Can I do a switch?

[Bjorn]

I think my question is probably ridiculous and the answer is probably no, but I'd love to get some feedback on it.

CONTEXT
My SF is on the other side of the country and in a place I really don't like (I like the people there though). I've been to 2 full summer internships so I feel fairly confident in my opinion. I got my friend an internship there last summer and he really loved it and they loved him. He is a much better fit in terms of what he is studying and he even worked closely with them on a project throughout the school year--I don't talk to them during the school year and my area of focus is less related to what they do. They really want him to come and work for them afterwards, but they don't know if they will have a position/funding for him and he already has definite offers on his plate and is not sure if he wants to wait for an uncertain offer when he has definite offers.

QUESTION
So, my question is do you think SMART would possibly consider letting my friend take my guaranteed spot at my SF and my time debt I owe the SF? My friend has already said he would do it in a heart beat. Of course, my SF would need to agree to it, but I think they would recognize that he is a better fit there than I am.

I think this would be a dangerous question to ask my SF or SMART, so I ask it anonymously here first to get some feedback. Thanks!

[zxczxc]

This is a pretty interesting question, and unfortunately I do not think I have enough knowledge to give much insight or recommendation.

In my experience, the SMART Program is not exactly flexible or logical when faced with special/unique situations like this that do not fit their cookie-cutter mold. Just from that, I would wager that the answer will be "no." But perhaps if you can make a very solid case, and if you are offering to transfer *your* years of service commitment to another set of facilities (as in, show that you've done the research, and prepare explanations for why these alternative SFs would be a better fit for you, pending their availability to hire another person), then I would say "maybe." I still think it's unlikely, but maybe.

If you do pursue this further, though, I personally would reach out to your current SF first, and explain the situation to them, since their approval will be needed regardless, and it's probably best to talk to them beforehand. If you can find the right person, perhaps they could realize that everyone would benefit from such an arrangement. That said, in my experience, the HR department might not be flexible or logical either, so you might run into yet another brick wall there.

Hopefully you get a few more replies too, to help decide if this is worth the perceived risk.

[JDetwiler]

My take on it is also, probably, "no." SMART really only looks at their scholars as an investment. Period. Their program office has said to people in the past "we deserve to get what we paid for" [too lazy to cite this thing that's all over my posting history, it's there if you want to find it].

There's two things I know for sure about this case:

1. They'll treat you like an investment---they won't like the idea of someone they don't know substituting in. In other words, you belong to them.
2. They stick by their own rules, even when they don't make sense to uphold---I had this happen to me. They'll use the tiniest detail in the handbook and justify it saying "we have to stay consistent with the policies that we've published." [something I've heard myself, on a teleconference with the program manager]. They awarded me funding for grad school, and then rescinded it all when they recalled that I graduated on a Fall semester instead of Spring. According to the handbook, they can only award on a Fall-Spring cycle, sooo...no follow-on award. At all.

That said...it's still possible, I suppose. You won't get any advice here that speaks from experience about it. You'll only find out by asking. What was said before---you should ask your SF first. If they can back it up and defend the proposal, SMART might hear it.