It is certainly possible to arrange an international internship in most any field in most any region of the world, but if you are working on your own without a facilitating coordinator or program, be prepared to do a lot of legwork and get started well in advance.

Glenn Bronson and Ryan Walsh scuba dive off the Great Barrier Reef during their 10-week internship and making of "The Australia Project" five-part documentary.

Some academic programs incorporate internship opportunities or integrate them into the curriculum. Other programs place more initiative on the student. Either way, deciding an internship is on your academic bucket list is the first step.

In fact, maybe several internships are on that list during your college years.

If you are seeking out an overseas internship independently, it’s important to start planning at least nine months ahead so the process can go as smoothly as possible. It’s also important to tap into any and all resources, including your academic department, professors, study abroad office, and any business and alumni contacts that can provide leads on possible placements.

If you decide to work with an internship program, be sure to weigh more than just costs. You should also look closely at:

• Depth, variety and quality of internship offerings.
• Variety of international locations.
• Ability to customize internship dates to best fit your schedule and field of academic study.
• Track record of successful placements.
• Testimonial from past participants.
• Additional support services, such as:
• Visa and travel arrangements.
• Assistance with academic credit transfer.
• Housing.
• Financial aid assistance.
• Cultural introduction program.

Tailoring your internship for the perfect fit

GlobaLinks Learning Abroad is one of the leading international education organizations arranging internships abroad in all fields of study for U.S. and Canadian students.

The company regularly places interns with businesses and entities in Australia, New Zealand and Shanghai.

Students who want to intern abroad through GlobaLinks Learning Abroad can choose between two different internship programs:

- Professional Development for Academic Credit (PDAC) internships, which last 10 weeks and include pre-set dates and built-in academic credits from Chapman University.

(or)

- Custom Date Internships, which offer varying dates and are customized to meet a student’s individual needs in almost any academic major.

Students also have access to a variety of support services from program application to return home:

• Pre-departure assistance.
• Airport pickup.
• Bridging Cultures Program or on-site orientation.
• Housing.
• 24-hour in-country support from resident directors.
• Language education (for Shanghai internships) to assist students with cultural integration.
• Internship opportunities conducted in English.
• Academic credit through Chapman University or credit approval assistance through home university.

To connect students to these internships, GlobaLinks Learning Abroad works mostly with small businesses and nonprofits to find internship opportunities, says Barbara West, manager of internship programs.

Students have worked for CanTeen in Sydney, Australia, for example, putting together fundraising events to providing services to teens with cancer, for Toyota New Zealand in engineering capacities, and for the New Zealand Whale and Dolphin Trust to assist with research.

“We can do internships in virtually any industry or field,” West says. “The only area we can’t really do placements in is clinical health care.”

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The term “internship” can be loosely defined as any short-term period of practical work experience during college.

Leah Johnston takes photographs during her internship aboard the Passions of Paradise catamaran.

But go beyond that surface explanation and internships can be quite varied in how they are structured. In fact, an internship can be called other terms, depending on the field of study. These include “co-op,” “field work,” “independent study,” or “practicum.”

Paid or unpaid? For academic credit or not?

Among top questions of prospective interns are:

-       Is this internship paid or unpaid?

-       Can I get academic credit?

Whether an internship is paid or unpaid depends on the hiring organization, the nature of the work duties, whether the internship is for academic credit, and the laws of the country where the internship is taking place.

For example, if an employer wants to classify an internship as unpaid in the United States, it must meet six U.S. Department of Labor criteria, which are designed to protect the intern from providing free labor without any of the benefits of experiential learning:

-       The internship constitutes training that would be given in an educational environment.

-       The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern.

-       The intern doesn’t displace regular employees.

-       The employer derives no immediate advantage from the work of the intern.

-       Both employer and intern understand there is no compensation for the internship.

International internships are generally unpaid part-time or full-time work assignments in professional settings with students receiving academic credit.

Many internships can earn a student academic credit if the work experience meets certain guidelines set out by the university and academic department. For example, American University’s academic credit guidelines show an internship will earn academic credit if it is:

- At least 12 weeks long.

