Our Summer Intern Programme runs from mid-November to mid-February each year, providing students with the opportunity to gain practical experience, develop professional networks, and contribute to meaningful work that helps power New Zealand.
Applications typically open, mid to late July. To apply - Visit our Careers page and look for Summer Intern or Prosple - Transpower roles.
What's the programme about?
Each year we welcome around 25 interns from a range of disciplines to experience life at Transpower.
As an intern, you'll work on real projects, build valuable industry experience, and gain insight into New Zealand's electricity sector. You'll be supported by experienced professionals, a dedicated buddy, and members of our young professional network throughout your internship.
You'll have the opportunity to work alongside teams across the business, developing a broad understanding of Transpower, our purpose, and the impact we have on communities across New Zealand.
Our Summer Intern Programme is also a great way to explore future career opportunities, with many former interns going on to join our Graduate Programme after completing their studies.
Check out the profiles below to read about the experiences of our former interns or download our Summer Intern Programme brochure to learn more.
When Transpower is your mahi – Aotearoa is powered by you!
What it's like to be a Summer Intern at Transpower - Hear from previous Summer Interns
Caroline Beeson
Degree: Conjoint civil engineering & accounting
University: University of Auckland
Division: Grid Development, Tactical engineering
Teams: Cost estimation, Engineering consultants & Transmission Lines
"My manager ensured I worked on a variety of projects related to my discipline and other areas to enhance my learning and professional development. I was able to develop my skills in Power BI, grillage foundations, data analysis and business processes, alongside having the opportunity to visit the Haywards substation and learn about the HVDC connection. Additionally, I participated in meetings between Transpower and consultants, gaining insights into how companies collaborate to ensure the upkeep of the national grid and forming connections with key individuals within the industry."
Natalie More
Degree: Mechatronics
University: Canterbury
Division: Operations
Team: Power Systems Group, Power Systems Engineering
"I interned within the Power Systems Group in the Power Systems Engineering Team. The Power Systems Group is responsible for analysing the current and future power system, updating its models in tools when an asset is commissioned or decommissioned and reviewing and testing measures for when something goes wrong. Within that, Power Systems Engineers analyse and review the power system."
Tim Crawford
Degree: Mechanical Engineering
University: Canterbury
Division: Grid Delivery
Team: Quality & Compliance
"As a mechanical engineering student, I was unsure about the relevance of my work to my studies but quickly found that I was both applying many skills from uni while learning a great deal of industry relevant proficiencies."
Yuan Zhuang
Degree: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
University: Auckland
Division: Grid Development, Tactical Engineering
Teams: Substations Project Engineering – Customer Projects
"The team is responsible for developing new high-voltage substation such as grid injection points (GIP) and grid exit points (GXP) projects for customers. The team works with both internal and external partners, such as project managers, asset planning leads, generators, distributors, and industrial clients, overseeing technical documents, managing engineering investigations, and developing engineering designs."
Ariki Tana
Degree: Engineering Science
University: Auckland
Division: Operations
Team: Grid and Systems Operations
"Overall, my time at Transpower has been nothing short of spectacular. It was an incredible opportunity to apply and expand my skill set while gaining a deeper understanding of electricity and the complexity of keeping the lights on. Beyond the technical experience, the supportive and collaborative culture at Transpower, along with the incredibly knowledgeable and friendly people I had the pleasure of working with, made this experience even more enriching."
Kate Day
Degree: Electrical & Electronic Engineering
University: Victoria
Division: Operations
Team: Power Systems Group, Engineering Assurance
"My summer project aligned closely with my specialisation of Renewable Energy Systems and was broken into two key parts. In part one, I investigated the daily, monthly and seasonal solar panel generation curves of two solar farms to see how the average generation at the time of peak load changes throughout the year. This was important as the script I wrote for this section of my project can be used to verify solar trigger assumptions in the EMI case."
Keira Malan
Degree: Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Religious Studies
University: Victoria
Division: Application Services
Team: Critical Apps Design
"I learned an incredible amount about the electricity sector and writing apps which work in large software ecosystems, and had a great time at Transpower learning an incredible amount supported by an awesome and welcoming team. Everyone was keen to offer me a hand whenever it was needed.