South Africa Internships With Academic Credit | From 2-24 Weeks

My experience with Intern Abroad HQ was truly special. From the moment I applied, their team was incredibly supportive. They guided me through every step, from securing my GIS and Conservation internship to my arrival logistics and journey, making the process smooth and stress-free. Once at the Gondwana Game Reserve (South Africa), I fully immersed myself in the conservation work with the local team. During my stay at Gondwana, the hands-on experience in data collection, game transects, vegetation surveys, and bird point counts was invaluable, and I was able to develop my GIS skills and complete a research report at the end. I had never had such close encounters with wild animals. I also forged beautiful friendships and connections for the duration of my stay. Overall, I highly recommend this experience to anyone looking to learn and grow professionally and personally, make priceless memories, and enjoy the most beautiful sunsets while gaining invaluable experiences!

I have just returned from the best 6 weeks in Gondwana Game Reserve (South Africa) completing the 'GIS and Reserve Management' internship, run by Intern Abroad HQ and Wildlife Ecological Investments (WEI). During my time in Gondwana, I gained valuable insight into how conservation practices work within a reserve, I have developed my GIS mapping skills to new levels via a lecture series and research report, and also improved my cultural awareness and communication skills in a mixed- nationality camp. On top of this, I have come away with some amazing memories and close up animal experiences. The highlight of my trip would have to be the sunset drives every Sunday, where we drive to a viewpoint and watch the African sun setting over Gondwana's beautifully hilly landscape. It was an unforgettable experience, and I would recommend this internship to anyone who wants to learn or improve their GIS mapping skills, and is passionate about applying this in a conservation setting.

The internship was advertised as educational with conservation opportunities. That is not at all what I got. It was a scuba diving vacation with no other structured activities and all the other interns got drunk every night of the week. All optional activities costed lots of money and if you didn’t want to pay for it you sat at home bored. There was not much to do in camp and not much to do in the small town we were located in. The internship description said they provided food (which they did) but it was so basic I couldn’t even make a legit meal out of the ingredients.The company that hosted the internship in country forced me to pay a lot of extra money upon arrival for things which were not disclosed beforehand. I felt like it was a waste of time and money and do not recommend.

Becoming an intern abroad entails acquiring practical, hands-on experience at a foreign business or organization while participating in all the thrilling adventures. Thanks to Intern Abroad HQ, my experience in Cape Town, South Africa, has been immersed in the local culture filled with adventures from delicious wine tasting in Cape Town's finest vineyards, catching the sunset on a catamaran as well as going on vigorous walks alongside the coast and seeing penguins. Further, I have been immersed in the local culture by visiting local markets and tasting Cape Town's most exotic food, such as Ostrich!

In this work-hard, play-hard culture, I interned at a human rights NGO names Africa Unite whose goal is to build communities that are conflict free, enhance social cohesion and promote social and economic development. During this internship, I have been allowed to touch on all of these disciplines drafting government letters, public speaking, organizing events for 50+ people, and openly speaking about change regarding human rights, women's rights and children's. Further, I have learnt how to carefully analyze a societal problem and find the most sustainable solutions that help every community member. I have always been keen on making a change for the better, and thanks to Intern Abroad, it has been the perfect channel to do so outside of my studies!

I had the most amazing experience doing an internship in Cape Town, South Africa over this summer. I did a psychology internship for four weeks. IAHQ ,thank you for giving me the trip of a life time. The internship I did is very helpful for my future career and I am so grateful that IAHQ gave me this opportunity. IAHQ really helps you find an internship that is right for you. They were so helpful every step of the way. I met amazing interns and I made everlasting memories. I got to see a beautiful country while doing an internship related to what I am studying. Everyone I met was so friendly. I got to learn about a new culture. I definitely recommend this program to anyone who likes travelling and is looking for a trip they will never forget.

Intern Abroad HQ is an amazing organization. Their team was phenomenal in providing as much information as possible when I was very skeptical and unsure. After all, one wanted to make sure they weren't being thrown into another continent without any support or idea! Dallas was very helpful in helping me prepare for my internship. Their online journal assignments was a great way for me to document and ponder my experiences as they happened and were very good at keeping tabs on me and my family when I had a medical emergency. This I cannot emphasize enough, they have your back from start to finish. My liaison-contact there, Elisha, is such an amazing guide and overall a chill dude to hang around with. For him, it is a matter of who he doesn't know him in Cape Town, which helped a lot when seeking the most beautiful locations and the best activities. The housing there is very college dorm-like. You may live with students, both from abroad or local, and the area of Obs (Observatory) is a unique and interesting community. One thing is for sure, there is always someone down to have fun with at the Freeland lodge.

I am preparing to become an occupational therapist and chose this program to intern under. The Kaya branch of Akeso Clinics in Cape Town has a great team of psychologists, occupational therapists and social workers that had great methods in treating adolescents with mental health disorders and a whole variety of issues pertaining to being a troubled youth. I came to work every day caring for the patients and was privileged to see their progress as they worked out very difficult issues in a communal setting under professional guidance. Great people at Akeso - Kaya, they are very accommodating with interns and felt just like family.

I cannot state enough how great my experience was. If anyone wanted to have a good experience interning in Cape Town I recommend coming with an open mind. Be accepting that things can be uncomfortable and different. Learn how to flourish with the idea that plans don't always go as they were intended and that the best moments can be spontaneous.

