Two years since its launch, the Columbia Global Centers Virtual Internship Program has placed almost 400 undergraduate, graduate and recently graduated Columbia University students in virtual internships across the world. To deliver meaningful internship experiences, despite Covid disruptions, Columbia University’s nine Global Centers drew from their vast partner networks to offer over 750 unique opportunities since Summer 2022 in diverse industries, from business analytics to cultural management.
Almost 40 students have been placed during the internship program’s seventh cycle, currently underway for Summer 2022. In this cycle, Columbia Global Centers | Mumbai offered 17 internship opportunities in partnership with the Society for Nutrition, Education & Health Action (SNEHA), Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA), Shillim Institute, and Goonj. Over 20 applications were received and 8 interns placed.
The Mumbai Center organized an orientation session that took place on June 15, 2022 to welcome the students and share best practices for interning online. Although working remotely, the interns got an opportunity to connect with fellow students and expressed their eagerness to learn from each other’s experiences along with their own internships. “I am very grateful for this opportunity as a master’s student in the International Education Development (IED) program.. I am also excited to put what I’ve learned over the last ten months into practice”, said Ayano Yukimoto who is pursuing an M.A. in Comparative International Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College, and is interning with the Mumbai Center on a project on green education in India. All internships will run through summer and be completed before the beginning of the fall semester in September 2022.