Linked Internships: UofMN to Buenos Aires

Linked Internships: UofMN to Buenos Aires program is a four-credit internship opportunity that links a virtual internship with an on-site internship. Work culture around the world is changing and this program will give you the opportunity to learn and develop practical and valuable skills through an internship experience in the virtual world during the spring semester and then in-person in Buenos Aires in May.

You’ll begin the experience by working on projects from the US for an organization in Buenos Aires. In May, you will then travel to Buenos Aires and meet your supervisor and other colleagues in-person, and continue to develop your skills and relationships by interning with them in-person for three weeks. This program will add a global perspective to your professional work experience. 

Online to In Person 

An internship experience in the virtual world during the spring semester and then in-person in Buenos Aires in May. 

Spring to May Term 

Degree seeking student - alumni in workforce 

Apartment

Shared apartments are fully furnished, include cooking facilities and are conveniently located within a short walking distance of the classroom building. Breakfast is included at the apartments each day. You will be responsible for providing lunches and dinners throughout the program.

Homestay

Most students who choose a homestay, cite this as one of the highlights of their experience, since it offers you a unique opportunity to connect with the culture, practice your Spanish, and observe daily life in Argentina.

Most families have hosted students in the past and are committed to helping ease your transition into city life.

As in the US, families in Argentina are diverse and vary greatly in terms of the composition and ages of family members. In your application, you can express some basic preferences about the type of host family you would like. About half of families are able to accommodate two or more students, so you may be placed with another student from the program.

Host family homes are scattered throughout the city, and typical commute times range from 30–60 minutes, including some combination of public transportation (bus, subway) and walking.

A city tour of Buenos Aires and an excursion outside of Buenos Aires will add cultural context to your internship experience. 

The Learning Abroad Center works with Village Travel, a local travel agency, to arrange a coordinated flight for program participants. The flight is optional, and is arranged for those who want to fly with other program participants. Group flight information is typically available by the program application deadline, if not before.

Ground transportation from the Ministro Pistarini International Airport (airport code: EZE) into Buenos Aires is provided by our partner organization and the cost is included in the program fee. The transportation schedule aligns with the group flight arrival time. Our partner organization comes to the airport once to collect everyone.

Therefore, you can either book a ticket on the coordinated group flight, or book a flight independently that arrives prior to the group flight's arrival. If you arrive late and miss the group, you may be responsible for arranging and paying for your own transportation into the city.

For immigration purposes, you should purchase a round-trip ticket, since you must be able to show your entry and exit dates from Argentina.

At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to:

• Communicate and navigate effectively in a global, virtual environment
• Gain culture specific knowledge of work placement country
• Understand your own values, skills, and behaviors and how different values and communication styles may impact workplace dynamics; develop strategies for adapting to these differences
• Identify and articulate skills and experiences necessary to reach future career goals; develop learning objectives for the virtual internship site that will help you move toward these career aspirations
• Conduct your work during the internship utilizing best practices around professional behavior within a virtual work environment
• Understand and practice tolerance of different cultural assumptions
• Use a comparative framework in essays and dialogue with fellow students to examine cultural and professional aspects of work and how COVID-19 has impacted these environments
• Research and analyze the placement country’s workplace, particularly in terms of social media and online presence, including language, norms, values, economic assumptions and compare this to virtual environment to the US

May 2023 Cost of Participation

The tuition rate for this 4-credit course is the same as other undergraduate UMTC courses and will be billed to your UofM student account. In addition to tuition, you will also be billed a $600 placement fee associated with the course. If you are already taking 13 credits during spring semester, you can add the virtual international internship course at no additional tuition costs, but will be billed the additional cost of the $600 placement fee. Visit Onestop for additional information about tuition costs. If you are registered for less than 13-credits you will be charged tuition for this course in addition to the program fee.  Notify the Learning Abroad Center if this applies to you.

In addition to the tuition, you will be charged a program fee for the May term on-site portion of the program. This will include on-site support, housing, international health insurance, and a few local excursions. You must also budget for a flight, passport and passport photos, meals, spending money, and other miscellaneous living expenses.

After completing the above application, which includes submitting a cover letter and resume, your application will be reviewed.