Virtual Internships in Quito —

Program Details

Program Eligibility

About Virtual Internships in Quito

The Virtual Internship in Quito program is a four-credit internship opportunity. Virtual internships combined with the internship course give you an opportunity to learn and develop valuable skills.

You’ll work on projects from the US for an international organization while adding a global perspective to your professional work experience. You’ll apply your in-class knowledge to real-world meaningful work, gain experience working remotely, expand your skill base, earn four credits from coursework, and maximize your time.

While we’ll try to place you in your preferred location, keep in mind that our top consideration is making an appropriate match to your skills, experience, and internship goals.

For more information, refer to our Frequently Asked Questions.

Learning Outcomes

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

Program Structure

Course Schedule

Spring 2021

January 25: Virtual Internship course begins
February 1: Virtual Internship placement begins
May 3: Virtual internship course and placement ends

The class will meet synchronously six times throughout the semester. Our expectation is that you are able to make it to all synchronous sessions, and do not have another course that has conflicting class times. For this reason, there are two different options for class times, outlined below. You will choose either the Monday/Wednesday option or the Tuesday/Thursday option.

• Mondays and Wednesdays, 9–10 a.m.: January 25 and 27, March 15 and 17, April 26 and 28
• Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8–9 a.m.: January 26 and 28, March 16 and 18, April 27 and 29

Summer 2021

June 1: Virtual internship course begins
June 7: Virtual internship placement begins
July 30: Virtual internship course and placement ends

The class will meet synchronously 3 times throughout the summer for 2 hours each. Our expectation is that you are able to make it to all synchronous sessions. For this reason, there are two different options for class times, outlined below. You will choose either the Tuesday option or the Wednesday option. Please note that the Spanish section will be taught on Wednesdays.

• Tuesdays, 8:30–10:30 a.m.: June 1, June 29, July 27
• Wednesdays, 8:30–10:30 a.m.: June 2, June 30, July 28

Fall 2021

September 7: Virtual Internship course begins
September 13: Virtual Internship placement begins
December 10: Virtual internship course and placement ends

The class will meet synchronously six times throughout the semester. Our expectation is that you are able to make it to all synchronous sessions, and do not have another course that has conflicting class times. For this reason, there are two different options for class times, outlined below. You will choose either the Monday/Wednesday option or the Tuesday/Thursday option. Please note that the Spanish section will be taught during the Tuesday/Thursday time.

• Mondays and Wednesdays, 9–10 a.m.: September 8 and 13, October 25 and 27, December 6 and 8
• Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8–9 a.m.: September 7 and 9, October 26 and 28, December 7 and 9

Coursework

The 4-credit virtual internship course will consist of lectures, small-group discussions, readings, posting to prompts, blogs, essays, a mock interview, and a presentation. Along with the class, you’ll be assigned projects for 12–20 hours per week at your internship placement. The course will help you apply in-class knowledge to your work and understand your newly developed professional skills to articulate in professional situations.

You may selected from an English-taught or Spanish-taught section of the course.

For Spanish majors and minors: The Spring 2021 program can be counted as an elective without a Critical Analysis prerequisite provided that you enroll in a Spanish-taught section of the course and conduct your internship in Spanish. Consult the Spanish Department for approval.

Virtual Internship Syllabus (PDF)

Internship Placements

Internship placements are conducted entirely in Spanish and require 4 semesters of college-level Spanish (SPAN 1004), or equivalent proficiency.

Internships are available in a variety of fields and industries including: 

• Advertising
• Business
• Communications
• Computer Science
• Creative Media
• Data Analytics
• Design
• Education
• Electronics
• Environment/Sustainability
• Government/Politics
• Graphic Design
• Health Care
• Human Resources
• Human Rights
• Intenational Relations
• IT/Computer Systems
• Journalism
• Law
• Marketing
• Neuroscience
• Nonprofit
• Psychology
• Public Health
• Publishing
• Research
• Video Editing/Animation
• Web Design

Past Internship Examples

Health Data Analyst

Cayambe / Pedro Moncayo Health District
Research changes in epidemiological and mortality profiles by reviewing data from a variety of sources
Internship language: Spanish
Language prerequisite: SPAN 1004 or equivalent proficiency
Internship Industries: Healthcare, Research, Public Health, Nonprofit

Web Design Assistant

Work with a variety of small, locally-owned businesses to establish a web presence.
Internship language: Spanish
Language prerequisite: SPAN 1004 or eqivalent proficiency
Internship Industries: Web Design, Communications
Internship Status: 1-2 positions available

Virtual Education Resource Developer — Food & Nutrition

Develop educational modules related to nutrition, food sovereignty, sustainability, etc. Recommend best practices and platforms for educating children online.
Internship language: Spanish
Language prerequisite: SPAN 1004 or eqivalent proficiency
Internship Industries: Education, Environmental/Sustainability

Marketing & Market Research Intern

Marketing, promotion and market research for an association of local farmers to help them expand the market for their products within Quito.
Internship language: Spanish
Language prerequisite: SPAN 1004 or eqivalent proficiency
Internship Industries: Marketing, Communications, Research, Nonprofit
Internship status: 3 positions available

Dates & Deadlines

Fees for Virtual Internships in Quito

Cancellation Policy

Submit

Summer 2021

If you would like to apply after the deadline has passed, email lac-virtualintern@umn.edu with your preferred industries and we will determine if a placement is still available.

Complete

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

Next Steps

Notification of placement for internships in Quito will be made two to four weeks after the application deadline.

If accepted, you will be assigned a confirmation checklist, which you will complete to confirm your participation in the program. If you decide not to continue with the application process, log into the online application system and submit a Cancel Request.

Register for On Campus Course