Beware of Intern Abroad HQ
While this is a legit company that can provide you with a good internship experience. I unfortunately didn't have that experience. I had a mediocre internship where the supervisor was nice and helpful. But, it wasn't as involved in civil engineering as I was informed it would be. I ended up doing stuff that's more electrical engineering than civil engineering. Then, on top of that, I had to spend many hours and days when I wasn't assigned anything to do. Also, the communication was terrible at my internship. I have had days when my supervisor wouldn't be at the actual facility and didn't tell me that he wouldn't be there. I had to find out from overhearing a conversation that he would be out on vacation in Germany and Switzerland during my last week interning. Then the housing situation was terrible. I had a racist aggressive host parent. Who I had to move out from after a day and a half. When she was watching me while I was showering, she started yelling at me.She kept yelling at me when I tried to ask her what was wrong. So, I had to stop showering and get out. She then enters the room I was in while I was getting dresses after I told her not to come in just to keep yelling at me. She and her dog kept getting closer and closer to me until I yelled at her not to come near me after telling her to stop multiple times. When I reported her to euroace the company that Intern Abroad HQ is partnered up with. They tried to tell me to go back and stay with her, and it's a misunderstanding. I had to go back and fourth with them to get them to put me in an apartment. Later, Intern Abroad HQ tried to say that "It was a misunderstanding" and that " both sides had escalated the situation." How did I escalate things? When I tried to ask her calmly what was wrong. Then had to yell at her not to come near me when she kept being hostile and aggressive. In the end, I enjoyed my two months in Spain due to being immersed in the culture, not because of the internship program. If you decide to get an internship through Intern Abroad HQ. Do not apply to their Valencia, Spain program. Since that's the program with their partnership with Euroace that placed me with that mediocre internship and that terrible host parent. Lastly, beware of the risk of being misled about your placement, like many of my peers and I were.
Reply from Intern Abroad HQ
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that aspects of your experience did not meet your expectations. We do, however, feel it is important to provide some context, as your account differs significantly from the feedback we received at the time of your placement, as well from the feedback provided by your host family.
Regarding your accommodation, feedback about your stay was also brought to our attention by your accommodation host, who contacted our in-country team to raise concerns. Once the situation was brought to our attention, alternative accommodation was arranged immediately.
In relation to your internship, the concerns described in this review were not raised with us during your placement. We made regular attempts to check in with you throughout your internship, as we do with all interns, and these communications went unanswered. You also did not complete your weekly reflection submissions. We encourage interns to raise concerns as they arise so we can address them and provide support or make adjustments as necessary. In this case, we were not afforded the opportunity to address the issues you have raised in your review as they were not brought to our attention at the time.
We would also like to clarify that our engineering internships can involve a range of specialized sectors, including both civil and electrical engineering. As a result, exposure to electrical engineering can form part of an intern’s experience.
While we regret that your experience did not fully align with your expectations, we remain committed to providing interns with appropriate placements, responsive support and opportunities to raise concerns throughout their programs.