- Involves work centered on the student’s field of study

and

- Includes more than 85% of assignments substantially relating to the student’s major – a guard against giving credit for clerical work.

So, a minimum of 8 hours per week would earn 1-2 academic credits while a minimum of 20 hours would earn 4-6 credits.

Generally speaking, an international intern earning academic credit must fulfill responsibilities to not only the host company but also to superiors, colleagues and academic advisors.

In addition, an internship for academic credit will require certain assignments, whether summary reports, personal journals and other exercises so the student can reflect on the experiential learning.

Academic credit is actually one of the more complex factors of an overseas internship, according to a June 3, 2010, article “As Overseas Internships Grow, So Do Challenges for College Officials,” by Beth McMurtrie in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

“Sometimes students fall into the trap of lining up internships on their own, particularly in the summer, then discover that they cannot receive academic credit for them because the college or department has no system in place to recognize work abroad,” McMurtrie writes.

To guard against misunderstandings about academic credit, do your homework on the guidelines of the internship and work closely with your university and academic advisor to adhere to your institution’s requirements.

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With internships abroad, there can be additional benefits.

For example, internships are not as common in Australia and New Zealand, so students are viewed more as full-time employees and are not subject to much of the busy work associated with internships in the United States.

Internships in Australia, New Zealand and China also offer a rare opportunity for students to prepare for their future occupations while enjoying the unique experiences of life as international citizens.

An intern in Shanghai.

International internships also may benefit students who are restricted on when and how long they can participate in international study abroad programs due to sports, family obligations, and specific degree schedules. Internships, however, are not restricted to university dates, so they can be arranged at any time of the year and for numerous durations.

Finally, for students who have financial restrictions that prevent them from participating in a semester or year abroad at a foreign university, an internship – because it is often shorter in duration – is an affordable option for gaining international experience.

“The teaching internship in New Zealand gave me the experience I needed to boost my confidence in my teaching abilities, and I gained a new perspective on the art of teaching.” – Marlowe Brant, interned in 2010 at the Samuel Marsden Collegiate School in Wellington, New Zealand.

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The benefits of internships – whether domestic or international – are real and tangible.

Interns in GlobaLinks Learning Abroad's program in Shanghai tour the city during the Bridging Cultures program.

Graduates with internships or other work experience in their fields have a competitive edge against those non-internship graduates pounding the pavement for the first jobs of their careers, according to research from NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers).

NACE’s 2010 Student Research Brief, for example, shows internships in general result in more job offers and higher starting salaries.

In fact, candidates with internship experience were considerably more likely to receive a job offer than their counterparts who did not have any experiential education in their backgrounds.

More job offers: Approximately 42 percent of graduates with internships who applied for a job received an offer compared with only 30 percent for students who had no experience. (NACE research)

 Graduates with internships also tended to receive a significantly higher starting salary offer.

 Higher starting salaries: Applicants with internship who received an offer had a median starting salary of $41,580 attached to the offer compared with a median salary position of $34,601 for students without internships on their resumes. (NACE research)

Those who seek out an internship abroad, in particular, may catch an employer’s eye if they can demonstrate how their experience shows cross-cultural understanding, adaptability to new situations, and in some situations, foreign language competence.

A few of the benefits of participating in an international internship:

• Gain exposure to real-world problems and issues not found in textbooks.
• Cultivate adaptability and creativity in a dynamic world.
• Increased marketability to employers
• Ease transition from being a student to entering the workforce.
• Increase self-confidence in the workplace while developing an expanded network of associates and professionals.
• Facilitate a higher starting salary than non-interns. In a recent study, interns received, on average, $2,240 more than non-interns for starting salary.
• Have résumé-building experiences while applying academic concepts and principles.

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One Student’s Experience

Jen Williams during her 2006 internship at The Wetlands Centre in Australia.

When Jen Williams reflects on her 2006 internship abroad in Australia at a wetlands conservation center, the 26-year-old from Lancaster, Pa., is certain the experience played a pivotal role in her decision to earn a master’s degree in social work and begin a career in public child welfare.

