Name: Zulkarnain Choudhury

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Grameen Bank

Position Title: Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): Economics

Expected Graduation Year: 2017

Briefly describe your internship, co-op,  or research opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

I started my internship program with Grameen Bank (a renowned microfinance organization) in Dhaka, Bangladesh in June 2015. Grameen Bank provides small loans to some of the poorest citizens in rural areas in Bangladesh without any collateral. These loans are given so that those people can invest the money to improve their living conditions, start a small business or send their children to school. The bank has received recognition for its method by the World Bank, United Nations and all over the world. The bank main motive is to reduce poverty in Bangladesh.

My job as an intern was to visit centers in several districts in Bangladesh (of Grameen) and listen to the people's stories, why they want to take the loan and make sure that they are eligible for the loan. My task was to be the banker who would develop a relationship with his borrowers and approve the loan to them. I was trained to ask the people questions like why they wanted the loan, and what they would do with the money. I was under the supervision of the officer who usually does the approval. During the internship period, I took training classes from my internship coordinator to learn about Grameen Bank and its methodology and how to approach to customers. I visited 7 different centers in 7 different villages (I had to bear my own expenses which was not much). I also went on a village trip for a week to stay and observe the method and see how the bank operates in rural Bangladesh. At the end of the month-long internship I submitted an internship report based on my whole experience.

Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.

Grameen Bank is very well-known organization and it was my dream to work for the bank after it received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for it's extraordinary approach in reducing poverty in Bangladesh with use of microfinance and microcredit. I went on their website and did a research on their internship program and sent them an email. After a week, they replied to my email requesting for my resume and a recommendation letter from a professor. After they received everything, they sent me a confirmation that I can start as soon as I go to Bangladesh for my summer.

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?

What I have enjoyed the most about this internship was meeting interns from different countries who came from Europe, America and many other countries that shared this experience with me. It truly was a very enjoyable experience as we all went on village trips and I got to make some amazing friends. The most memorable part of the internship was the village trip, where I met the locals and experienced their culture.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

I believe I made an impact on myself because a year ago, I was lost and didn't know what kind of career I would pursue in the future after graduating. But after doing this internship I discovered some qualities and some skills that I didn't know I had in me. I can interact well with different people, I can manage accounts, and I can speak well. I think I might be a good banker! 

Another thing that I thought of was cultural issues. The women in rural areas in Bangladesh have less say in family matters than men. The majority of Grameen's borrowers consists of women. This gives them power, confidence, and reduces the gender inequality. So if interns like us can help these women receive loans by showing them support and letting them contribute, then we’re giving them more power. This experience also got me thinking of changing my major from Economics to Financial Economics. I absolutely loved my job and I want to be involved in banking and social work in future. 

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

If you get an opportunity to be involved in something or do an internship, you should do it. It really helps you to discover what you are good at doing. It exhibits your skills and special qualities, and makes you realize what kind of career you want to pursue in life.

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Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Friday!

The US Navy Summer 2016  Internship Program is back and recruiting UMBC Students! 

All UMBC students must apply through USA jobs for the Department of the Navy Summer Pathways Intern Program by December 10.

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/422956400

Additional information can be found below:

The US Navy has partnered with UMBC to specifically hire multiple interns for 3 different Summer 2016 programs: Fleet Cyber Command Intern, Navy Cyber Warfare Development Group Intern, and Navy Information Operations Command Intern. Position descriptions and brochures are listed below. 

Summer 2016 Fleet Cyber Command Intern 

Brochure

Longer Description

All Policy, Business, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Majors Encouraged to Apply

Summer 2016 Navy Cyber Warfare Development Group Intern 

Brochure

Longer Description

All Technical Majors Encouraged to Apply (CS, CE, IS, BTA, EE, Cyber, and Math)

Summer 2016 Navy Information Operations Command Intern 

Brochure
Longer Description

All Technical Majors Encouraged to Apply (CS, CE, IS, BTA, EE, Engineering, Cyber, and Math)

For additional questions or information, please contact USFF_FCC_C10F_NSAH_INTERNSHIP@navy.mil

The Population Division of the U.S. Census Bureau has paid internship opportunities for students in geography and related fields.  The application deadline for this posting is Wednesday, December 9.

We are looking for well-qualified people with training in geographic information systems, population geography or demography, remote sensing/satellite image analysis, and urban geography, among other specialties.  Interns will work on projects related to international and domestic population mapping.

Salaries reflect the level of education completed.  All positions require U.S. citizenship.

Paid internships are available both during the academic year and in the summer.  Census HQ is in the Washington, DC, area and is located next to a subway station.

We plan follow-up messages about permanent employment opportunities.  These will offer the opportunity to work on a range of projects related to international and domestic population geography and mapping.

This is an exciting time for the U.S. Census Bureau, and specifically the Population Division.  Please forward this email to students (or colleagues with students) who may be interested in working at the Census Bureau.  For more information about the agency, including position opportunities, look under “About Us” on our website at Census.gov.  

To apply for the internships, please visit USAJOBS no later than Wednesday, December 9:

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/422689700

If you or your students have questions about work in Population Division, please contact us: Joshua.Comenetz@census.gov or James.D.Fitzsimmons@census.gov. 

For specific questions about available positions and ways of applying for them, please contact David Zaslow at David.C.Zaslow@census.gov or 301-763-6195.

The study (IRB Protocol: Y15RK12082) will take approximately one hour. You will be interviewed about your opinions and experiences with common authentication methods and mobile technology security issues.

