International Internships in Dublin with The Intern Group

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Dublin. I have made great friends from all over and have visited and experience the most of Dublin & Ireland in the time that I had here. The Intern Group have had some really good events ranging from casual meals out, Irish dancing, to trips to the Guinness Storehouse and the cliffs of Moher. Thanks to the Partnership and Community Coordinator you feel confident to dive right into life in Dublin and connect with everyone within the group.

The internship itself has helped me get an industry experience and has taught me a lot that my degree missed. The company that I have been working for have been welcoming and have been able to let me get on and work with anything they've given me, as well as let me sit in on meetings. They also have a lot of exciting projects coming up, which I hope them all the success with.

My housing was a typical student apartment in Smithfield. Smithfield was a great place to live because you're close to nearly everything. The students in my apartment were very friendly and welcoming and because I lived on the top floor we had a balcony with a good view of the spire. The apartment also had all the utilities needed so I no need to buy anything but food.

Overall, I have enjoyed my time, seen a lot, made incredible friends and have industry experience that I hope will help in launching my career. My favourite moment has to be going on a girl tribe trip with my two friends to Glendalough to hike up the mountain and watch the sunrise as well as do yoga in front of a lake. It was a weird and wonderful experience that I would do again in a heart beat. Plus we played our tin whistles at the top just to make our experience ultra Irish!

The experience was amazing to me, and there are a lot of reasons for that.

First, I loved the city. Dublin is a medium size city that has all the conveniences a capital has but does not have problems most big cities have. Like an european town, it’s a safe place to walk at night, does not have traffic problems and public transportation works very well. On the other hand, big events like concerts, technology fairs, music festivals and many others happen in Dublin.

Dublin is also a very entertaining city, specially for young people. Once you arrive there you notice the population is very young and, because of that, there are several activities for people of this age. The pubs, for example are a great place to have dinner, listen to rock bands, appreciate tradicional Irish songs, play board games and much more.

Another nice aspect of the city is that you can meet people from all over the world. The fact that there are a lot of job opportunities there nowadays attracts people from Canada, USA, Chile, Brazil, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, South Korea, Belgium, United Kingdom, India and many other countries (those are only nationalities of people I met there). For me, this was amazing! I love meeting people from other places and learning more about their countries. I remember there was this time I lived with people from Italy and France, so we all decided to make this international dinner where everyone had to make something from their country. It was very fun and a nice way to spend more time with people from the house.

My work experience could not have been better. I worked in a small start up and the fact the company was small made my experience really special. Since me and my boss were the only ones in charge of all the marketing decisions, I had big tasks as responsibilities. Probably my biggest challenge in those 6 months aboard was when my boss told me to build an entire marketing plan. This plan would affect the entire company so I felt that my coworkers were really relying on me. It was also a nice to work in a small company because I had a general overview of the whole business strategies, and that is very interesting to me because I have a dream of starting my own business.

I always felt The Intern Group was there for me. They would constantly get in touch with me and with the other interns to know if everything were ok. Also, as I stayed in Dublin for almost 6 months so many of my friends left before me. But The Intern Group kept providing events for the old interns to make sure old interns like me would make new friends from the programs. This was really important because I would have friends to go out, travel, go to the cinema or do whatever friends usually do.

In a general way I loved my experience. I totally recommend it to others, since I had a lot of fun and it was quite a professional experience.

Thank you Iolanda, Katie and everyone else form The Intern Group for making these months so special to me :)

Dublin was a truly unforgettable experience! Firstly we were looked after very well by the Intern Group team. They put on socials so you could meet fellow interns and put on presentations about how to succeed in the workplace. I spent six weeks there and they absolutely flew by as we spent the weekends travelling to places such as Galway to experience the culture of Ireland.
The internship in terms of work was extremely enjoyable and engaging. Every single day was interesting and provided me with valuable experience that I will be able to take forward with me. I would recommend this program to anyone as you make great connections, great friends and a great life experience!

The 6 weeks that I spent in Dublin with The Intern Group were some of the best weeks of my life! I had an absolutely amazing experience and I wished I had stayed longer. The best part of the program, by far, was having the opportunity to meet fellow interns from all over the world. It was awesome having such a great group of people to explore a new country with.

The Intern Group organized weekly meet-ups and events which was a great way to get to know my fellow interns! My favourite events included our day trip to the Cliffs of Moher and our visit to the Emmigration Museum. The program coordinators-Iolanda and Katlin- accompanied us during these events which was great because they are both so friendly and supportive! Feel free to ask them anything!

