Internships
Some students are not only abroad to follow classees, but also to do their internships. Finding one is not always easy. For this, we will give you the example of Elien, who also searched for one in Pamplona. She will give you the best advice for finding the best internship!
Initially, I was about to study at the university of Pamplona for one semester and I would go back home do to my graduation internship back home. However over time I started thinking about doing my internship in Pamplona as well. It would look great on my CV, I could further improve my Spanish level, I could continue exploring Spain, … I discussed the possibility with my home university and not much later my quest for an internship could begin.
In this section, I’ll give you different options how to find an internship in Pamplona or in Spain in general.
Through the university
When I first started my quest to find an internship in Pamplona, I had no clue where to start. Basically I just started exploring the website of the university. I was lucky because I came across a couple of very useful websites.
On the website of the university, the last tab on your left you find the topic ‘Employment and Internships’. When you click on it, this is where you’ll find a lot of interesting information about FEUN. The university thinks it’s important to promote professional development so they collaborate with FEUN. FEUN means Fundacion Empresa-Universidad de Navarra or University of Navarra Business Foundation which is basically a meeting point between business and the university.
Watch this interesting video about Career Services Manager in Spanish.
On the official FEUN website, you receive information about who they are, articles and other content that has been published about them, information for companies, internships in a company, international internships, and so on.
Apart from there website they are also easily accessible through social media. They have an interesting Twitter account, a LinkedIn page, a Facebook profile and a YouTube channel.
Through FEUN, I stumbled upon an interesting brochure about Erasmus+ internships for 2015-2016. This program is specifically for international internships for students and recent graduates of the university of Navarra. The first few pages of the brochure are in Spanish and then they continue in Spanish. They treat topic such as ‘which organizations can participate as host organization’, ‘how can I participate in the grants program’, ‘Selection Criteria’, ‘Length of the stay’, ‘Financing of the stay’ and ‘Insurance and medical assistance’.
Another brochure I encountered through FEUN is the one of PAE (practicas academicas externas). PAE is an program which helps university students to complement their education into practice in either a public or a private organization. You can find the brochure by clicking at the link above.
Then I also found an important link about international internships and grants. Check out the interesting table with data about grants on this website.
FEUN also provide 3 other services such as iAgora, Recruiting Erasmus International Team and Academy Cube. The first one, iAgora, is a website that provides jobs and internships in Europe and beyond. The second one, Recruiting Erasmus International Team, is a website that provides employment, they have their own magazine and there are also offers on it. The last one is Academy Cube which is basically a job platform.
Another interesting link I found on the university website is the next one. It provides you with information about healthcare and insurance regarding internships in Spain. So if you are going to do an international internship as part of an Erasmus Program, than you are covered under the accident and civil liability insurance policy different than the one from Europe. When you are a student of the university of Navarra who wants to do his or her internship at a Spanish company, then you are covered under the accident and civil liability insurance policy from ‘Mapfre’. If you are doing an internship at an international company, the policy doesn’t include civil liability coverage and therefore you must have the visa required for internships. When you are an ISSA student (Management Assistance), are covered under the accident and civil liability insurance policy from AXA.
There is also a specific link for students of the education and psychology faculty who want to do their internship abroad. This global internship program received 50 scholarships during last year. This program aims to promote professional practices in foreign companies and to promote internationalization of students of the school. Furthermore the students need to have a good transcript of scores and they need to have a sufficient level of the native language of the country of destination. If you want to know more about this topic, this is also another interesting link.
A last interesting website is Yuzz and it’s a contest about ‘jovenes con ideas’ basically it’s about entrepreneurial students and their project with the help of some companies. Participates are between 18 and 30 years old and the winner can win up to 60 000 euro, trips to Silicon Valley and 80 full scholarships for the IMPULSA forum. For more information you can visit their official website.
Through the Industrial park of Pamplona
Another way to find an internship abroad is to go to the industrial park of Pamplona. You can walk around, write down the names of the different companies and look them up online when you get home. Later, sent personalized e-mails to the companies you find interesting enough to do your internship. Don’t forget to include your motivational letter and your CV.
Through online employment agencies
During my quest in finding an internship, I bumped into some very interesting websites of online employment agencies.
The first one is Spain Internships. I signed up and applied for a couple of internships. You can adapt the search values so you can look for ‘internship’, ‘management’, ‘Navarra’. A couple of days later, they sent me an e-mail with 10 links to possible internships. They also told me that if I was interested in one of the possibilities, they would set up a Skype meeting.
Another website was the one of Erasmus Intern. After signing up and applying for some interesting internships, I received a couples of e-mails from companies who told me that they accepted or denied my application. Personally, I like this website the most because they have a lot of internships to offer.
The last website is the one of Trainee+ Up. This was also a very useful website since they immediately sent me an e-mail with interesting information. They sent me a link to make sure I was eligible for an Erasmus+ grant and they also wanted to set up a Skype interview.
Another interesting website is Go Abroad. This website provides information about studying abroad, volunteering abroad, internships abroad, teaching abroad etc. I didn’t make use of it since I had already found an internship!
I really hope this information was useful to you and hopefully you find an amazing internship abroad!
