely with CIPPIC staff on client files and advocacy projects. The total hourly commitment for 3 credits is 120 hours. See the uOttawa course calendar under "CML 3316" for applicable deadlines and other details.  CIPPIC staff may also supervise directed research projects (1-3 credits) related to CIPPIC work. 

The deadlines for application for an academic internship are:

- Fall Term Internship (Deadline: August 1)
- January Term Internship (Deadline: November 1)
- Winter Term Internship (Deadline: January 5)

Summer Internships

CIPPIC offers summer internships to outstanding graduate and undergraduate students from law schools across Canada and around the world. Our summer program includes seminars on current issues in technology law as well as training and work on clinic projects and cases.

Summer interns from Canadian law schools will receive a stipend for their participation in the 12-week program, which runs from early May to late July. International interns need to arrange for summer public interest funding from their home institutions to be eligible to participate in our program.

How to Apply

Applicants for CIPPIC academic internships for credit during the school year should submit the materials requested below following the instructions on our online application form, which is available from the course calendar. You will be directed to follow a link to an application portal.

You will be asked to copy and paste your cover letter into our web form. We will also ask you to upload the following documents as a single PDF file:

• Your C.V., including e-mail contact information;
• Unofficial law school transcripts; and
• A writing sample of your choice of 3-5 pages.

Deadlines for participating in the CIPPIC internship for academic credit are set out in the University of Ottawa course calendar under course code

Those intending to apply for summer internship positions should review our website in February, where we will advertise for position and offer application instructions.  Deadlines for particpiation in CIPPIC's summer program will be posted on our website annually along with additional details.

Research Assistantships

From time to time, CIPPIC hires student research assistants to work on specific projects. CIPPIC will advertise for these positions on its website and, occasionally, on the University of Ottawa's Work Study program website.

https://www.uottawa.ca/financial-aid-awards/work-study-program

Volunteers

CIPPIC welcomes volunteers to assist in a variety of capacities on our active projects and cases. Volunteers must make a firm commitment of at least 3 hours per week during the term. We are not currently accepting volunteers, but we will provide an application link on our website when we are seeking volunteers.