NYU Global Network Internships
Hopefully the intern experiences shared by juniors can help NYU Shanghai’s freshmen and sophomores better prepare for their experience abroad!
Did you attend the Career Development Center’s (CDC) Career Expo week? Are you wondering about the infinite internship opportunities available at different study away sites? Our beloved juniors from the various campuses in NYU’s Global Network have generously offered to share their intern stories and experience.But before that some overview. Regarding the search for internships outside of the shanghai campus, our wonderful and beloved CDC staff are responsible for sharing insights and giving heads-ups about positions. Both NYU New York and NYU Abu Dhabi have CDCs of their own. Other study away sites have numerous resources to find out about internships, for example, through connections with staff and faculty members. In addition, there are special internship programs at certain study away, which will be introduced later. When students enroll in New York or Abu Dhabi, they gain access to the CDC database (Career Net) there. However, once the students leave the study away sites, they lose access to that site’s Career Net. But to our greatest comfort, NYU Shanghai’s CDC will always be here for us. We will always have access to the Shanghai Career Net during our time as a student of NYU Shanghai, even when we are studying away. Another thing to note is that if you are considered an international student at your study away site, you should always double check with the Career Development Center to see if you need to register with the police before you start an internship. I interviewed several students from the Class of 2017, who were generously willing to share with On Century Avenue their knowledge and resources for obtaining internships at the different global sites. This list includes some, but not all of the sites in the GNU Credit goes to: Li Siyao in New York; Madeline Priscilla in Accra; Amata Lee in Prague; Roxanne Roman in Abu Dhabi; Veronica Hernandez in Buenos AiresInterning at NYU New York:Similar to the CDC at NYU Shanghai, NYU NY has its own career center, called the Wasserman Center. Wasserman has a career page with numerous opportunities. Everyday there are posts on company info sessions and graduate school info sessions and other alumni events. In addition to Wasserman, most of the student organizations, clubs, fraternities and sororities have their own sources of internships as well. Interning at NGOs in NY can also be a unique experience. For example, there are NGOs that offer legal protection and consultation for immigrants. Li finds interning at these NGOs actually brings about more meaningful and interesting experiences. A piece of advice Li Siyao offered is that the freshmen and the sophomores should definitely take advantage of the Career Development Center at NYU Shanghai and practice interview techniques to better prepare yourselves.Interning in NYU Accra: There is a course at NYU Accra for internships, but those who are not enrolled in the course will still have access to the same internships. Many organizations and companies have good relationships with NYU Accra and are willing to accept students to intern for credits or just as volunteers. There is less competition for internships and way more opportunities at NYU Accra than here in Shanghai. In addition, if you work with an internship program and later discover that it is not a good fit, you have the freedom to leave the program and receive reassignments to other programs. There are currently 7 students studying away at NYU Accra and all of them are interning or volunteering. Internship programs are very well developed at NYU Accra, so if Ghana is your study away destination, definitely do not miss out the opportunity to intern there!Interning at NYU Prague: NYU Prague has internship fairs just like the ones we have here at NYU Shanghai. There is less competition but there are also fewer options compared to NYU Shanghai. As a Wasserman Center ambassador in Prague, Amata feels that students should make more use of the Career Week to get to know about the potential opportunities. She also reveals that the Wasserman center grants 1000 USD to a student at every site that is doing an unpaid internship. Unfortunately this does not include the NYU SH and NYU AD students. Hopefully, in the near future, the NYU Shanghai student body, as well as the NYU Abu Dhabi student body will be incorporated into the program.Interning at NYU Abu DhabiInternship opportunities come from various sources, notably the Student Portal, which is a site linked to the NYU Abu Dhabi website; Career Net; by word of mouth and recommendations from friends, staff and professors. Transportation to off campus internships might be a bit time consuming and expensive. However, most of the companies do provide travel compensations for interns. Internship culture at NYU Shanghai is larger than that at NYU Abu Dhabi. Many study away students in Abu Dhabi are doing some kind of internship-like activities, but mostly based on campus. Roxanne chose to work as a Student Assistant at the library, which is a paid position, similar to the on-campus job program we have here at NYU Shanghai. From Roxanne’s perception, Abu Dhabi is an awesome city that offers great opportunities for young professionals and many of the students who intern throughout their college life graduate with job offers from the firms they have interned at.Interning at NYU Buenos AiresThe internship at NYU Buenos Aires is actually a course called “Internship Seminar and Fieldwork”. Once enrolled in the course, students are required to communicate with career advisors at NYU BA prior to arriving in Argentina. Then students will be placed at an internship that fits their career interest. The availability of internships is rather limited because according to Argentine law foreigners are only allowed to intern at NGOs and cultural institutions. The course requires working 10 hours a week and attending a lecture that is an hour and 45 minutes long. One thing to keep in mind when applying for the course is that a certain amount of knowledge in Spanish is necessary. Veronica was placed at a creative marketing agency. She really enjoys her working environment and has formed a strong relationship with her co-workers.Hopefully the intern experiences shared by juniors can help NYU Shanghai’s freshmen and sophomores better prepare for their experience abroad!
This article was written by Mengzhu Chen. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Marjorie Wang