Virtual Internships in Florence —

Program Details

Virtual Internships in Florence is a four-credit internship opportunity. It’s critical to learn to adapt, acclimate, discover new ways to contribute, and be productive working remotely. Virtual internships combined with the internship course give you an opportunity to learn and develop valuable skills.

Location	Florence, Italy
Term	Fall Semester, Spring Semester, Summer Session
Credit Type	Resident Credit
Sponsor	Learning Abroad Center

Program Eligibility

GPA	2.5
Student Type	UofM Students, Non UofM Students
Student Year	Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors

About Virtual Internships in Florence

The Virtual Internship in Florence 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
About the Learning Abroad Center

Learning Abroad Center programs are:
- Affordable: our programs are cost effective.
- Academically strong: many programs have strong University of Minnesota departmental support and offer pre-approved courses for many majors.
- Culturally rich: regardless of the program you choose, you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the local culture.
- Expertly managed: our staff in Minnesota and abroad are trained professionals and are always available to answer your questions from extensive pre-departure advising and online orientations to reentry programming. Your safety and well-being are paramount, and we work hard to ensure you have a rewarding and safe experience abroad.

Program Structure

Program Level	3000-level course
Courseload	One 4-credit virtual internship course as well as 12–20 hours per week at your internship placement.

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

Fall 2020

September 21: Virtual internship course begins
September 28: Virtual internship placement begins
December 16: Virtual internship course and placement ends

The class will meet synchronously three times throughout the semester. The schedule of those classes is:

September 21 at 10–11 a.m.
November 2 at 10–11 a.m.
December 11 at 10-11 a.m.

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.

Virtual Internship Syllabus (PDF)

Internship Placements

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

Advertising
Art History
Creative Media
Design
Education
Fashion
Finance
Fundraising and Philanthropy
Graphic Design
Health Care
Journalism
Law
Marketing
Nonprofit
Publishing
Research
Social Media

Internship examples:

Nonprofit Social Media & Web Content Intern

Internship Industries: Social Media, Web Design

Description: Develop web content, manage social media, and project development for a nonprofit organization that places donated digital artworks in hospitals and medical facilities around the world to comfort patients, families, visitors, and caregivers.