Global Internships through Education Abroad at CU Boulder
Internships abroad are a great opportunity to combine global experience with professional development. The Education Abroad office works with students to help identify a program location that best fits their needs, and internship placement is customized based on students’ skill sets and goals.
Steven Rose, Assistant Director of Education Abroad, shares why students like to intern abroad, “These students want to take what they are learning in class and apply it to real-world work situations; they want to get a hands-on educational experience and turn academic theory into practice. In addition, they want to participate in a program that will help them focus on potential careers upon completing their degree. Interning abroad allows them to get a taste of their possible career field and can open doors to that field.” (Huffington Post, 2017)
Environmental Design students Jack Fisher and Kassie Potter participated in the Global Internship program this past summer
Jack Fisher, Architecture Senior - Intern for CCEA (Centre for Central European Architecture) MOBA, a non-profit, in the Czech Republic
CCEA is dedicated to Central Europe and its culture. MOBA is focused on research, design and city.
My main task this summer was to obtain research towards a water study book MOBA was designing for an event in Almaty, the largest metropolis in Kazakhstan. I researched different cities and looked at how they managed their water. From there I looked at their sources of water, how much they consumed, whether or not the city was in a water crisis, and how they conserve their water resources.
The next phase was to look at different management techniques and other water-related technologies, starting with ones I already knew to be effective. As I discovered more technologies that I felt would benefit the overall project, I began drafting diagrams on my computer through illustrator. I formed a theme around green infrastructure, a design concept for cities that I had become familiar with through my Environmental Design courses at CU. I designed a general diagram showcasing different green designs for cities and went into detail for each one in a separate section of my research. Towards the end, my day to day consisted of fully researching one topic related to water management technologies, and then designing a diagram or drawing that visualized it. I eventually created an entire chapter for this book dedicated to water management and conservation techniques and technologies.
I enjoyed working at MOBA because they try to redesign older spaces, rather than scraping them and starting from square one. MOBA also tries to create greener and more healthy living spaces. I learned a lot about the working environment in a design firm, how to collaborate with individuals from different cultural backgrounds, and how to be a better team player and work in a group more effectively.
Kassie Potter, Design Studies Senior - Intern for DNX (Design for Next Experience) in Seoul, South Korea
My experience at DNX (Design for Next Experience) in Seoul, South Korea was an incredible one. Not only did I learn about myself and my strengths and weaknesses in graphic design, but I was also able to learn about DNX’s product and goals. DNX is a startup company that produces emergency smartwatches paired with a body touch communication system for the elderly. One of my tasks, in the beginning, was to come up with a different design for the face of the watch. This was hard for me as I have never had any practice in this kind of product design. However, I went on with my typical design process using multiple stages of iterations. This design was not finalized as I only had two months to work on it and this type of product design typically takes longer. Later, I was given the task to design the logo for the brand and to start designing boards for advertising on different social media platforms. I also began to model 3D watch designs and the body communication tag designs.
This opportunity enabled me to see how I am able to work in the design world and also gave me a head start on what I should work on to improve my capabilities as a graphic designer. I am also incredibly happy that I chose to do my internship in South Korea as I learned so much about the culture there. I saw a lot of hard work and good cooperation with colleagues. I built relationships with my co-workers, and I witnessed the effect that Korean culture has on the graphic design that is done there. My experience working for DNX in Seoul was absolutely amazing, and I hope that it will lead to great opportunities in the future.