“The personal growth that I experienced during my time abroad instilled confidence and self-esteem within me that I have carried over into all aspects of my life,” says Williams, reflecting on her 10-week internship through GlobaLinnks Learning Abroad (then AustraLearn). The internship included creating a marketing plan for a canoe trail through the ecologically diverse Hunter Wetlands in Australia.

“Completing an international internship helped me see the world and its social problems in new and diverse ways, which shaped my understanding of the global community,” she says. “Spending time in Australia and learning about the vast social programs in the country provided me with new perspectives and ideas for helping disadvantaged populations in the United States.”

Now, Williams has finished her master’s degree in social work and moved to Detroit, where she works in foster care helping foster children and their biological parents address the issues that separated them. Besides her internship in Australia and an Americorps position in a remote village in Alaska, Williams completed two field placements in public agencies working with children in foster care and a child protecting services unit.

“I still believe that the self confidence that I gained from studying abroad has helped me,” she says. “Living in a new city and trying to get my bearings while working at a new job is exactly what I dealt with during my internship abroad. I am using the same skills to adjust to Detroit that I used to adjust to Australia – keep an open mind, explore the city and don’t be afraid to try something new.”

Williams during her Americorps assignment in a remote village in Alaska.

During her wetlands center internship, “I gained a new appreciation for conservation while personally witnessing the therapeutic effects of nature,” she says. “Eventually, I hope to obtain my license in social work so that I can provide nature-based therapy to children who have experienced significant trauma.”

With so much work experience, she felt well prepared to find a great job in a major metropolitan area.

In short, she says: “My experience and internships abroad led me to where I am today.”

International internships: A birds-eye view

Internships are an increasingly viable way for students to test career interests against job realities, and ultimately, gain real-world job experience to not only build a resume, but also launch a fulfilling career.

Internships, in turn, serve business and industry by providing a pipeline of the best and brightest young talent for assessment and training for full-time jobs, and ultimately, help organizations build the best possible skilled workforces.

As the world becomes “smaller” due to improvement in global communications and transportation, businesses are becoming more internationally invested and their workforces more diverse. This means the need for graduates with international work experience is likely to grow.

Internships abroad give students career experience in a foreign country so they are more marketable for jobs in the global economy. They also cultivate well-rounded citizens with solid foundations of career-specific skills.

Only 1-2% of college students have any international experience, but those numbers are expected to rise, especially as more students recognize how interning abroad helps their resumes stand out from the crowd.

In fact, the number of students participating in practical work experiences as part of their study abroad rose 37%, according to the (2008/2009) Open Doors report from the Institute of International Education. Specifically, 18,715 students received academic credit at U.S. colleges and universities for internships or work abroad.

“College graduates need an international perspective to be competitive in today’s job market,” wrote Cindy Chalou, director of the Office of Study Abroad at Michigan State University, and Charles Gliozzo, director emeritus of the Office of Study Abroad at Michigan State University, in a Feb. 24, 2011 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. “Many will have to negotiate foreign cultures whether they work in the United States or abroad. As part of this continuing change, international college internships should now be viewed as steppingstones to career success.”

Excerpt (“Why International Internships Are Key to University Global Engagement, Feb. 24, 2011, Chronicle of Higher Education.)

“Several trends have fueled the growth in international internships over the past decade. For one thing, more students and graduates are pursuing opportunities in Asia, given the weak economy in the United States. …

“In addition, international internships are increasingly becoming integrated with college service-learning programs. Student interns now work abroad in hospitals, orphanages, clinics, and schools. One Michigan State University student interned with Mumbai Magic Bus, a charity in India that mentors impoverished youth. Her experience assisted her in later working with a similar American nonprofit.”

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Two 2010 GlobaLinks Learning Abroad Interns Helped Design Solar-Efficient Home

Victoria University of Wellington, in New Zealand’s capital city, made it to the top finishers’ podium with its First Light house, which took third place out of 20 university teams competing Sept. 23-Oct. 2 in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011.

The Meridian First Light House, a solar decathlon entry from Victoria University of Wellington, won third place overall.

As the only entry from the southern hemisphere, the New Zealand team’s solar efficient house won third place for its combined total points in 10 separate competitions measuring everything from hot water output to engineering to home entertainment. Created through Victoria University of Wellington’s Department of Architecture and Design, the team worked for more than two and a half years on the house and for a time included two U.S. students who interned with the department in 2010 through international education program provider GlobaLinks Learning Abroad.

