Working virtually can be a challenge, especially if it’s your first time in a remote position. As with any new experience, it’s best to educate yourself, prepare well, and connect with people who can guide or advise you.
This past summer, our team worked with 100+ interns on our first ever virtual internship program. Even though most of the interns had not worked remotely before, the program was such a success!
Here are four top tips from our interns to help you crush your virtual internship.
Over the years, our most in-demand locations for internships abroad have remained in Ireland and England. Many university students are requesting English-speaking locations and looking for placements in industries that are well suited to those cities.
Through further research and with these key factors in mind, Global Experiences is pleased to announce that we are opening intern abroad programs in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Galway, Ireland! We look forward to welcoming our first participants to these cities in summer 2021.
Find out more about these fascinating European cities below.
The current pandemic pushed us all to adapt quickly -- how can we still provide life-changing international internships and cross-cultural experiences when we can’t travel?
On April 7th, 2020, we launched our very first virtual internship program in response to a need from our students, our university partners, and our employers.
Fast forward to the middle of summer and our first virtual internship program closing! Check out what these seven virtual interns had to say about their remote internship experience.
In the months leading up to the coronavirus pandemic, recent graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Rachel, secured a spring internship in Dublin to work in agriculture at a chemical and biology company.
“After graduation, your personal travel time is not a guarantee, especially once you start job hunting or you’ve accepted a job. I thought to myself, “When will you ever have the opportunity to travel and work like this again?”.”
Rachel took some time during her undergrad to plan her internship abroad so she would not have any world travel regrets. She found the Global Experiences intern abroad program and knew it would be the best choice. “I was so surprised to see they had internships in Agriculture/Ecology, and when I did, I could not pass up the opportunity!”
And so she was off -- only for the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the pandemic forced her to return home early.
During a time of immense uncertainty, two things are for sure: COVID-19 has flipped the world on its head, and it’s not going to disappear anytime soon.
Thousands of students have cancelled travel plans, lost their internships, and tried to figure out what to do with themselves for the foreseeable future. We know it’s not easy, and our hearts go out to everyone who’s been affected over the past few months.
Although the virus has presented a ton of new challenges, we hope that Global Experiences can help you have a positive and productive internship experience during the upcoming year.
“Why am I paying for an unpaid internship?”
Over the years, this has always been one of our most frequently asked questions - and we understand! For starters, you are getting more than just an internship. Through Global Experiences, you are getting a complete and well-rounded internship and professional development program.
We understand that you might think or your parents might ask you, “why am I paying for you to do a virtual internship?” and we’re here to help! Here are some of the key benefits of our virtual internship program you may not have thought of:
We, as human beings, are really not meant to be sitting around and staring at the wall doing nothing. We are meant to wander, explore new places and meet different cultures while we enjoy their gastronomy.
In my early 20’s I was a very picky eater and it was during my study and work abroad experience in Edinburgh, Scotland, when the quote “The best way to know a city is to eat it” by Scott Westerfeld, really made sense to me and it changed my life.
While you may be stuck at home more often these days, why not bring some international culture to your kitchen and expand your palate. Here are 8 tasty dishes from around the world to get you started.
For those of you who recently graduated from high school, you could be thinking, “I don’t know what to do with my life.” We get it!
If you’re a current university student who just went through having spring semester switch to virtual and fall semester in limbo, you may be thinking “why am I paying full price for tuition for an online education?”.
Or, you may be a student or young professional who really likes the concept of virtual learning and fully embraces the flexibility and new skills - like internet literacy, digital competency, adaptability, responsibility, and time management.
A gap year is a great option for you all, now more than ever.
With many universities planning to remain online in the fall or those who may be back on campus with more restrictions, it’s safe to say that the “normal” college life is on pause for now. Many students have been forced to look at alternatives like gap year programs.
According to recent surveys reported by Axios, “more than a quarter of college students are questioning whether to return to their current college or university in the fall due to uncertainty around plans to reopen… 35% of prospective college students said they’re planning to take a gap year.”
A gap year is a strong alternative for not only prospective college students but those currently enrolled who are uncertain about what the future of their education looks like.
To the class of 2020, completing your college degrees and preparing for the next step–congratulations! Earning your degree is a major milestone and you should feel extremely proud.
Given the pandemic, we understand that you are not getting to celebrate your graduation with family and friends in the way you had always planned.
While the world moves to online classes, remote work, and virtual hangouts and ceremonies, we are thinking of you, the graduating seniors, and we have some well-wishes to share!
There is an element of graduation that is universal–the sharing of thoughts or advice that those who have come before received or would have wanted to hear when they were in your shoes. But graduating in 2020 is also a unique accomplishment that now bonds you and your fellow classmates around the world.
With that in mind, here is what the Global Experiences team would like to share with the graduating seniors of 2020 and some inspirational quotes to help you take the next step.
Staying at home may have you daydreaming about your next big adventure, and lucky for you, you don’t have to wait to get started!
Now is a great time to start thinking about an internship next summer, and don’t stop there—you can spend this time planning and preparing too.
The best thing about planning ahead is that it takes away all the stress.
Need an internship to graduate? Want to gain that professional experience to boost your resumé? Starting now can help you get there in a way that makes you feel prepared, excited, and ready to tackle this new experience.
