Global Grounds recently launched a new resource for students looking to intern abroad. Global Internships will utilize alumni, partner organizations and employers to provide students with internship opportunities during a semester or summer.
Majida Bargach, the former director for the Center for Global Inquiry and Innovation, will direct the new program.
“This is part of the overall strategy of the University to globalize the University and to encourage more global themes and topics,” said Cliff Maxwell, a coordinator at Global Internships. “We hope this be a real work experience where [students] learn more about the work environment in a unique cultural setting and be better prepared for the work world when they come back.”
Ingrid Hakala, another Global Internships coordinator, said many employers are now looking for candidates experienced in working overseas — and a report by the American Institute for Foreign Policy recently found that working abroad is an increasingly valuable trait for graduates. The study, conducted by the Rand Corporation and the National Association of Colleges, said those hiring graduates valued the skillset required to adapt to new cultures, more so than the particular aspects of their international experience.
“Employers were interested in the personal as well as professional skills that a student employed to successfully adapt to living, studying or working in France, because they could be applied, for example, to working with a multinational team based in Latin America,” according to the report.
Hakala said the goals of the program include gaining an understanding of workplace culture, as well as promoting immersion in another cultural environment.
The Global Internships program joins a host of recent University initiatives and ongoing programs — including the Center for Global Inquiry and Innovation and the Global Studies major — which aim to make students competitive in a rapidly globalizing world. All three programs are under a larger umbrella initiative, Global Grounds, developed in part by the Jeffrey Legro, vice provost of global affairs.
The University Internship Center, a recently launched program spearheaded by University Career Services (UCS), will count Global Internships, University Internship Program and UCS Internship Center among its subgroups.
Though many students seek internships outside of University resources, Global Internships offers a pathway to these opportunities, typically at no cost — offering grants and scholarships through University organizations.
Similar to the UIP, which places students in the Charlottesville area during the semester and the summer, the Global Internships program will offer students course credit for the work they do abroad.
Currently, the program offers opportunities in 16 cities, including Shanghai, Paris and Casablanca — and applications are available on the University’s Study Abroad website.
“Working, studying or interning abroad would allow for me to get a different perspective on jobs and academics that I couldn’t get in the U.S.,” first-year College student Annalise Gill said. “While I think I am exposed as I could possibly be to the international scene while living in the U.S., nothing can top experiencing it yourself.”
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that University Career Services launched the global internships program.
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