Those individuals are Nicole Chisholm, a environmental and forestry student at SUNY who completed a internship in New Zealand in 2010, and John Fandrey, a University of Missouri – Columbia student who also interned at the university in 2010.

Every two years since 2002, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition has taken place in Washington D.C., showcasing a working display of energy innovation in action.

One of the most ambitious and inspiring events in the U.S., it challenges 20 university teams, through a series of 10 contests, to demonstrate inventive clean-energy solutions by building solar-powered houses that feature cost-effective, energy-efficient construction and incorporate energy-saving appliances and renewable energy systems.

The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency. This year, the winner was the University of Maryland, with Purdue University coming in second and Victoria University of Wellington coming in third with 919 out of 1,000 points, just a few points behind the winner.

“While we may not have won overall we are incredibly proud to have represented New Zealand on the world stage,” said team member Nick Officer in a press release posted on the New Zealand team’s web site. “We had such and amazing response from the U.S. public here along with supporters back home.”

The New Zealand team’s First Light house is inspired by the traditional New Zealand holiday home—the “Kiwi bach.” First Light’s design reflects a relaxed lifestyle in which socializing and connecting with the outdoors are central to living. At the heart of the design is a glazed central section that functions as a bridge between exterior and interior. A cedar canopy supports the solar array, which produces hot water and generates energy to power the house.

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Tim Donahue, who earned a master’s degree in enology (wine-making) from the University of Adelaide through the GlobaLinks Learning Abroad degree programs, is featured in a recent article in the Denver Post about Colorado’s prospects for growth within the wine-making industry.

Donahue, who learned about wine making by working for his father’s winery, Creekside Cellars, in Evergreen, Colo., is now an enology instructor and winemaker at College Cellars of Walla Walla, Wash.

He was in Colorado recently to talk with the Front Range Winemakers Association, according to the Denver Post article.

“Despite major inroads in quality in the past several vintages, the local industry has a long road to climb,” the article says. “But there might not be a better person to start a conversation than Donahue. He understands Colorado wine, has studied the craft and business to a master’s level and is embedded in the boom of Walla Walla, a globally respected region that was essentially on equal footing with Colorado’s Grand Valley in the 1990s.”

Donahue joined the College Cellars staff in Walla Walla in August 2010 after earning a master’s degree in enology in 2008 from the University of Adelaide in Australia, which followed a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Northern Colorado.

According to Dohahue’s College Cellars staff bio, he brings “a great winemaking background having made wine with his father most of his life, managing the family winery and making their wine…. Besides the family winery (which produced many award-winning wines) he also has commercial winery experience for a much larger New Zealand producer, Indevin (2nd largest producer in New Zealand). Tim is a recent transplant to the Walla Walla Valley and has extensive knowledge, high energy and a passion for teaching and student learning.  He is very hands-on in his instruction style but is thoroughly knowledgeable of the science of winemaking as well. He was also employed at the University of Adelaide as the associate vineyard manager for the 10-acre teaching vineyard so is comfortable with the vineyard as well. He believes in living sustainably and rumor has it that he rides his bike everywhere – he rode his bike to his interview and logs over 5,000 miles a year.”

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In Leah Johnston’s case, the dress code for her internship is a bit unusual: wet suit and flippers.

At least that’s what she wears some days when working aboard the Passions of Paradise catamaran, photographing tourists and helping them get geared up for snorkeling and other activities during cruises to Michaelmas Cay and Paradise Reef.

Leah Johnston takes photographs during her internships aboard the Passions of Paradise catamaran.

Johnston, a senior at Western Washington University, chose to intern in Cairns, Australia, as part of the volunteer requirements of her recreation and leisure major.

Johnston and her internship, arranged through GlobaLinks Learning Abroad’s AustraLearn program, were the subject of an article titled “Passion for adventure” that ran this week in the Cairns Sun.