I spent 6 weeks in Cape Town, South Africa doing an occupational therapy internship. I had the best 6 weeks of my life, and learned so much in such a short time. I was able to experience the incredibly welcoming culture of SA, gain valuable observation hours which will help me in the future, meet tons of awesome fellow interns and students, and experience many of the awesome activities and beauty of Cape Town and the surrounding area has to offer. I wish I could have spent so much more time here. Thank you to InternAbroad for answering all of my questions and making sure I was prepared and informed before my trip, as well as providing support during the trip if I ever needed it. To anyone who is thinking of doing an internship - don't let fear hold you back! Take an open mind, be flexible and enjoy your experience abroad!

Prior to beginning my internship, I had no idea what to expect when I was planning to visit Cape Town. My decision to go there and intern abroad was almost purely based on looking at photos of sunsets on Table Mountain, on Google images. I was further motivated by an interest in educating myself further on the history of South Africa. Also, completing a business internship within the UK had made me more curious to see how different businesses operate within other countries.

Knowing that I would love the opportunity to intern abroad (if only for a short while) I decided that this internship opportunity would be the perfect time to combine my passions. I arranged an internship with Intern Abroad in the heart of Cape Town, for two-weeks at the end of January 2019. The short-term flexibility of the internship programs worked with my schedule and ensured I’d gain a taster of life in South Africa.

After an overnight flight, I stepped off the plane at 10 a.m. to a not-too-shabby 30 degrees hitting me right in the face – quite a change from the negative numbers I’d left behind in Scotland! Within just two hours, I’d arrived at and already left my accommodation to explore, having met fellow interns on the same programme, led by our local Internships Coordinator, Elisha.

The remainder of my first day on the internship program was spent getting to know everyone, which wasn’t difficult, as they couldn’t have been more welcoming and talkative. Between visiting their favourite spots together and driving to the coast, to sit on a rock and watch the sun go down in South Africa, I really couldn’t have asked for a much better way to settle into my new home for the next two weeks.

I woke up bright and early the next day to begin work at my internship placement - a task that was made easier with the blazing sun and blue sky staring in at me from the window. Safe to say, it was quite different to waking up for a 9 a.m. lecture back home!

For my Start Up Entrepreneurship internship with Intern Abroad HQ, I was placed via a customized process to intern with OBSRealty. To get there each morning, I only had to take a (not-so-strenuous) 10-minute walk down the road to the office. This location was relatively central, situated near the city center, the University of Cape Town, and about 10 minutes from the Cape Town International Airport as well. On the way to my internship placement, I passed cute cafes that I would later visit for lunches, street art vibrantly painted around every corner, and even the odd book shop for me to nip into on my way home from work (to find something to read at the beach that night).

My internship placement at ObsRealty is a local business, which specializes in residential and commercial sales and property management. The close-knit team at this internship placement included another intern and I. Each of the company’s staff members helped and demonstrated the day-to-day operations of their real estate business. I was driven to parts of Cape Town that I wouldn’t have visited otherwise, given the time constraints of my short stay. I had the opportunity to speak to local people, learning how the start-up company had developed and grown throughout the area. Each day was full to the brim, but it certainly didn’t end once the workday was over!

From visiting the most unbelievable beaches like Clifton 4th beach and Camp’s Bay, to seeing the colourful houses in the Bo-Kaap neighbourhood, watching the latest releases in the Labia Movie Theatre on Orange Street, to exploring the Kirstenbosch National Park. If you can see the attraction listed within Lonely Planet’s guide to Cape Town, then you can rest assured that I visited it within my two-week internship! While I was a little worried that only having a mere two weeks for my experience wouldn’t be enough to see and do everything, the support from my Internship Coordinator (and Uber transport!) helped me to really make the most of every minute, from sunrise to sunset. I made sure that I ticked everything I’d hoped to visit off my list!

The most memorable day of my internship in Cape Town came on my first Saturday. A group of interns and myself joined the Internship Coordinator in Cape Town to visit the Old Biscuit Mill for brunch and to soak up the hectic weekend atmosphere. From there, we took an incredible road trip to Simon’s Town, to swim with the penguins at Boulder Beach. From there, we continued even further on, to the most southern point of Cape Town - aptly named “Cape Point”. The fog on that particular day may have slightly affected how far down the coast we could see, but this area offered so much more - like watching a baboon steal and then proceed to drink a full bottle of Gatorade from an unsuspecting tourist (please watch your food and drinks and don’t feed the wildlife!)

Driving back up the coast, stopping at many incredible points along the way with Elisha as our tour guide, we got to visit a huge sea lion, see emus strolling along a beach, watch the sunset (which never failed to astound me, no matter how many times I watched the sun set in Cape Town), all before heading to a pub to watch a six nations sports game. We finished our weekend day-out by viewing the city lights from the top of Signal Hill. It was an incredible day to remember!

I couldn’t have chosen a better place to have done my internship or even just to have visited. Cape Town is a city with the most welcoming locals, an incredibly humbling history, and views so stunning that even flicking through the photos of them on my phone still leaves me in shock, that I was able to take in such beautiful sights. Having the Intern Abroad HQ team every step of the way really did make my trip unforgettable and allowed me to have such a personal memorable experience. Without the support of the Internships Coordinator in Cape Town, it would have just been so different otherwise, as recommending the best local eateries or the most beautiful picnic spots was a task he excelled at.

I wish that it would have been possible for me to remain on the internship in South Africa longer than two weeks, but now it just means that I’ll have to return in the future - either to reconnect with some of the people I was fortunate enough to meet, or to see what more Cape Town has to offer!