International Internships in Madrid with The Intern Group

The Intern Group programme in Madrid was an incredible experience and opportunity for myself. I worked in a forward thinking organisation, on projects involving EU funding, and gained experience in a field I hope to work in. I met friends from all over the world, with whom I have travelled with and hope there will be more adventures to come. This programme has really given me an insight into what I want for my future and the goals I now intend to pursue. It’s a great chance to step out of your comfort zone and push yourself to learn new things. I am grateful for the support and activities organised by Lalita and hope to meet her again when I return to Spain for my future studies.

A famous quote states that “great achievements emerge from great opportunities.”

Whether it was hard-work, effort and dedication, an enormous coincidence of life, destiny itself, or something else, I feel very lucky for the fact that I was given a great opportunity for professional and personal growth.

I could not be more grateful to The Interngroup and The International Business Hub for having so much trust in my abilities, values and in me overall; I hope I can correspond by bringing great results to the table as well.

I am also thankful with the housing administration for paying close attention to the needs and wants of their residents and for keeping a detail-oriented approach to make the experience even better.

It is crucial to mention that I have felt very welcomed and well-treated by the vast majority of people that I’ve met so far here in Madrid, which have been very polite and friendly to me overall. I also hope they can get a positive impression of me in general terms.

I still have a couple of months left in this program, and I am hopeful that by the end of it I can look back and be proud of the professional and personal progress being achieved. Meanwhile, I also desire to explore much more of this wonderful city. Madrid’s prolific monuments, beautiful edifications, delicious food, fascinating landscapes, and unique culture are only some of the things that continue to amaze me every single day.

Going back to the quote from the beginning, I’m aware of the great opportunity I have right here and now as an intern, and I hope to advantage it to the greatest possible extent and be able to make great achievements and reach my goals.

By Daniel.

My experience with the Interngroup in Madrid has been rewarding and fulfilling, both in terms of the social encounters I have made and the professional skills I have gained. Whilst studying Media and Communications in the UK, I completed a PR and marketing internship with a venture and law company, as I am passionate about the PR industry and want to pursue a career in this field. While my tasks initially included social media management, they have gradually expanded to include creating LinkedIn and Instagram ads, writing the newsletter and blog, but also contacting newspapers to place our content! It is true that the internship in Madrid has far exceeded my expectations and my previous concerns about making friends in a country where I don't speak the language or adapting to this new working environment were swept away as soon as I met my new flatmates and started working. The intergroup did a fantastic job of integrating me and I never felt alone or left out. On the contrary, I felt like I never had a minute to myself and never had enough time to do all the projects and plans I wanted to do! If I were to give any advice to any new interns or those considering applying, it would be to start the programme with an open mind, positivity but also perseverance and hard work from day one, an attitude that eventually allowed me to extend my contract with my company and gradually be offered more responsibilities! The social aspect of the programme and the new bounds I have created have made my experience one that I will never forget and contributed to shape me as a more mature and fulfilled individual.

The internship experience has proved to help me quite a lot in developing my self professionally and personally. The internship has also helped me widen and broaden my skill set by continuously refreshing and practicing them at the work place hence, I have also managed to gain transferable skills which will be extremely handy whilst applying for this to a postgraduate degree. This internship has helped me grow out of my comfort zone and enabled me to change my outlook in the field I interned at.

I had the opportunity to complete my marketing internship in Madrid this summer. I can honestly say it was the best decision I made. Not only did I get the marketing experience and credit from my school but I also had an amazing time. I experienced being part of a new culture and traveling alone for the first time. It was safe and there is always something going on whether it be an event from the program or just events around the city. The events hosted by the program are really fun and helps you get accustomed to the new changes. All the events are different so its a new experience every time. As for my internship, the process was very easy and everything is explained very well. My supervisors from my job were really nice and always answered any questions I had regarding my tasks.

How is the experience with Intern Group? It all starts when you are asked for the documents, it is always the most boring and tedious process since it has to go through several revisions and there is always that little feeling of nervousness because you do not know what they will offer you or if they will accept you in the program, and when you least expect it, the first job offers and an immense amount of emails arrive. You feel overwhelmed by the information and the nerves increase a bit, job interviews always worry me a little but when you talk to the first person from the Intern Group who will be in charge of placing you in a company, all the nerves go down. I am sure that everyone is like that but I was interviewed by a very warm person from England who receives you with a smile from ear to ear and treats you in a very professional but friendly way, all the people you deal with have an incredible disposition To help you with what you need but don't forget it, you will do professional practices. When you least expect it you are already at the airport to say goodbye to your loved ones and throughout the entire flight you have a head full of ideas about how your experience will be and the emotion invades your body. Once you are in Madrid you find more and more extremely friendly people that make you feel at home. When you arrive at your apartment you realize that you have everything you need and something you really appreciate is that everyone has a single room that helps you a lot to rest as you should. In the first few days you have a training from the Intern Group and then you know your work team, and I know I mentioned it many times but as expected, everyone is very friendly.
The first week is always very interesting because you get to know the city and you can always get lost in some way and you get to beautiful places by accident, you also meet amazing people and the days sometimes become complicated because you become an adult with all the responsibilities from one day to another and despite all the difficulties you decide to get to know the city and continue learning from all the things and people you know, try new things and realize everything you are learning by leaps and bounds. The work experience is always good and offers excellent opportunities to learn new things and get out of your comfort zone but you realize that the people you know contribute a lot to your life and teach you things that you would only learn if you go out in real life. People were a very important part to enjoy the trip, the practices were an opportunity that teaches you to grow as a person and constantly grow, the Intern Group staff helps you take away all worries, and these three things are good in themselves alone, but without a doubt what made this trip unforgettable was having the honor of experiencing all three together.

I came into this program with a handful of professional and personal goals, and I'm happy to say I achieved all of them!

Professionally, I wanted an internship in Madrid in order to get first hand experience in an office setting, with all of the challenges that come with that. I definitely got that, and I feel like these challenges have both made me more responsible and given me the confidence to say that I could work in a similar setting for future jobs. And while the work was challenging, my coworkers were all very welcoming, patient, and knowledgeable, so I never felt like I was performing badly or holding someone back.

Personally, I was very excited to experience Madrid's culture for myself! I wasn't disappointed: the food was delicious and surprisingly international, the public transportation was easy to navigate and made even the surrounding cities feel very accessible, and the nightlife, while I didn't explore it too much myself, I saw enough to say that it was far from lacking.

Overall, I'm very happy I decided to go, and I advise any interns going soon to make the most of the experience. 6 weeks seems like a lot before you arrive, but it went by in a flash: I could easily see myself having stayed 2 more weeks!

I started this experience with some objectives and now that I have finished my internship I can say that I learned more than I thought. For one side, I had the objective of working in other country to learn about cultural differences in work environment. Also I tried to do my best so I can be placed in a company that I liked. After six weeks, I’m sure that this experience gave me a set of tools that I can use in my future profesional life. Also, I have more confidence about me and started developing new skills. But this internship was not only about job, also you make relationships that help you to learn and being a better person. I made friends and we shared moments that will last forever. After work we discovered many places of Madrid and on weekends we traveled to other cities. This summer was amazing and I will remember every good moment with a smile. Also I have to say that this experience was possible thanks to The Intern Group people. Lalita, Beatriz, Carlos, and all the persons that are part of the organization cared about every detail. All the process was perfect, the interviews, the placement, the apartment where I lived, the social meetings, transportation and other things that The Intern Group managed made this possible. I recommend being part of this experience. Right now I feel that Madrid is a second home.