From Johnston’s internship bio:

“I am currently a senior at Western Washington University in America majoring in Recreation and Leisure. While this major encompasses numerous fields of recreation including outdoor, community, and therapeutic, I have decided to concentrate my focus on the tourism industry. In this field, I learn about tourism planning and development, budget and financing, and even the principles and practices of ecotourism.

I am 20 years old and am interested in all kinds of things including running, hiking, diving, volleyball, skiing, and all in all – adventure. I am living in Australia as a way to both challenge myself, grow as an individual, and maybe a little bit of an excuse to get out of Washington’s weather. This experience is once in a lifetime for a starving college student like me and I would love for you to be a part of it!

In her Passions of Paradise internship blog, Johnston describes her duties:

AustraLearn Intern Leah Johnston traveling abroad. Photo courtesy Passions of Paradise web site.

“At Passions, I am working both in the office and out on the boat. In the office, my duties range significantly as I am attempting to get the most experience in each area of how to successfully run a business in the tourism industry. On Mondays and Thursdays, you can either find me in the reservations office with Mel or making sales calls to resorts and hostels with Passion’s marketing director, Fluffy. Mel checks people onto the boat, takes reservations for upcoming trips, takes the dearest of care with Passions money from the boat, and more. While I am with Mel, I generally shadow each of her duties and continue to learn about the role she plays. Likewise, I am given the opportunity to blog.

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Interns in GlobaLinks Learning Abroad's program in Shanghai tour the city during the Bridging Cultures program. Front row: Nicole Gray, Daniella Dennis, Joanna Chorazeczewski. Back row: Meredith Boling and Louis Grayson.

Meredith Boling, like a growing number of U.S. and Canadian college students, is testing out her big-city career aspirations with an international internship in one of the world’s biggest career cities: Shanghai.

A little more than a month into her Shanghai internship experience, Boling is discovering:

• Working in China is something that can set her up for work in any global corporation in any country in the world.
• She has the ability to navigate one of the largest, most people-packed cities in the world.
• The food, while very different from home, is “absolutely amazing.”

Boling is among nine students who this summer are participating in internships in Shanghai through GlobaLinks Learning Abroad, a provider of international education programs across the globe.

While internships are possible all over the world, Shanghai is attracting more interest from students across all majors because, as the center of commerce and economic growth in China, it offers many different industries along with a culturally diverse international experience.

“China is the future of business in the world right now,” says Boling, 22, who will soon graduate from Chapman University with an international business marketing degree. “So I chose Shanghai, because I knew that it could really open my eyes to the future of business and give me an advantage over others with the knowledge and insights I have learned here.”

Louis Grayson, who is interning in Shanghai, at the Great Wall of China.

Louis Grayson, an international business major at Lynn University who is interning at marketing firm ET2C in Shanghai, agrees.

“Shanghai is where everything is happening,” he says.

So far, he is doing research, development and marketing tasks in his internship.

“The company gives me products to develop and sell to other companies,” he says. “So far, I have worked with Procter & Gamble and Ralph Lauren.”

Because of Boling’s internship as a digital media planner at Agenda, an interactive agency providing key digital services for global brands, she is able to envision her career path more clearly than ever.

“From day one of my internship I have been working on tasks that contribute directly to the company,” she says. “I have worked on over five different client pitches, and it has only been one month so far. My job is never boring. Never once have I had to get coffee for someone or make copies.”

Such experiences are likely to become increasingly important, according to a recent Newsweek article, “How to raise a global kid.”

The article describes a lag in the United States when it comes to raising global citizens:

America is so far utterly failing to produce a generation of global citizens. Only 37 percent of Americans hold a passport. Fewer than 2 percent of America’s 18 million college students go abroad during their undergraduate years—and when they do go, it’s mostly for short stints in England, Spain, or Italy that are more like vacations. Only a quarter of public primary schools offer any language instruction at all, and fewer high schools offer French, German, Latin, Japanese, or Russian than they did in 1997. The number of schools teaching Chinese and Arabic is so tiny as to be nearly invisible….

