Todd Jerome JenkinsReal Work. Real Learning. Real Impact.

Careers | Research & training development

Bring your curiosity.
Build something useful.

Help turn sound research into useful learning. I’m looking to connect with prospective interns, researchers, and training developers interested in reviewing and validating training and developing courses ready for a learning management system (LMS).

Explore ways to get involved
Expressions of interest are open.

Jenkins Academy and Jenkins Research Institute are operated by Todd Jerome Jenkins as a sole proprietorship. It is currently a one-person business, with no nonprofit partner. This page invites conversations; it does not offer an immediate placement or assign work.

Direct unpaid volunteer positions are not available through this sole proprietorship. Independent researchers are welcome to discuss shared research projects below. Any arrangement needs agreed roles, scope, timing, and compensation terms before it begins. An inquiry is not an offer or a guarantee of a place.

Two ways to start a conversation

Learn with purpose. Contribute with care.

01 · Internship inquiries

A learning experience with a plan.

Tell us what you’re studying, what you want to practice, and where you want to grow. We’re interested in students and emerging practitioners exploring education, safety, human systems, and research.

  • Defined learning goals and supervision by Todd.
  • Practice in research, training review, or LMS development, with feedback and time to reflect.
  • A schedule and duration that fit the learning goals and academic commitments.
  • Clear compensation terms before a placement starts.

Academic credit requires your school’s approval. An internship does not promise a future job. Any proposed unpaid placement requires an individual review of its educational purpose and applicable wage rules.

Send your internship interest

02 · Research & training projects

Bring your experience to the work.

Researchers, subject-matter specialists, instructional designers, and LMS developers are welcome to discuss future projects. Tell me where your experience could improve the evidence, the learning, or the finished course.

  • Research and source review.
  • Training review, validation, and documented improvements.
  • Course development, LMS packaging, and testing.

These are project inquiries, not advertised paid vacancies or requests for free work. Any production assignment requires agreed compensation and an appropriate work arrangement before it begins.

Send your project interest

Jenkins Research Institute

Independent research collaborators.

Have a research question we could explore together? JRI welcomes individual researchers and independent scholars interested in shared studies, evidence reviews, and coauthored publications. You do not need to represent a university or nonprofit to start a conversation.

Potential topics include human performance, safety systems, training evaluation, and how people learn and apply learning at work. Tell me about your question, perspective, and the contribution you would like to make.

For a proposed peer collaboration, we would discuss how to shape the research and make decisions together, each person’s independence and responsibilities, authorship and credit, data and research ethics, ownership and permitted use of results, and any funding, costs, or compensation.

This is an invitation to discuss a collaboration, not an unpaid staff opening. Calling someone a collaborator or offering publication credit does not determine employment status or replace wages when required. Each arrangement needs review before work begins; course production assignments follow the project terms above.

Discuss a research collaboration

Three areas of focus

Research. Review. Build.

These are areas for discussion. Internship activities must follow an individual learning plan; production projects need agreed deliverables and compensation.

Research & evidence
Find credible sources, compare findings, check citations, and identify gaps or limits in the evidence. Prepare clear research notes that help explain the reasoning behind a course.
Training review & validation
Review accuracy, learning objectives, lessons, activities, and assessments. Check readability, accessibility, and whether learners can apply what they learn. Document findings, evidence, and revisions needed before release.
LMS-ready training development
Develop lessons, practice activities, assessments, and instructor materials. Package courses for an LMS, including SCORM where required, and test launch, resume, completion, score reporting, and accessibility.

What happens next

A conversation before a commitment.

  1. Introduce yourself.

    Share your interests, learning goals, relevant experience, location, and availability. A public portfolio link is welcome, but optional. No unpaid sample assignment is required to inquire.

  2. Discuss the fit.

    Todd will consider the project, available supervision, and any school requirements. We’ll also review whether the proposed arrangement is appropriate where you will participate.

  3. Agree on the details.

    Before any work begins, confirm duties, learning goals or deliverables, duration, supervision, compensation, ownership and permitted use of materials, and how to raise concerns or end the arrangement.

Different backgrounds. Shared curiosity.

Tell us where you’d like to begin.

Students, career changers, veterans, people with disabilities, and experienced practitioners are welcome to inquire. We consider your interests, learning goals, relevant skills, and the needs of the proposed role.

Need an accessible way to discuss an opportunity? Let us know what would help; you do not need to share a diagnosis.

Internship interestResearch & training project interestResearch collaboration inquiry

Choose a topic to open the contact form. Your inquiry is saved privately for Todd to review and follow up.

Please send a short introduction, not identity documents, Social Security numbers, medical records, or confidential work samples. Your inquiry is used to discuss opportunities and does not subscribe you to marketing. See our Privacy Policy.

How we approach learning and project work

Clear expectations protect everyone’s time and help learning stay meaningful.

Learning, pay, and role boundaries

For a proposed unpaid internship with a for-profit host, the Department of Labor describes a flexible, seven-factor “primary beneficiary” test. The actual relationship matters: educational training, ties to formal study, accommodation of academic commitments, a useful learning duration, and educational benefit without replacing paid employees. Compensation expectations and the absence of a promised job also matter. No single factor decides the result.

Calling a role an internship, earning academic credit, or agreeing to work without pay does not settle employee status. If the arrangement is employment, required wages and overtime must be paid. Federal rules and the rules where the person works must be considered before a placement starts.

This is a privately operated sole proprietorship, not a nonprofit or public agency. DOL guidance does not permit employees to volunteer their services to private for-profit employers. Offering free courses does not create a nonprofit volunteer exception. Research, course validation, and LMS production are not exempt simply because they serve an educational purpose.

The nonprofit and public-agency sources below explain different settings; they do not authorize unpaid volunteer positions here. The Volunteer Protection Act addresses limited civil-liability protections for qualifying volunteers, not a wage-law exemption.

These sources guide our planning. A placement is considered individually; nothing on this page asks a participant to waive wages or other legal rights.

Read the federal sources

Federal sources reviewed October 18, 2026. Rules can change; the linked sources and applicable state requirements should be checked when a placement is proposed.