{"id":86873,"date":"2025-10-27T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/?p=86873"},"modified":"2025-11-21T12:17:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T17:17:17","slug":"international-internship-opportunities-at-uri-through-global-exchange-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/international-internship-opportunities-at-uri-through-global-exchange-program\/","title":{"rendered":"International STEM internship opportunities through global exchange program partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

University of Rhode Island students in STEM fields can select from a robust list of international internships from around the globe with new affiliation with the International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

IAESTE is a global non-governmental, non-profit organization that facilitates a reciprocal exchange program for engineering, technology, science, and architecture students across the globe. Created in the aftermath of World War II, IAESTE is dedicated to promoting international understanding and collaboration to jointly tackling global challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The International Engineering Program Living and Learning Community (IEP LLC) at the University of Rhode Island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

URI\u2019s International Engineering Program<\/a> has similar goals. IEP\u2019s growing demand for international internships motivated the program\u2019s director, Sigrid Berka, to propose that URI partner with IAESTE to colleague Kristin Johnson, vice president for global initiatives. \u201cIncorporating this program was an ideal match and opens so many more opportunities for not only IEP students, but all STEM students from URI. Both the students and faculty can benefit from this global initiative,\u201d said Berka. URI became one of the few U.S. universities exchanging interns among 100 member countries globally in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interns in the IAESTE program range from undergraduates through master\u2019s and Ph.D.-level students. Applicants should be enrolled full-time or a recent graduate in a technical field and fluent in English. Those accepted are eligible to travel to host countries within the program\u2019s network where they complete paid internships at companies, universities, and research organizations. IAESTE helps with the work authorization and visa process. Each host city typically arranges housing accommodations, coordinates arrival details, and organizes opportunities to meet other international trainees and local students. These experiences abroad help students gain professional experience and cross-cultural skills. Employers and universities gain access to talented international interns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every opportunity offers various lengths of stay, allowing it to be flexible enough to fit in between semesters or even as post-graduation experience. Students don\u2019t need to be in an international program to have this international experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mechanical engineering junior John Witczak recently completed an internship through the IAESTE program. He is not in the IEP, but was able to utilize the program to study abroad. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Witczak in Prague, at the John Lennon Wall, traveling while living in Slovakia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThis IAESTE opportunity appealed to me because it combined my natural curiosity with my love for travel and experiencing new cultures,\u201d said Witczak. \u201cI was excited by the chance to broaden my perspective while also gaining meaningful professional experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John was in Slovakia for about two and a half months doing research at the Technical University of Kosice. \u201cMy internship had a lot to do with finite element analysis, where I was tasked with automating a stress analysis of a pre-stressed concrete beam in ABAQUS using the software\u2019s python environment to build a database of frequency steps,\u201d said Witczak. \u201cThe final goal was to find a digital copy with a similar composition to each of the beams we had in the physical lab.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to his experience, Witczak\u2019s travels abroad was limited to a destination wedding he attended as a child and a quick trip to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls his freshman year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDoing an internship through IAESTE is the most accessible option for engineering students who want to go abroad, but cannot commit to the International Engineering Program,\u201d said Lauren Creamer, coordinator of career services and employer relations for the College of Engineering. \u201cOpportunities last from as little as one month or up to a year, and even recent graduates can participate. IAESTE representatives help make the transition for students to life in another country more manageable, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Witczak with the rest of the IAESTE Slovakia team at Vienna International Weekend in Austria<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThe process to get to Slovakia was generally very smooth with Dr. Berka and Ms. Creamer being extremely helpful,\u201d Witczak said. They introduced him to the people that would guide him through the experience. Once he got to Slovakia and settled, he found the perfect balance of support as well as room to let his curiosity flourish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was able to travel frequently, as my advisor at the host university understood what the opportunity meant to me, however, that did not come at the expense of hands-on experience and learning,\u201d said Witczak. \u201cIt was a once in a lifetime trip, and I met unforgettable people, saw amazing places, and will cherish the memories I made for the rest of my life. The ability to connect with like-minded people everywhere is a lot easier than I originally thought, and being a part of IAESTE unlocked that for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blanca Ses\u00e9 is on the flip side of the exchange. She is earning a master\u2019s degree from the University of Zaragoza in Spain. But through the IAESTE program, she is doing a semester abroad at URI in the college\u2019s chemical engineering department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s working in the soft matter research lab studying innovative design and characterization of soft materials. \u201cThrough this internship, I have the chance to work with a wonderful team under the supervision of assistant professor Ryan Poling-Skutvik<\/a>. Thanks to them, I am learning how to work in a different environment more independently, which I think will do wonders for furthering my career, no matter where that may take me,\u201d said Ses\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Blanca Ses\u00e9 in a chemical engineering lab at URI <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cThe thing I enjoy the most is the rich cultural environment built in the university, as everybody has a quite different background and a different story to tell, but all of them share how passionately and brightly they shine.\u201d She lives on campus in the IEP house with people from around the world, including another Spanish exchange student from the University of Deusto, Naia Soto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen the opportunity arose to spend the final year of my bachelor\u2019s degree at the University of Rhode Island, I did not hesitate,\u201d said Soto. \u201cStudying and working in the United States not only allows me to learn from professors who are leaders in their fields, but also to live in a diverse environment, grow as a person, face the challenge of adapting to a new place, and build personal connections that will last for years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Blanca and Naia with fellow IEP LLC residents at a campus cafe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Soto is earning her degree in biomedical engineering and conducting research in assistant professor Irene Andreu<\/a>\u2019s chemical engineering lab. The team is developing a magnetic thermoplastic polyurethane filament designed for 3D printing of flexible magnetic components. \u201cCampus life here is vibrant and multicultural, offering countless opportunities to meet people and get involved in new activities,\u201d said Soto. \u201cWhat I enjoy the most is how open and welcoming everyone is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI encourage any student who has the chance to study or do an internship abroad to take it,\u201d said Soto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The program offers a great opportunity as it directly connects universities and companies, while also supporting students throughout the process and helping them grow academically and personally,” said Ses\u00e9. “The internship is well organized. I really appreciate the everyday effort that the staff put in to make it work.”<\/p>\n\n\n

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Blanca and Naia with fellow classmates and professor Ryan Poling-Skutvik at a URI football game<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This spring, an additional intern from Japan will be hosted by assistant professor Tingting Zhao<\/a> in the College of Business<\/a> to help develop advanced machine learning methods tailored for financial applications. In exchange, Japanese IEP and electrical engineering double major Jack Russo will complete an internship in the Department of Quantum Science and Energy Engineering at the Graduate School of Engineering at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, during his senior year abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also two Spanish IEP seniors studying abroad in Spain who Berka hopes will likewise find placements in participating Spanish companies in 2026. She encourages other engineering and STEM faculty to host interns for a semester or summer to continue the collaboration and provide opportunities for more students to gain global experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faculty interested in participating should contact sigrid_berka@uri.edu<\/a> and students who wish to intern abroad should contact Lauren Creamer at lauren_creamer@uri.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

University of Rhode Island students in STEM fields can select from a robust list of international internships from around the globe with new affiliation with the International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience. IAESTE is a global non-governmental, non-profit organization that facilitates a reciprocal exchange program for engineering, technology, science, and architecture […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5094,"featured_media":86932,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[17,33,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-front-page-news","category-iep","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5094"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86873"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87103,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86873\/revisions\/87103"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}