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Office of Extraordinary Innovation Academic Fellow

Apply to be an Academic Fellow with Los Angeles Metro’s
Office of Extraordinary Innovation  
Purpose: The Office of Extraordinary Innovation (OEI) at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is inviting local graduate students in transportation or public policy related fields including, but not limited to, urban planning, public policy, environmental studies, and political science to apply to work as an OEI Academic Fellow. The Academic Fellow will work with OEI staff to research, develop, and implement a variety of innovative concepts for improving mobility in Los Angeles County. 
Fellowship Term: The fellowship will begin summer of 2020 with the option to re-apply for extension into fall and beyond. Metro recognizes that not all schools are on the same schedule and will be flexible to accommodate the best possible candidate for this position. The fellowship term can start as early as May 2020.  
Duties: As an integral component of the OEI team, the Academic Fellow will be responsible for generating, researching, and implementing innovative ideas for improving transportation and mobility in LA County. The Academic Fellow will be called on to play a lead role in conducting the research associated with the development of innovative concepts. This will include analyzing best practices from around the world, interviewing experts and specialists, researching the successes and failures of similar policies elsewhere, gathering effective data to develop new ideas for Los Angeles County, and synthesizing large amounts of information on new technologies and models. The Fellow also has the opportunity to contribute to OEI’s core programs, policies, and strategic planning processes, and help affect change in LA County’s transportation future.
Projects: The Academic Fellow may be engaged on projects currently underway at OEI, including Metro’s Traffic Reduction Study, New Mobility Regional Roadmap, World Class Bus Initiative, Comprehensive Pricing Study, Visionary Seed Funding Program, and/or Mobility on Demand.
Qualifications: The applicant must be a full-time graduate student (registered in at least 6 semester units/12 quarter units and have a minimum of 3.0 cumulative GPA) in planning or public policy related fields with experience in applied research. The applicant must possess excellent written and verbal communication skills. The applicant should be a self-starter, comfortable working independently and navigating a large agency. Successful candidates will possess strong critical thinking and analytical abilities.
Compensation: The Academic Fellow will be paid an hourly wage commensurate with the student’s academic level, without benefits. The hourly wage is $19.50/hour for graduate students. The Fellow is expected to work twenty-nine hours a week.  
Application Process:
Interested applicants must submit all of the below:
  • A cover letter explaining your interest in OEI and your specific skills and experiences that will help make OEI a success;
  • A current resume; and
  • A recent writing sample related to a public policy issue (no more than one page long).

Please submit applications by email to Emma Huang at huange@metro.net no later than 5:00pm on Friday, March 6th, 2020 with “OEI Academic Fellowship” in the subject line.

Professors and Academic Administrators – please pass this opportunity along to those who qualify and may be interested.