AIFS Abroad Reviews

The Milan internship summer 2013 was a great time for me. The staffs were very helpful when I needed help with personal needs. Great Italian language school and all the small trips GE organized. One thing I have to pointed out is that I specifically request an internship in Italy that I could learn about the Italian fashion, hand sewing and techniques; unfortunately I did not get any of that at my internship rather than just working on the computer most of the time. That is way far than what i was hoping to get out from this internship. For the price I paid to be in this internship, I would want to get the skills I set out at the beginning. GE did not do a great job at placing an internship dedicating to my needs, and wants.

The language program was excellent. I learned so much and it helped me prepare for my internship where only Italian was spoken. I learn foreign languages very fast, so coming to a country where I didn't speak the language was not a problem. But, I would recommend taking an Italian course before coming to Italy. It will help when traveling, meeting new friends and having success interning.

For the first 2 weeks I was placed at an internship that was not a good fit and I was able to get it changed. (keep in mind changing an internship can only happen if the internship breaks the rules in the contract i.e. not giving you 30-40 hours per week of work) I was placed with a fantastic internship that focused on my exact area of interest. For the last 4 weeks of my internship was great. I worked hard and learned a lot. What you should keep in mind about any experience is that it is what you make it. The first 2 weeks of my internship was not good, BUT I was able to look at the silver lining in it and apply the difficulties I faced to improve myself and my work.

I participated in Project Moda, and although it was a good experience, I didn't personally think it was a make or break event that was a 'must' to attend in order to further my career.

Some pointers: Be open to meeting new people and relating to other cultures, stay positive, get an Italian cellphone provided by GE, eat everything, live like a local (I did and ended up having the time of my life), bring walking shoes (lots of walking in Milan), don't overpack (you won't use everything... I PROMISE), having experience on your resume WILL get you a better internship, explore-explore-explore and lastly, THIS EXPERIENCE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT... you will encounter so many types of people and have the opportunity to further your career and make many memories... take the chance... live it up!

Included in the program price are 4 excursions (one local and 3 outside of Milan). I had so much fun, and it was a great way to introduce Italian culture and life to me; a foreigner.

Overall, I believe this program was a fantastic and necessary addition to my life experience and future career. It has opened my mind to possibilities I hadn't considered, and has allowed me to broaden my scope of interest and skill set. Having work experience in a foreign country and knowing another language will definitely put me ahead of the competition.

Take a chance on GE, you won't be disappointed!

If you're looking to study/intern abroad, GE is a company that can provide you with mentorship, an internship in your given field, and traveling opportunities. Shout out to Eleonora, thank you for your happy energetic personality and for making sure I was happy at my internship from day one till the day I departed back for the states. If you choose to come to Milan, make sure you buy gelato from Grom and Ciccolato :)

I had very positive experiences which helped me improve as professional but more important it helped me improve as a person! I had the opportunity to have the perfect match with my company. Our relationship flow from the first day! I am extremely happy because they gave me numerous responsibilities like office work, marketing and communications, video operator and events organiser, which helped me gain a lot of experience and more - raised the confidence in my personal strengths! Furthermore, I got the opportunity to travel around Italy and Europe ( particularly Munich, Germany and Cattolica - a beautiful town on the Italian cost). Overall, I think I had one of the best summer experiences until now because I was able to meet a lot of people ( some of them future connections and good friends!

Last summer I interned in London through Global Experiences and had a wonderful time. I knew that I wanted an international internship and GE made the process much easier than if I had attempted to find a position on my own. I had 3 skype interviews that they helped coordinate with 3 very different performing arts based companies before choosing. I throughly enjoyed my internship and working every day, and would honestly love to go back and work with Jamie Wilson again.

Besides being placed, GE helps take care of all the essentials. I was housed just 5 minutes from Kings Cross Station, which is just about as convenient as you can get. The housing wasn't exceptional but it was a great alternative to attempting to find a flat on my own and the small living quarters were worth it for the security of the building and its location.

All of the day trips that were coordinated by the program were really fun and a nice opportunity to get out of the city. I ended up traveling away from London almost every weekend and it was great having 3 preplanned, already paid for day trips that I didn't have to coordinate.

My only advice is make sure you are on top of everything on your own. GE is great at providing you the materials, but you really need to be on top of everything and be in communication with them as much as possible. I made this mistake and almost didn't get my visa in time. But if you're self motivated and willing to check in a lot, its not problem at all.