There is no consensus on remedies. According to a white paper issued in 2009 by the Institute on International Education, most colleges and universities say they want to increase participation in study-abroad programs, but only 40 percent are actually making concerted efforts to do so. Long immersion programs are expensive, and in an environment of tough statewide budget cuts, students and professors are too crunched for time to make international experience a priority. Educators disagree on which kinds of experiences are most advantageous for kids—or even what advantageous means. Is it enough for a teenager who has never traveled farther than her grandma’s house to get a passport and order a pint in a London pub? Or does she have to spend a year in Beijing, immersed in Mandarin and economic policy? Is the goal of foreign experience to learn a language or gain some special expertise—in auto engineering or peace mediation? Or is it to be of service to others by giving mosquito nets to poor children in an African village?

The internships in Shanghai through GlobaLinks Learning Abroad are designed to ensure professional and personal growth through cultural integration and understanding of China’s growing economic prominence, says Barbara West, manager of internship programs for GlobaLinks Learning Abroad.

“We are impressed with the caliber of both the companies providing the internships and the students who are participating,” West says. “What results is an incredibly enriching learning experience that can pay dividends when it comes time to look for a job after graduation.”

The Shanghai internships are unpaid but include the support services of pre-departure assistance, airport pickup, the Bridging Cultures Program, housing, 24-hour in-country support from resident directors, Mandarin language education, internships conducted in English and academic credit through Chapman University or credit approval assistance through home universities.

Nicole Gray, an international economics major at Pacific Lutheran University, is doing a real estate internship in Shanghai through GlobaLinks Learning Abroad’s program.

“I think living in another country and immersing yourself in a culture is so much different from a vacation,” says Gray, 21. “I just didn’t realize it, because as a student who has never been abroad before and is from a relatively small town, I think I expected this to be more like a vacation where you get to know a few locals but in general you keep to your group. Having to live day to day with the people of China has been a really good way to see what it is like to live somewhere completely different from home.”

So far, Gray is amazed by the massive amounts of people in Shanghai, a major contrast from her hometown of Bonney Lake outside of Seattle, Wash.

“You hear about it all the time, but you don’t really realize just how many people live in China until you come here and take the subway and you are pushed up against the doors because there are so many people commuting to work at the same time,” she says.

One of the biggest hurdles she’s encountered so far is the language barrier.

“The (Mandarin language) lessons do help me get by but it is hard to retain something you only get to study for two months,” she says. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much though. I can say after about three weeks, I could successfully get by in most situations.”

Gray is impressed by how safe she feels despite being a newcomer in one of the world’s largest cities.

“China has been one of the safest places I’ve ever lived,” she says. “I don’t feel uncomfortable being out by myself after 11 p.m. Honestly, I haven’t seen any crime since I’ve been here, and there isn’t a really strict police force walking around enforcing the law all day. People just don’t commit crimes.”

As a fashion design and merchandising major, Daniella Dennis is seeing the international aspects of fashion firsthand during her Shanghai internship as a public relations manager at Fusion Fashion.

“This internship is enhancing the knowledge I learned in all of my classes,” she says. “I am gaining hands-on skills in fashion retail management, marketing, and merchandising.”

As part of her internship, Dennis, 26, is planning events, creating media plans, hosting meetings with various media representatives, and promoting Fusion Fashion in the community.

What’s surprised her most so far about Shanghai is the shopping itself.

“There are so many shopping centers I can go to without traveling very far from home,” she says. “Shanghai has many international brands that I don’t know. There is something for everyone, no matter what your taste in fashion is.”

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Internships in Australia open eyes of budding U.S. teachers to world beyond the classroom

For North Carolina Teaching Fellow Toni Duchatelier, an upcoming internship in a Sydney school represents an incredible professional opportunity to both educate and be educated on the contrasts of the Australian and U.S. systems.

Some of the Queens University of Charlotte Teaching Fellows set to arrive in May in Australia, including Toni Duchatelier, front row center.

Duchatelier is part of a group of 24 American students from Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina, arriving in Australia in May for six-week internships in Sydney primary and secondary classrooms. The AustraLearn international education organization is now arranging the matches for the unpaid internships, which are part of the prestigious Queens Teaching Fellows Program and will provide academic credit and a focus on exploring a larger world beyond the classrooms back home.

