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Meet Intern Abroad HQ’s Local Coordinators On The Ground

Meet Intern Abroad HQ’s Local Coordinators On The Ground

At Intern Abroad HQ, all of our 280+ internships are hosted by a diverse range of organizations around the world. Behind each internship placement is a passionate team of in-country Internship Coordinators.

Unlike other global internship providers who employ their own representatives to run programs abroad, our Internship Coordinators are local professionals who live within the communities and cities where our internships are hosted. These local coordinators are in the best position to identify the most innovative, relevant, and industry-leading host organizations to match each intern with. They use their local connections to identify where our interns can make the greatest impact and support them from start-to-finish to ensure they achieve their career goals.

South Africa - Cape Town

Intern Abroad HQ:

Why is now a great time to intern in Cape Town?

Elisha:

Interns were a great source of help to everyone prior to the pandemic. Now, they are returning to help nonprofit and for-profit companies rebuild everything that has been lost, and it’s a tremendous advantage to the community.

From an economic point of view, interns have contributed a lot to the local cafés, bars, accommodation providers, car rental companies, airlines, tourist attractions, and so on. One can easily say that interns traveling abroad have been putting bread on the table for a lot of families.

Another benefit of hosting international interns is the cultural exchange. Interns learn from their local hosts, and likewise, hosts learn from, and are exposed to, a different culture they might never meet before. It’s a win-win situation! After all, the world is a small village and cultural exchange is the glue that binds our diversity together.

I think now is the best time to pack your bags and travel. Yes, one needs to follow all the health advice and stick to the rules and guidelines, but if the opportunity to intern abroad is presented to you, I say go for it. This is also a very budget-friendly time to travel, as most places are offering great deals.

During these quieter times, interns get more hands-on experience and can become part of the solution to the current crises, as well as getting more direct feedback and guidance from their internship managers. Last and most importantly, I think young people can explore more and take time to learn about the local culture.

Internships in Cape Town

Costa Rica & Guatemala

Intern Abroad HQ:

How are interns adding value to your organization and the local communities of Costa Rica & Guatemala right now?

Diego:

Interns bring positive new perspectives to the workplace and create a more diverse environment. In the medical field, qualified interns help quite a bit - especially now when the healthcare system is quite saturated with Covid-19 related issues.

Throughout Covid-19, we’ve consistently had positive feedback from projects and companies receiving interns once again. Right now is a great time to intern abroad if you are looking to make good use of your time while a lot of internship options remain closed due to the pandemic.

Intern in Costa Rica Intern in Guatemala

Peru

Intern Abroad HQ:

What kind of support have interns provided over the last year and a half during the pandemic?

Enrique:

We felt overjoyed when our first intern came after a very long period of time without having any internship programs running. There is always a need for interns to join our projects in Peru, especially when they have specific skills that can help our placements improve their services.

The medical and healthcare fields specifically benefit from the knowledge that interns bring. Our community enjoys having motivated students interested in helping the doctors and nurses treating patients with special diseases. Sometimes our local knowledge is limited, but when this happens, our interns have a great opportunity to add a lot of value and impact by giving suggestions based on their studies and experience.

When interns come to Cusco, it is a win-win situation. They get to develop their skill set while providing support from the outside in order to get us back on our feet after the financial and non-financial consequences this pandemic has caused.

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Spain

Intern Abroad HQ:

How do you feel about interns rejoining your programs throughout the last year? What benefit are they bringing to local organizations in Spain right now?

Isabel:

We were so happy to finally welcome interns back to Spain. International interns are so important here! Local businesses really benefit from fresh perspectives, students with new ideas and methods, and international support when it comes to English content, customer service, and international outreach. Our Education, Hospitality and Tourism sectors in particular have commented on how great it is to have interns back to help them with their international clients and students - to create a stronger connection and offer a higher quality of service to customers.

We believe there’s no better time to intern than right now! International companies need international interns to help rebuild and reignite projects and plans, to create new innovative ways to connect to their audiences, and to receive vital support from trainees throughout this challenging time. Not to mention in Valencia, the lower number of tourists makes it a great time to explore the city and get to experience a more personal feel when it comes to Spanish culture!

