Summer 2019 Participant
Internships are designed to provide students with the opportunity to briefly experience the professional world.
Therefore, interns must rely on the occasion to one side display their academic aptitudes but on the other take the chance to learn and acquire a set of new skills. Many organizations do have great expectations from their interns. Hence, students must remain professional and proactive by immersing themselves in the working environment. Trust is earned and can foster an environment where students/interns will be delegated important tasks. Interns become then part of the daily operations of the structure through their inputs.
An internship abroad beside being the opportunity to venture in an unfamiliar environment must also serve as experiencing a new culture and set of values.
Summer 2019 Participant
Immersing in the Japanese culture/way of life and testing my academic knowledge on the professional level are the two major components of the program that stick out the most to me.
Indeed first, I consider the experience as a unique opportunity to trigger and develop a cross-cultural awareness skill. This involves adjusting to a new set of rules. I will mention interaction with the locals, the use of public transportation, etc.
Next, interning in Tokyo helped me widening my academic scope of the East Asian state. Japan is a major actor on the international scene whilst the state faces multiple social issues such child abuse and extreme poverty in the rural areas.
Additionally, the program was a golden opportunity to get my very first taste of the professional world and its inherent standards in a foreign and unfamiliar environment. The leading staff of YOUMEWE, the company I did my internship with, treat interns as part of its workforce. We were given the opportunity to explain our individual role during the program and our respective duties. We participated in multiple meetings and even contributed to the conception of the annual report of the organization.
Zane Hayden, Summer 2019 Participant
Something I found most rewarding was being able to experience part of the work/leisure dynamic in my host country because of my participation in the internship. This helped me get a better understanding of several aspects of my host country's culture, such as transportation and food.