“I’m extremely excited because I’ve never been outside of the country, so this is big to me,” says Duchatelier, a junior who aspires to teach history in a secondary school. “I want to see how a school system works in a foreign country so I can apply this in my classroom. I also want to see the different cultural aspects and the history of the land, because I’m always interested in the back story of where I am going.”

Duchatelier plans to bring her personal spark to her Sydney internship in part by using a theatrical teaching style, which she believes brings history lessons to life. “Everyone teaches differently,” she says. “You see what you like and put it into your little book. By the time you get into the classroom, you have your own ideas of how you want to teach.”

Internationalization: the key to educating globally aware teachers

Queens has sent individual teaching students to Australia before, but the group of 24 arriving in May will be the inaugural cohort from the program, with each successive junior class to follow annually, says Jennifer Collins, assistant professor of education and director of the teaching fellows program. Collins expects to witness many life lessons learned as her students push outside their comfort zones to get to know people in a foreign land, experience different customs, find their way in unfamiliar locations, and challenge taste buds with new foods.

“I feel these 24 students are very fortunate that no cohort from Queens has gone before them,” Collins says. “Teachers need to be flexible creatures. Nothing is static in education – ever. You’ve got one curriculum one day, and the next day the principal comes in, and it has changed. I feel like flexibility is a skill that has to be mastered, and this is a great opportunity to do so.”

Each year, the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program selects about 500 outstanding high school seniors to receive four-year scholarships to attend one of the state’s 17 universities (12 public and five private). In return, graduates agree to teach for four years in a North Carolina public school. The program typically attracts recipients from the top seven percent of their high school graduating classes and awards scholarships after a rigorous application process.

“From the time they came in as freshman, they’ve been working in schools,” Collins says. “As juniors, they are in the midst of their methods classes. Instead of observing, they’ve been involved.”

Internationalisation is a major focus at Queens, where 90% of students study or intern abroad with the help of university stipends. At the end of their Australian internships, the Queens teaching students are given assignments to compare positives and negatives of the two educational systems. “The U.S. educational system is so different from anywhere else in the world,” Collins says. “I think it will be interesting for them to see how another system works, and what are the benefits.”

Jeremy Tucker, one of just a few of the Australia-bound students who have traveled outside the United States, chose the Queens program in large part because it included a teaching experience in Australia.

He has traveled to Europe, Canada and Honduras, and knows first hand how seeing other places in the world – especially locations of historical significance – tie directly back to teaching. “You can share that with your students,” he says.

In Australia, Tucker is hopeful his six weeks in an Australian school and home-stay arrangement will give him more insight into the culture than he would get as a tourist. “We’ll get to be with the kids more and see how they learn and what they do,” he says. “I just think we’ll experience their culture more.”

In-country expertise vital in internship arrangements

Plans for the Queens teaching internships in Australian got underway about two years ago when the university contacted AustraLearn, a program of GlobaLinks Learning Abroad that creates special custom programs in all fields of study for U.S. and Canadian universities and regularly places teaching interns in Australian and New Zealand schools.

“Our goal is to listen to the needs of the U.S. universities’ teaching departments and international education offices so we can create customized internship programs that integrate with their curricula,” West says. “We handle all arrangements for the internship placements, from housing to cultural education opportunities to monitoring of student progress.”

AustraLearn’s role is to bring together key stakeholders – North American students, university academic departments, and overseas partner schools – for cross-cultural learning opportunities, says Barbara West, manager of internship programs. In the past two years, AustraLearn has matched teaching interns in Sydney schools including Randwick Public School and Rozelle Public School, and Rose Park Primary School in Adelaide.

The teaching internships are mutually beneficial, West says. Students are exposed to another country’s culture and school system so they can learn different instructional methods, curriculum approaches and behavioral management techniques. In turn, receiving schools get an extra set of helping hands, as well as the excitement of a new person in the classroom with different cultural perspectives to share with students.

“The hope going forward is that strong partnerships will evolve between the U.S. teaching programs and local Australian schools,” West says, “so we can foster more intercultural literacy in teacher education.”

Pros and cons to international teaching interns

Rozelle Public School's "My Great American Road Trip" integrated unit of work linked with the New South Wales Social Science outcomes. Photo, Courtesy Kelsey Smith.

