How to get an internship in Israel?

Internships in Israel

Choose Your Experience

Thousands of international students and post grads arrive at Israel every year to take part as interns in Israeli and international companies and NGOs. They help impoverished communities, work with foreign residents or take part in programs aiming to improve the cooperation between Jews and Arabs in Israel.

Other internships are offered at bio-tech companies, theaters, PR agencies, internet, computers and mobile start-ups, newspapers, banks and universities. There are several providers in Israel that aim to find the best internship opportunities for international applicants. Among these, are: universities, government institutions, social change organizations and private companies.

Internship Programs in Israel – What is out there for you?

Programs via Universities

These are open for international students that attend an Israeli university, or to students attending other academic institutions that collaborate with Israeli universities. There are two kinds of tracks – academic research programs, and professional volunteer work in NGOs and private companies.

Research Internships

All universities offer international intern tracks in their specialized fields of study. In academic research programs students will be asked to aid scholars in their work while gaining practical experience in research.

Professional Internships

Some academic tracks include professional internship opportunities. For instance, communications students might intern in local radio or TV stations, computer science students will attend local programming companies, science students will be offered positions in Bio-tech companies, and political science or Middle Eastern studies students will be offered positions in NGOs that focus on co-existence in Israel. The organizations are located in the university' surrounding area, so students will not have to travel far.

You can also read about: Professional Courses in Israel

Programs via Non-Academic Providers

These are offered to students and post grads from all around the world by various organizations. Some of them, such as The Jewish Agency, also offer financial aid and scholarships. The most popular programs are in hi-tech, political media (PR and journalism), government and social action. Participants may even choose a customized internship, a track that was designed especially for them.

Duration

Most programs are either 5 or 10 months long. At times, universities offer tracks that are semester-based. The interns are expected to work at least 15 hours per week.

Do you get paid for your work?

No, or at least mostly not. In most tracks, interns do not get paid. At several academic programs students are getting stipends that will be given during their internships. However, the sum is less than the Israeli minimum wage.

Why do it?

Keep in mind that in many cases interns are offered to continue working for the company in Israel or in other countries (in case the company is international). When they become employees, they receive the full conditions – salary, health insurance etc.

Even in cases they are not offered a job, most find the experience well worthwhile due to the work experience and connections they acquired during the program. Also, some university tracks award students with academic credit points.

You can also read about: Student Exchange Programs in Israel

Expenses

The internship programs offered by universities usually do not cost anything. However, applicants via other providers need to pay for their participation. The cost of each program varies, and can be anywhere between $700 and $10,500. In addition, participants have other expenses during their stay, for instance: food and transportation. In most programs housing expenses are included in the fees.

Applying for an Internship

The application process is done through the relevant provider of the internship. In the process, a personal advisor will help you explore the best available programs for your needs and give you more information. After applying, you will go through an interview with representatives of the company in which you will work, and find out about the positions in their firms.

Language Requirements

All international internships are in English. However, in some cases a background in Arabic or Hebrew is needed. In case you are not an English speaker, you might be required to take an English proficiency test.

Academic Institution and Providers

Universities

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem – Full time students may attend internship programs in Jerusalem and the area in organizations such as Hadassah Hospital, Spielberg Film Archive, Albright Institute of Archeology and local schools. Students may earn one credit point for their internship. Students of Yale, MIT and other American colleges may intern in programs provided by the university, as part of collaboration between the institutions.

University of Haifa – programs are held in dozens of institutions including The Center for Battered Women, Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Haifa Museum, Society for the Education of Deaf Children, Bnei Zion Genetic Consulting Clinic and more.

Tel Aviv University – offers academic internships in Moshe Dayan Center, regarding mainly Middle Eastern studies and African studies. Students in this program receive a stipend of $3,000 in case they stay for longer than three months. In addition, TAU students may take part in internships in Israeli companies especially in the areas of: education, business and computer science.

Bar Ilan Univesity (Ramat Gan) - holds a special summer programs in science research. The special summer program offers tracks of academic research in chemistry, computer science, mathematics, physics, engineering, life sciences and psychology.

Ben Gurion University of the Negev (Be'er-Sheva) – offers several tracks of academic internships especially assisting professors in clinical trials in medicine and psychology. Non-academic programs in architecture and engineering firms, hi-tech companies, local schools, newspapers and other organizations are also available.

Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (Haifa) – offers a research internship program for students from all over the world in science and engineering. Interns have to pay for housing, administration and other fees since they do not attend the Technion. Acceptance is based on academic merit.

Weizmann Institute of Science (Rehovot) – offers internship programs for postgraduate students in science and engineering. In addition, it holds summer internship programs for undergraduate students in math, physics, chemistry and life sciences.

Other Providers

Masa Israel – one of the biggest providers and probably the most varied. Masa Israel offers internships in a wide array of fields: education, programming, PR and media, Arab-Israeli coexistence, diplomacy and more, since it works in collaboration with many other providers. Masa also offers financial aid to interns.

Israel Way – offers internship tracks in Tel Aviv and the surrounding area in various fields, such as: journalism, arts, education, finances and hi-tech.

Israel Government Fellows – is a project initiated by Menachem Begin Heritage Center; internships are offered positions in government offices and diplomatic organizations. Participants of the program will attend Hebrew classes and lectures regarding Israel studies, field trips and more.

Young Judea – offers internships in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The fields of work are varied – from arts and design to business and law, environmental and sustainable energy to sports and humanitarian work.

Magshimey Herut – offers programs in engineering, theater, sales, politics, education as well as many other areas.