All participants must be aged over 18, and use a mobile device (e.g. smartphone).

If you are interested and meet the requirements, please contact the researcher (flynn.wolf@umbc.edu). Your participation is very important for our research and will be highly appreciated.

Below are featured events and internship/employment opportunities that have recently been posted or have application deadline dates that are quickly approaching!  To see all that the UMBC Career Center has to offer YOU, please visit our myUMBC group page HERE or log into your UMBCworks account!

FEATURED EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES….

NEW! Spring Internship Registration Drop-in DayWednesday, December 2, 2015, 11 am – 2 pm

NEW! $15K Scholarship & Summer Internship at Morgan Stanley, Early deadline to apply:  Monday, November 30, 2015; Regular deadline to apply:  Monday, February 1, 2016

NEW! The Universum Career Test

Information Sessions

NEW! Information Session: IBM Wednesday, December 2, 2015, 5:30 pm – 7 pm

NEW! Information Session: United States FBIThursday December 3, 2015, 5 pm – 7 pm
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FEATURED FULL-TIME & PART-TIME JOBS, INTERNSHIPS, AND RESEARCH POSITIONS

$15K Scholarship & Summer Internship at Morgan Stanley

New Post Maternal Child Health Careers/Research Initiatives

Health IT Summer Internships with Northrop Grumman

Keep an eye on the Career Center website (http://careers.umbc.edu/) for all upcoming events and programs!  Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors….this is an excellent opportunity for you to learn more about career paths…whether you are exploring possibilities or searching for an internship or full-time opportunity!

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All UMBC students registered for classes within the past year are included in the job-internships email list. Because the list is auto-populated by the Registrar, you cannot unsubscribe, but you can change your reception mode to not receive any more messages.

1. Go to https://lists.umbc.edu

2. Login with your myUMBC account or email address

3. Go to https://lists.umbc.edu/sympa/suboptions/jobs-internships

4. Under "Your list options" change the "Receiving mode" to "no mail"

5. Hit the Update button

Management Development Program Build Your Future at M&T Apply through UMBCworks today! Since 1983, M&T's Management Development Program (MDP) has been the entry point for undergraduate students looking to develop their professional skills. What you can expect from the Management Development Program A year-long program designed to develop your leadership skills Direct-position-placement where you can immediately provide value Intensive training in communication, leadership, and finance, enabling you to apply these skills in critical roles Access to an instant peer group and networking opportunities to help you learn and grow within the bank A bridge from college to career The Management Development Program offers two career tracks Analyst track – providing undergraduates with positions in finance/accounting, human resources, marketing, credit & risk management, technology, treasury and many more Retail track – providing undergraduates the opportunity to start on the path to retail branch management while learning branch operations/sales strategies and obtaining licenses

Management Development Program Qualifications  Bachelor's (or MS/MBA) candidates with less than 1 year of full-time work experience Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above Superior interpersonal skills & experience in making presentations Strong analytical ability Excellent written and verbal communication skills Authorization to work in the U.S. on a full-time, permanent basis without additional sponsorship Technology Function: Management Trainees working in Technology will further develop technical and project management skills. Employees will participate one of the bank’s strategic initiatives to optimize daily operations through: •Application development •Architecture •Innovation •Production Operations Locations: Headquartered in Buffalo, NY, M&T Bank has locations throughout DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, and WV.  To learn more about M&T’s financial performance, commitment to its community, and culture, visit www.mtb.com/AboutUs. Apply via UMBCworks today:9279465 M & T Bank also has a great technical internship program in Buffalo, NY. Apply to position 9278560 in UMBCworks.

Is Bigger Better? Comparing User Generated Passwords on
3×3 vs. 4×4 Grid Sizes for Android’s Pattern Unlock

Adam Aviv, USNA

1:00-2:00pm Tuesday, 1 December 2015, ITE 459

Android’s graphical authentication mechanism requires users to unlock their devices by “drawing” a pattern that connects a sequence of contact points arranged in a 3×3 grid. Prior studies have shown that human-generated patterns are far less complex than one would desire; large portions can be trivially guessed with sufficient training. Custom modifications to Android, such as CyanogenMod, offer ways to increase the grid size beyond 3×3, and in this paper we ask the question: Does increasing the grid size increase the security of human-generated patterns?

To answer this question, we conducted two large studies, one in-lab and one online, collecting 934 total 3×3 patterns and 504 4×4 patterns. Analysis shows that for both 3×3 and 4×4 patterns, there is a high incidence of repeated patterns and symmetric pairs (patterns that derive from others based on a sequence of flips and rotations). Further, many of the 4×4 patterns are similar versions of 3×3 patterns distributed over the larger grid space. Leveraging this information, we developed the most advanced guessing algorithm in this space, and we find that guessing the first 20% (0.2) of patterns for both 3×3 and 4×4 can be done as efficiently as guessing a random 2-digit PIN. Guessing larger portions of 4×4 patterns (0.5), however, requires 2-bits more entropy than guessing the same ratio of 3×3 patterns, but the entropy is still on the order of cracking random 3-digit PINs. These results suggest that while there may be some benefit to expanding the grid size to 4×4, the majority of patterns will remain trivially guessable and insecure against broad guessing attacks.

Adam J. Aviv is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the United States Naval Academy, receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania under the advisement of Jonathan Smith and Matt Blaze. He has varied research interests including in system and network security, applied cryptography, smartphone security, and more recently in the area of usable security with a focus on mobile devices.