Dublin is a great city to do an internship in! There is always something to do and tons of trendy restaurants to try! The city is also quite small which is great because you can walk everywhere.
I was also fortunate to explore other parts of Ireland on the weekends with the other interns. I encourage all new interns to get out and explore Ireland!

I also had a great experience in terms of my actual internship placement! I am a recent graduate and I was eager to gain hands-on experience in a professional setting. I was nervous that I would end up completing simple and boring tasks such as photocopying and sending emails. However, I was lucky enough to intern at a great non-profit organization and I can definitely say that I gained tons of new skills and increased by knowledge about the non-profit sector. I feel as though I made a meaningful contribution to the company I was working for and that the staff members really valued my work. All the staff at the company were extremely friendly and always willing to help me out! My office was also located about a 15 minute walk from my housing accommodation which was VERY convenient!

The lifestyle in Dublin is simply amazing. The people who live there are patient, beyond kind, and fun. I was able to experience only the best of Dublin through the Intern Group as they have regular culture nights, tours, and dinners with fellow interns. However, the best part about this internship abroad was how big an impact it had when I started to apply for jobs back home. The skills I learned honed were easily applied back home and the interviews were easier. The decision to apply under the Intern Group was easily one of the best decisions of my life.

The Intern Group was an amazing program that helped me grow as an individual by not only expanding my comfort zone in the workplace but also as an individual. I came to a new country not knowing anyone and quickly made so many friends in the Intern group. in the office, and in Dublin. I was able to see myself become more adventurous and outgoing, traveling to new places like Iceland, and going on fun adventures, like my day trip to Wicklow. I learned so much in my internship about Nonprofits and about Irish workplace culture. my experience definitely shaped me as an individual and expanded my global outlook.

I completed my internship in Dublin with the Intern group early-mid 2017.
If you aspire to work in Europe, or in Ireland, in the future, I cannot fully explain how much this experience with the Intern Group will help you achieve your future aspirations.
In terms of finding internships, the Intern Group do a fantastic job in finding out what you really want and then placing you in exciting and forward thinking companies. Dublin is a European hub for business and if you are thinking of going into technology or finance in the future then there are no shortage of opportunities. Dublin is home to tech giants. Google and Facebook have their European HQ's there and both Microsoft and Amazon have significant status there too. On the finance side, the big 4 accountancy firms have offices and in the post-Brexit world, Dublin is looking like a suitable place for the big American banks to set up offices in the future.

The Intern Group will often set you up with a smaller-medium sized company but don't let that put you off. The working experience that I had was so much better because it was a smaller team. You learn far more than you would in a large company and it makes settling in a lot easier also. Of course this experience is not just about the internship but about exploring your surroundings and having fun!

My top five things to do in Dublin would be:

1) Go to the Guinness Storehouse. If you like beer, and Guinness, this will be a highlight of your trip. If not, go anyway, because the view is incredible. You do the Guinness experience, so that's exploring the history, seeing how it's made etc and then the highlight for me the FREE pint of Guinness in the sky bar which gives you an almost 360 degree view of the city. Also, its worth going for the mandatory Instagram photo outside of the Guinness gates.
2) Cliffs of Moher. This is another trip organised by the Intern Group and for me was a surreal experience. If it's a sunny day, go and experience it. It's unique and without giving too much away, its a breathtaking moment.
3) Relax and live like a local. The best way to settle into any city is to live like the locals. Compared to most European cities, Dublin is fairly relaxed. Unless you're working for a big bank, suits are rare. Business causal is more often than not good enough. Your bosses will be fairly relaxed too. If you need the afternoon off or will be late, as long as you mention it, it's not a problem. Dublin is friendly so striking up conversation with a random person in the street is commonplace. To truly fit in, order a pint of Guinness at every opportunity you can, you'll be welcomed with open arms.
4) Travel. This can be within Ireland itself either down south to Cork or up to Belfast in Northern Ireland. Or, travel abroad. Dublin is situated no more than three hours from major European cities and cheap flights to these destinations are very easy to come by. From what I can remember, Dublin has a lot of public holidays and long weekends so city breaks to places like Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin are all within reach.
5) Go to Coppers. It's a Dublin institution and a 'rite of passage' for everyone who visits Dublin. You have to live it to experience it.

The Dublin experience is one that will live with myself for a long time and if you get involved with everything then you'll have an amazing time. Personally, I would stay for no less than two months because that gives you enough time to be properly integrated with the business you'll be working for and it gives you ample opportunities for the social side of the experience.
Lastly, the internship does work. Four months after completing the internship, I am moving to London to start my first full-time job so the weight that the program carries is evident.