Understandably, Australian schools want to encourage their workforce of the future by making Australian students a priority when it comes to practicum placements. This, coupled with the per diems universities pay local schools to take student teachers, makes it a challenging environment to find placements for international teaching interns, West says. Even so, some Australian educators already welcome international teaching interns.

Adam Willis is one of them. The Rozelle Public School teacher hosted two interns from America in 2009 and 2010. He did so in part because of his own overseas practicum in Fiji in 2006.

“I find that having an intern from another country, particularly the USA, is a great asset, as they come with a different set of experiences and levels of expertise that they are able to share with the students,” Willis says. “This provides the students, and myself included, with a variety of teaching styles and learning experiences. I also find that the classroom students like to ‘teach’ the international interns about Australia and get a real kick out of showing what they know about their own country.”

Willis believes his own education has benefitted from hosting the interns, who taught him about Native American history and school structures and curriculum. “I find that the international internship is a two-way learning cycle,” he says.

In terms of drawbacks, he hasn’t seen any so far, in part because of modern communication. He was able to contact Kelsey Smith, his 2010 intern from Sweet Briar College, through email and social networking in the months before she came to Australia so both were prepared for her three-month stint.

“I have certainly recommended accepting international interns to my colleagues in my local area,” Willis says. “I believe that being able to share what you know, particularly to another teaching professional from another country, closes the global gap and strengthens the teaching profession, not only on a local scale, but globally. I hope to have the opportunity to repeat this experience with yet another intern from America this year.”

Snapshot: One U.S. teaching intern’s experience

Kelsey Smith praises the experience she gained during a teaching internship in Australia.

Smith, now in her final year at college and anticipating her U.S. practicum in the spring, was required to keep a journal during her internship. In it, she describes the power of a multicultural exchange. She wrote:

Week 2 -  “Got the opportunity to go to a New South Wales Teachers Federation meeting for new teachers. I learned about planning and how new teachers get certified and receive accreditation. It seems like a lot of extra work after graduation than it is for education students in the United States. I also learned that homework is not mandatory at Rozelle. They get it on Monday and most turn it in on Friday, but there is no penalty for not doing it. I feel like it is very relaxed and less crammed with homework and standards that must be achieved than in American public schools.”

Week 9 – “Thursday was the Multicultural Expo and it was such a great day. I was very nervous because all of the parents would be there and all of the information the children had learned about America was taught by me. We had everyone bring in food and we ended up with so much! The parents came into the classroom around 9:30 and the students sang the Fifty Nifty United States song along with telling them some information they had learned thus far about the different states and traditions we have. … The students all put a lot of work into Thursday and it turned out great!”

Week 10 -  “It’s my last week at Rozelle Public School! I truly cannot believe that 10 weeks has already flown by. I have had the most amazing time at Rozelle and in Australia. I can definitely say that this has been one of the most amazing life experiences I have had thus far. … My supervisor has helped me tremendously with everything I have wanted to do, given me supportive feedback, and let me teach copious amounts of lessons. There are never enough opportunities to practice teaching and this has only added more and more into my skill level.”

Willis praised Smith in his evaluation of her internship and described how her efforts supported the local curriculum.

“During her internship Kelsey developed a brilliantly stimulating unit of work entitled ‘My Great American Road Trip. This integrated unit of work linked with the New South Wales Social Science outcomes for world cultures as part of a country study. The students learned about each of the fifty states that make up the USA in preparation for a whole school multicultural exhibition. This culminated in the presentation of the students’ work and newly acquired knowledge to a gathering of students, teachers and parents who stated that they were very impressed by the level of deep understanding the students had attained.”

For Smith, interning in Australia put teaching in a different light. It gave her new ideas about how a classroom and school can function. Most significantly, she learned it is possible to teach many things outside of textbooks.

“It may be different for every school system, but the only textbook I used while teaching (in Australia) was for reading short stories,” she says. “There is so much more students can gain outside of a textbook, and I have been able to apply that in my learning, as well as in my practicum work in the classroom this past year.”

LINKS

Queens University of Charlotte North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program

AustraLearn Internships

Teach Abroad with GlobaLinks Learning Abroad

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