Internships

Madrid is one of the most traditional yet modern cities in Europe with nearly 28% of the population coming from abroad. You could find yourself working alongside Spaniards, as well as people from Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Madrid is the center of business and government, the entire country revolves around what happens in this city - we have made placements in fields from business to film production to veterinary science.

Besides learning new ways in which people work, you will also be exposed to how it is done in another language. You will improve your Spanish in the most practical of ways - by communicating daily with colleagues and everyone around you.

• You may find your colleagues more interested in your personal life than you’d expect. It is very common for people to ask each other what they did on the weekend, and to want to know what is happening with one another’s family and friends.
• People are more direct in their comments regarding physical appearance - it is not uncommon for people to get complimented when they look nice, and criticized when they don't: what can be seen can be spoken about!
• Spaniards are sociable people, they will want to include interns in what they do – we encourage you to take advantage of invitations and learn about their culture.
• Spain has a high context communication culture, meaning that what gets said isn't the whole message. You’ll need to learn to read body language and hand movements as well as changes of tone and facial expressions - if one can read these they will get the picture!
• A typical day is 9-6, with a break at 11 for a second breakfast and lunch at 2 pm or even 3! If you have a customer-oriented internship, you will have commercial working hours: from 10 to 2 and from 5 to 8.

“The environment that I worked in was extremely friendly. My bosses and co-workers were very helpful and always tried to keep me doing interesting and meaningful work. The major challenge I faced was mastery of the language as it pertains to the world of business.” – Anthony, Grand Valley State University