Return To Intern Program
While some international students find internships in the United States, others may choose to intern in their country of origin. The Return to Intern Program was designed to help these students find short-term engineering work opportunities in their home countries.
There are advantages to interning in your country of origin:
- You are already well-acquainted with the culture and language(s), which makes your adjustment easier.
- You don't need a special work visa.
- You are exposed to the work culture in your home country, which is helpful if you decide to return there to work full-time after graduation.
Program Basics
Employers participating in the Return to Intern Program may be representing large multinational corporations with locations abroad, regional companies or corporations, or smaller local companies within particular countries. Regardless of employer type, all participating recruiters offer opportunities for international engineering students to work at home for one or more semesters.
While the employers and job types will vary according to availability at any given time, the basics of Return To Intern are as follows:
- Employers will create job postings that includes the country where the position is located, desired major(s) and other eligibility criteria, work timeframe, compensation (if any), and application instructions/location.
- Our staff will advertise the positions in Nittany Lion Careers, on the LinkedIn Global Engineering Career Connections page, and via email to targeted student populations.
- Students will apply directly to positions of interest.
- Employers will review résumés and other application materials (if required) and communicate directly with applicants regarding offers, the hiring process, housing, orientation, and other details related to arrival on-site.
- Students who have accepted a position will complete the Employment Survey to provide us with information about the work experience.
All Return To Intern work experiences offer substantive engineering work, oversight from one or more designated on-site supervisors, and assessment/evaluation during and/or following the internship experience.
Find Opportunities
Do you want to gain internship experience in your home country?
- Check your email for notifications from our staff about opportunities for students from your country of origin.
- Use Nittany Lion Careers to learn more about positions abroad.
- Connect with international opportunities on the LinkedIn Global Engineering Career Connections page.
- Apply for positions of interest.
Pay It Forward
If you have had a work experience abroad, whether in your home country or in another country, you can help other students have a future opportunity! Let us know where you worked via the Return To Intern Survey so we can follow up with your contacts and generate new opportunities for future Penn State engineering students.
