The Internship Experience

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betahaus

"Interning at Betahaus for the Asia Berlin Summit was a unique opportunity to apply my cross-cultural skills and engage in new ways with my interest and experience in Asia.

My position as a speaker manager exposed me to a privileged vantage point, witnessing how summits can bridge complex cultural and political differences between Asian and European stakeholders. It also made clear how essential behind-the-scenes leadership is, not only to foster intercultural understanding, but also to lay the groundwork for future partnerships which grow from people to people interactions. An immersive journey into the backstage of politics and economics!

I liked working on a project spread across months that I witnessed take a shape and a life of its own. From research on the summits' themes, to contacting and connecting the different participants and preparing the venue, I also learned a lot of the practical skills to organize international events. Navigating between government representatives, corporations, startups and professors was particularly interesting to me.

Finally, I also had the chance to access the betahaus space and join their partner’s event, discovering a new map of Berlin."

— Mathilde Traoré-Delavigne, Fall 2025

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Spore Initiative

"My time working at Spore Initiative was very insightful! As someone who has always been interested in restoration ecology but veered towards studying social sciences at BCB, my internship with Spore Initiative offered a chance to gain experience and knowledge in the overlap between these fields. I had the chance to work with curators, event organizers and individuals working in the realm of political ecology, and in an organization which values collaboration and community. 

My primary work was with the seed library, which contains hundreds of heirloom seeds from Berlin and collectives around the world with which Spore partners to share knowledge and resources about grassroots and sustainable agricultural practices. It was a pleasure to work with a group of farmers, artists and community members on a weekly basis as we built a digital library of research about the various plants and their growing conditions. I was warmly welcomed by the team at Spore and witnessed the behind-the-scenes workings of an institution which is a vital part of Berlin's cultural ecosystem, from helping with events in the outdoor garden to sitting in on planning conversations with visiting artists.

To anyone interested in ecology, agriculture and artistic practice, I highly recommend interning at Spore or attending their many wonderful events and exhibitions."

— Ruby Devoe, Fall 2025

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DISTANZ

"After three years of studying creative writing at Bard, I was interested to try work in publishing. Interning at DISTANZ Verlag offered me an opportunity to do so, and to incorporate my passion for visual art with my experience writing and editing. I was allowed a lot of creative freedom in the process, and got to try my hand in all areas of the publishing business; I provided line edits on translated texts, organized the contact list, summarized new publications, wrote artist and photographer credits, and more. 

DISTANZ publishes books on museum exhibitions, individual artists' monographs, and independently edited books on the arts. They work with a plethora of contemporary artists from all parts of the world, and being there for a semester allowed me to encounter a huge variety of work. I saw dozens of books published, and dozens more projects started. A handful were completed, start to finish, during my time there. DISTANZ is a small, flexible team, and each member took time to allow me to see, and assist with, their part of this process. 

After interning with DISTANZ, I feel that I understand where I might fit in a publishing space. It also fostered an interest in contemporary art that I will apply to any future career."

— Gabriel Goering, Spring 2024

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Humanity in Action

"Intending to work in the field of social justice upon graduating, I was looking for an internship that would give me an insight into the NGO and human rights world. Interning with Humanity in Action gave me just that, and much more.

The organization's leadership programs unite over 2000 fellows committed to social justice. The fellows implement action projects in their local communities to address issues of racism, misogyny, sustainability, etc. As an intern, my tasks included website content creation for the action projects, data processing, updating the website with the most recent information and email communication with the fellows regarding their work.

Due to the multifaceted involvement with the work of Humanity in Action, I was able to advance my writing and communication skills, and learn about individuals who make inspiring changes in their local environments. I was warmly welcomed in the team and invited to workshops to develop my skills in SEO and Wordpress. During my months at the organization, I always felt I was involved in truly valuable work that is having a real-life impact on communities around the globe. Overall, I gained valuable connections, was inspired by the fellows, and learned about how an NGO works from the inside. Due to my positive experience, now I am confident that I want to tie my future with the NGO and social justice work."

— Lizi Tabliashvili, Spring 2021

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Soundbrenner

"While doing my semester abroad at BCB, I was extremely keen to take on a software engineering internship because I wanted to learn more about what software engineering work looked like in real development teams. As someone who enjoys start-up culture and who is also a musician, I naturally reached out to Soundbrenner, a music-tech startup based in Berlin. 

Working with the Soundbrenner team was a fantastic experience. Despite being new to iOS development, I was able to propose and then implement my own project in a programming language and framework that I had never used before. My internship mentor as well as my fellow colleagues were all extremely supportive and helpful during my time with them, and I learned an incredible amount under their guidance. I always felt included in the team, as they also asked for my opinion on projects that were outside of the scope of my own work. Toward the end of the internship, we even managed to organize a team bonding session and played some music together!

After graduating from Bard College in Annandale, New York, I am hoping to start working as a software engineer in the music-tech industry and possibly return to Berlin. My time with Soundbrenner has definitely empowered me with confidence in my own abilities to make this goal a reality."

— Arnav Shirodkar, Spring 2022