I loved every minute of being in London and only wish my internship lasted longer. Global Experience made the whole process so much easier than if I had done it on my own and I would happily work with GE again.

I think I got lucky that I was placed at such a good company. My company was wonderful and were very, very generous with their interns. Overall my co-workers and supervisors let me do a plethora of fun and interesting duties. I learned a lot at the company I was placed at and I'm very thankful I was here. I definitely loved Eleonora though! She was wonderful and so nice!

DO NOT TRAVEL WITH AIFS they are incredibly disorganized and unhelpful in times of conflict. They are significantly more expensive and there is NO added benefit to using AIFS. Their staff watches you like preschool children and the glorified dormitory that they stick you in is terrible. Ridiculous rules like no food or drink outside of lobby and they force you to eat in their gross cafeteria. AVOID AIFS at ALL COSTS trust me!!

I worked for London’s largest drug organization. It is a huge company that supports people of all ages and all backgrounds with drug and alcohol addiction. The branch I worked in specializes with young people in the Kensington and Chelsea borough ranging from 14 to 25 years old. In the nature of drug and alcohol addiction, many clients come to our services with other prominent issues, often housing, legal, sexual safety, emotional and physical trauma. They have a holistic approach and values the importance of helping clients in all these areas as well as addressing their drug and alcohol addiction. While these clients are going through difficult periods in their lives, they are all so kind and grateful for our services. It is amazing to see how positive they are despite the hardships they have faced. On the day to day, I have a wide range of tasks ranging from working on the website to meeting with clients to help them improve their resumes, find jobs and become physically active. There’s never a dull moment in the office!

I loved my internship and learned so much about the field I am passionate about. I would never would have found this internship without GE. Going into the program I did not know what I wanted to do with my life, they talked me through what I wanted to do and the next steps to take.

Living in London was also amazing, there is so much to do and amazing people to meet. I am so happy that I choose GE and London!

I can't simply express my love for my study abroad program. Everything was amazing. It was well-organized and I felt like my money was well spent. I got up each day for my classes, and when they were done in the afternoon I had a whole evening to explore and sight see! Also, most of the classes do NOT meet on Fridays so you will have long weekends a lot of the time. I had an experience that I wouldn't trade for anything, and I just want everyone to be able to say the same.

The experience I've had in London with was, to me, an absolute delight.
The GE staff were pleasantly wonderful. They brought me in through the process from the beginning to the end and was always available when needed. London was extremely exciting and had so many things to offer that it's difficult to feel like you've experienced it all in the 2 months I've stayed there. The first trip we had was to the Harry Potter Studios in London which was where I got myself a fake pair of Harry Potter glasses. I didn't look very much like Harry Potter but I tried. I went to a few more GE events like watching the musical 'Wicked' which brought about some inspiration to practice my soprano. A complete failure but I did it privately so no one really knew. In finding places, I had to often follow my phone GPS around and master the London underground stations. The London Underground, once well known, made you feel like you could easily enjoy the endless events and activities in the city whenever you felt free. Festivals, shows, massive parks, bars, theaters, museums, shopping, libraries, etc. would spoil you for choice. There's just so much to do.
I've learned quite a lot at work in London. I understood the work environment in my field (architecture) and took the most out of what I could of my internship. The environment was certainly different to what I was used to when I was doing my bachelor's degree in college and also a little unexpected. I sometimes had to work a few extra hours and on weekends also but I wasn't too troubled. I can certainly say that the experience helped me to reconfigure and reshape my future goals of my career.
I had decided to apply to a London grad school course and gotten accepted so I was quite excited to know I'd be able to come back to London a little later. So, two months later and I couldn't keep away. Back in London for a bit of part time work before I prepare to enter grad school where I was really happy to meet the GE consultant Chrissie and the new GE supervisor Grace alongside Mellisa who was directing my session alone back in Spring. Melissa was always available for help whenever needed and tended to plan the events well with a very satisfied group. I also got to meet the new interns for summer who all seemed happy in their first day of work. During the internship you'll get to meet a lot of new people who'd soon become your friends if you had not made friends with them online beforehand.
To finish, I'd say I had no regrets. To go through the experience of it all was quite unique and not often will you get a chance experience the same again.