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Italy

Intern Abroad HQ:

What makes this a unique time for interns to be supporting organizations in Italy?

Fabrizio:

We feel very confident and optimistic about bringing interns back on our programs! Covid-19 protocols have been implemented around the world and people now feel safe in returning to travel.

This is an exciting time for interns to go abroad. More than ever, companies need a competitive advantage to come out on the other side of Covid-19. Welcoming the contribution of international interns helps bring a fresh perspective on their market, products, tools and ideas.

Interns, especially during this period, have a strong social impact on the local community. Everyone in the world, in different ways, has had a hard time with Covid-19. When we bring people together from around the world, there’s a shared experience that everyone has due to the pandemic, which brings people closer together.

Intern abroad in Italy

Greece

Intern Abroad HQ:

What internship programs have been most popular in Greece throughout the last year?

George:

Having interns join our programs again makes us feel very hopeful and it’s a sign of a global return to normality. As for the interns, there is always a need for them to help the local community and help their host organization to invest more on education and gain global outreach.

So far this year, we’ve hosted interns on our Medical, Physiotherapy and Dental programs, and they’ve managed to bring hope and joy to everyone involved in the programs. This year we also mark an achievement of being the first and only European healthcare provider that hosted Dental interns!

The pandemic has caused a significant impact to the local economy and especially the education and touristic industry because less people travel either to study or for vacations nowadays. The value that interns add to the community during this time is most importantly hope and contributing to the local economy.

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South Africa’s Game Reserves (Environmental)

Intern Abroad HQ:

How have interns been able to support your environmental initiatives on South Africa’s game reserves?

Johan:

South Africa has suffered dramatically due to the pandemic and there is indeed a greater need for interns, as many of the environmental conservation projects have been setback in their progress, causing increased potential for human wildlife conflict. The absence of conservation teams from reserves has direct consequences for its animals and the local people. Tourism in these safari destinations have come to a complete standstill. The lack of employment for local community members may lead to increased incidences of poaching. We have a very real need for more interns as this would be the only way we can get back to re-opening these projects and resume the ecological monitoring and practical work for these reserves, and get people back into employment.

Interns can make a real impact, through reserve management tasks, such as monitoring the movement of the elephants. Elephants move onto the fence lines where they are attracted by agricultural subsistence crops cultivated by the local communities living on the reserve boundary. Elephants are responsible for (repeated) fence breakages which pose a direct threat to crops and humans. The ongoing support of interns contributes greatly to professional management projects - such as this example - and makes such a significant impact to the community and the conservation efforts!

Conservation internships in South Africa

Zanzibar

Intern Abroad HQ:

How have you adapted your internships to the Covid-19 era, and what is an internship in Zanzibar like right now?

Fabrizio:

Tourism in Zanzibar is currently around 60% of pre-Covid times. As tourism is Zanzibar’s main economic sector, many people have lost their jobs and income, resulting in social problems. Therefore, the Social Work & Education internship offered by Intern Abroad HQ is definitely in need of interns. The Tourism & Hospitality and Cultural Arts internships are also available, and interns can help in the development of new tourism products and marketing initiatives.

On the Medical placement, interns are hosted out of the National Hospital. As Zanzibar has a generally young population, there are not many cases of patients coming to the hospital with Covid-19 symptoms. The types of cases and the internship duties at the hospital are more or less identical to pre-covid times, so not much has changed.

People in Zanzibar are friendly and welcoming, so there is a kind invitation extended for those who are considering an internship in Zanzibar!

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Explore a new part of the world while developing your career

”I think the most rewarding part of my stay is knowing that I helped contribute to the creation of useful content for the reserve. It is nice to leave knowing your work will assist them in the future. The highlight for me personally - outside of enhancing my GIS skills - is seeing the animals first-hand. As someone who does not frequent zoos or other such establishments, it has been incredible to see these animals in the flesh.”

Explore a new part of the world while developing your career