Our Legacy

The Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science (PIPES) began in simple conversations between Micronesian resource managers and University of Hawai’i program coordinators tasked with guiding federal assistance to the U.S.-affiliated Pacific. The message from islanders was clear: bring our students home to care for their home islands and communities. At the time, students often left for college and either did not return or came back with degrees that felt disconnected from the immediate needs of their islands.

The response in 1994 was the creation of the Micronesian and American Samoan Student Internship Program (MASSIP), born of a partnership between UH Hilo, UH Sea Grant, the U.S. Department of Interior Office of Insular Affairs, and many host agencies across the U.S.-affiliated Pacific. These partners provided students the vital opportunity to return home for the summer to work on local conservation projects.

Inspired by the success of MASSIP, a sister program, the University of Hawai’i Hawaiian Internship Program (UH-HIP), was created in 1997. This grew from a partnership between UH Sea Grant, UH Hilo, the USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, and NOAA Marine Sanctuaries. Hawaiʻi host organizations leaned in, excited to provide interns with local connections to Hawaiʻi the opportunity to explore the world of "conservation."

In 2003, UH Hilo faculty and staff successfully garnered support from the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF REU) to engage interns in research relevant to the region’s conservation needs. In 2004, the name PIPES brought all of these efforts together under one umbrella. Since 1994, over 1,000 interns from across Hawaiʻi and the Pacific have participated, creating a vast network of island stewards.