Setting Up an Internship
If you are interested in having an intern at your organization, first contact the regional director at IE3 about your ideas. She or he will be able to ask key questions to help develop a position description that will attract qualified candidates. There may also be timing or visa issues that need to be addressed before proceeding with an internship. For interns to earn credit, they need to be occupied with projects that allow them to apply their coursework. Before developing a position description, discuss the idea of having an intern within your organization to ensure that there are sufficient projects. The internship description and information will be summarized on the IE3 website and circulated at universities. It will also be used to orient interns. This information can be put in the Internship Development Form (see below) and sent as an attachment in an email to the regional director.
- Host Organization Name
- Address
- Website
- Contact information (Phone, Fax, and Email)
- Internship Supervisor (Name and Title)
- Brief overview of your organization, its history, mission, locations, and main activities.
- Intern Job Description (describe the possible, or illustrate typical, tasks/assignments the intern will be expected to do - the more specific, the better)
- Intern qualifications (academic field of study, special skills or work experience that an intern should have to carry out the job responsibilities. Note whether these are preferred or required).
- Additional skills that an intern will practice or learn in the internship.
- Language proficiency required for interns.
- Equipment that interns need to be able to use.
- Length of internship (10 weeks is the minimum
- Timing of internship (typically IE3 interns can start in January, April, July, or September/October). Are there any times that do not work for your organization or that are preferred?
- Organizational support (eg. can your organization arrange housing, meet the intern at the airport, provide financial support, etc?)
- Local cost of living estimates. We need this information to create a budget for students, many of whom apply for loans to pay for their internship.
- Dress code at the organization.
- Comments on the organizational culture and or organization chart
- Emergency Information (including and Emergency Contact Number for Supervisor (home or mobile); Local Emergency Number (to call police, ambulance, etc); name of nearest Hospital with English-speaking staff)
- Additional information you think is helpful for orienting the intern. Suggestions include websites, newspapers, journals, former interns’ contact information, etc.