Internship abroad: what is it, why should you do it and where is the best place to go?

What is an internship abroad?

• An internship abroad means working for a foreign organization for a certain period of time in order to help and especially to learn from it.
• In general, you will not receive any remuneration for your work, for example in the form of salary, expenses or board and lodging. Unless you work in a sector where your local background can be of added value, and there is sufficient budget at the organization concerned

Why should you intern abroad?

• To gain experience in your own field of work, or in the sector you might want to work in later.
• To see yourself at work in a different environment.
• To be able to work in a different field and see if you like it.
• To use as a stepping stone for a local job with a salary.
• To help others with your efforts and skills.
• To support organizations or causes you find important in your life.

What do you need if you want to do an internship abroad?

• Flexibility: you already need some form of flexibility, the rest you will acquire during your stay abroad
• Communication skills: depending on the type of work, you will need a reasonable to good command of the local language.
• Independence and/or self-confidence: you will need some form of independence, and your self-confidence will grow through it
• Environmental awareness: an important element for your stay abroad
• Cooperation skills: also abroad it is important that you learn, or can learn, to cooperate when working with others
• Organizational awareness
• Empathy

Where is the best place to intern abroad?

•  When looking for a social internship: Aruba - Bonaire - Curaçao - Ghana - Guatemala - India - Nepal - South Africa
•  When you are looking for a commercial internship: Australia - Curacao - Spain - United States of America
•  When you are looking for an internship caring for or protecting animals: Costa Rica - Curaçao - Ecuador - Indonesia - South Africa
•  When you are under 18 years old: Spanish language courses and internships in Spain (e.g. Salamanca, Barcelona) - Youth internships in Malawi, Uganda or South Africa.
•  When you travel "as a woman alone" for the first time : Australia - New Zealand - Argentina - Ecuador - Costa Rica - Thailand - Indonesia. - Nepal - Ghana
•  When traveling 'as a woman alone' with experience: Bolivia - Peru - Guatemala - Nicaragua - China and Hong Kong - South Africa - Kenya - Malawi

To what extent are you insured for the risks of doing a traineeship and intern abroad?

• Several reasons may apply why you need separate insurance when doing an internship abroad, or at least check your insured situation carefull
  • Local organizations usually offer no, or very limited, insurance
  • The risk of accidents is present because you are doing work with which you have little experience, for example
  • During your internship abroad, in most countries the coverage of your own health insurance expires. You will then need special insurance to remain properly insured for illness and accidents.
• Read more:
  • EN: insuring internships abroad
  • NL: stage in het buitenland verzekeren