Internship Opportunities Across Colombia

Intern Colombia with Matthew as our program coordinator in Bogotá was a great experience! Staying in Colombia for 2.5 months was a transformative experience as I immersed myself in a new culture, made lasting friendships, and even learned Spanish! While the housing situation differs for each student, my group from UCLA lived in CityU. I believe its central location and student life played a large part in feeling safe during my stay (so try to be placed there ;). My advice when matching with internships is to really know what you want and convey your wants clearly to Matthew. Learn as much as you can about the different companies and what your role will be to make an informed decision. Matthew is very generous, culturally knowledgeable, and gave us the best well-rounded experience. However, managing multiple students is a hefty responsibility. I will add that they could use some help or improvement in understanding student needs and treating student problems as their own. I definitely recommend the program!!

I had only studied international development issues in class at university, but I luckily I got my first opportunity to really work with those issues in-field during my time working with Sistema B, an ESG-focused nonprofit that Intern Colombia matched me with. From this experience, I was able to really determine what I liked and didn't like, and it honestly pushed me forward to the path that I'm embarking on now— participating in the project management of financial inclusion initiatives to support smallholder farmers, women, and other underrepresented groups in Latin America! Intern Colombia, I'd say, was my trigger to really start a career in international development.

I've really enjoyed my entire experience here, both during my work and outside it as well. I've had so many cultural experiences that I couldn't get if I hadn't come here and they've definitely broadened my horizons. I feel like my perspective on things such as poverty has become more worldly after getting to experience it firsthand. I've also had a lot of fun at work, getting to learn some new skills (such as learning about how their blockchain works and learning to write code/communicate with other people about it in a professional environment) and also getting to meet a lot of super nice people. I've really enjoyed the culture especially here in Medellín where the people are often more laid back and super friendly! That warmness is something I'll be taking with me wherever I go because it really goes a long way to helping me feel welcome here.

The one thing I would complain about is how unresponsive and disorganized the administration of Intern Colombia can be - getting a response out of Matthew could take several repeated emails and weeks. He didn't even send us the information packet with a lot of important info until the day before we arrived here. He has also provided the interns with inaccurate or incomplete information several times. Luckily, Natalia in Medellín is an excellent on-field program coordinator, so she became our main point of contact for anything Intern Colombia-related

I had an amazing experience with Intern Colombia. From the beginning, they put a lot of thought and effort into finding an internship that really suited me. They were always super helpful with any questions or doubts I had. My marketing internship really helped develop my skills and it gave me very valuable experience. During my time in Bogotá, Intern Colombia were always in contact with me and the other interns, organizing social events that would get us out and about exploring the city. I couldn't have asked for a better experience; I highly recommend Intern Colombia if you are thinking about doing an internship in Colombia. I would also highly recommend Colombia if you are thinking about doing an internship abroad. It's a beautiful country, rich in culture and with delicious food.

Taking classes at La Javeriana, having an internship with a nonprofit which allowed me to help and teach baseball to children all across the country, as well as creating friendships I'll maintain for the rest of my life. These are just a few of the things I got out of my program with Intern Colombia. They helped manage and set up the best 3 months of my life, and something I will reminisce upon for years to come. I hope to make it back to Colombia sometime in the coming years to not only meet up with old friends, but to explore even more of the beautiful country that is Colombia.

I went to Bogotá to complete a 12-week internship on my Year Abroad as part of my degree at university, and it was by far one of the best experiences of my life.
I had never been to South America before so it was difficult to know what to expect, but Matt and the Intern Colombia team made the transition much easier from the start. Being met at the airport straight away made me feel more at ease, and ensured a positive start to my stay. Even though I already spoke a lot of Spanish at the time, it is always nice to be met by an English speaker to help you to settle in.
The opportunity to complete an internship in such a different environment is one that I can recommend to anybody, which I have done consistently. As the internship was part of my degree, my main goal was to improve my Spanish ability, and being in a working environment is by far the best way to do this. Having to use my Spanish in work situations really pushed me, and being in an office surrounded by Colombians and other South Americans gave me exposure that wouldn't have been possible if I had just taught English.
My internship was with Mi Águila, a corporate taxi startup. Everyone at the company was so friendly and helpful, and it was a great environment to work in. The Spanish in the office was often difficult to understand and I spent quite a few lunches sitting there quite confused, but by the end, this had worked wonders for my Spanish, and the experience is probably a key reason why I now run a company which provides Spanish lessons for people who want to travel to Spanish-speaking countries - I want people to have the same experience that I did.
Intern Colombia provided experiences throughout my stay that added to my amazing experience. From the Bogotá city tour, to going to watch a Copa Libertadores match live in a stadium in Bogotá, to the socials, my experience was made varied and fulfilling - by organising all of the aspects of these things, the team made everything so easy. I would have felt much less confident trying to organise going to a football match myself and would have potentially missed out on this experience had it not been for the team sorting everything out.
One thing that really drew me to Intern Colombia in the first place was the affordability of the programme compared to some of the other internship programmes out there. Despite being so affordable, you're not at all sold short, and for everything I got out of the programme I would have been happy to pay a lot more than this. The team really always have your best interests at heart and do everything they can to make sure you make the most of your time.
If it's not clear already, anybody who is thinking of travelling to Colombia/ doing an internship in Latin America should strongly consider Intern Colombia!

Thanks to the InternColombia I had an opportunity to find internship in Colombia. It was my the most incredible time. Amazing adventures and friendships for life. From the very beginning, also during internship and at the end I could get support and help at all time. This was very important because I finished my work during dificult time of coronavirus. InternColombia is very professional organization. I recommend it to everyone who dreams of meeting Colombian culture and at the same time gains work experience.

In the summer of 2018, I completed an internship with Intern Colombia when I worked at Fundación para la reconciliación, a local NGO based in Colombia's capital, Bogotá. While there, I was able to greatly improve my Spanish skills as all the work was completed in Spanish. I really learned a lot about the local communities in Fontibón, a neighborhood in Bogotá, and I met so many new people through this internship. I do not think that all the internships require knowledge of Spanish, however.

Throughout my internship, I stayed in a shared house of about 40 people (housing was provided by Intern Colombia). These people were other Intern Colombia interns working with various companies and NGOs in Bogotá and also exchange students from around Latin America. I met so many new people there, and there was plenty of time to socialize and experience the nightlife. If you stay there you will have to share the house with many other people, but it's definitely a good arrangement because you get to meet so many people from so many different countries. Plus, I had a single room for when I wanted to be alone.

It's also pretty safe in Bogotá provided you avoid certain areas and exercise reasonable caution when going out at night. Compared with the US and Europe, Colombia has very cheap living costs, and you can enjoy all sorts of local food like bandeja paisa and arepas. Go have a great experience with Intern Colombia, and to top it all off, Intern Colombia is much cheaper than its competitors.