The academic internship is a guided and practical experience for students interested in a deeper understanding of the Brazilian business environment. It provides students the opportunity to apply previously learned business concepts and cross-cultural problem solving skills beyond the classroom in a foreign workplace while working on a specific project.
Academic Internship Learning Objectives
- Deepen understanding of the retail market and consumer behavior in Brazil
- Enhance problem-solving and analytical skills in a foreign environment
- Analyze international retailing strategies through real-world experiences
- Improve capacity to identifying market opportunities and challenges in an emerging foreign market as diverse as Brazil
- Develop ability for self-reflection on intercultural awareness while working in a different culture
Academic Internship Criteria
- Work with a host firm on a defined set of practical activities with specific deliverables
- Connect with at least one local commercial association
- Present the preliminary project results to the host firm and other stakeholders involved
- Spend a minimum duration of 4 weeks in the country or region
- Work agreed upon hours
- Complete the online portion of the course as specified by due dates
Academic Internship Requirements
- Pre-Research on assigned company
- An agreed upon deliverable for the firm as student project
- Implementation of project according to work assignment and company need
- Regular contributions to a wiki to include cultural observations (text and images) during the in-country experience
- Presentation of project results to firm and other stakeholders involved
- Final report with implications of findings (or case study) to be used as a future Brazil retailing resource
Student Supervision
- Primary supervision is through home institution faculty
- Students will also be supported by the local assigned firm and faculty member(s)
- Regular communication between the home faculty and student is required
- Regular communication with the host firm during the planning and completion of the academic internship is also required
- Feedback from local faculty
- Feedback from assigned firm
- Completion of specific tasks
- Project outputs: Final report, wiki contributions
Student Assessment
Student work will be assessed on the following:
- Feedback from local faculty
- Feedback from assigned firm
- Completion of specific tasks
- Project outputs: Final report, wiki contributions
Counterpart Feedback
Brazilian partner faculty and host firms will be asked to give feedback regarding student performance and the internship process in order to improve the program in the future.
Students are considered “Ambassadors” for UF while abroad. Professional conduct at all times is expected.