Internship Placement

In the modern business environment, work experience forms an integral part of every successful curriculum vitae and serves as proof of your flexibility, tolerance and open-mindedness. Use the chance to improve your Spanish skills, it will be a great advantage in your work life and will help you reach a new stage in your career!

We arrange internships in many areas in Costa Rica . You can benefit from our long-standing cooperation with numerous native and international companies. It is possible to start your internship in Costa Rica every Monday, the duration of your internship depends on your employer.

The following fields are popular for internships:

• Business (e.g. marketing, distribution, logistics,.)
• Tourism (e.g. in a hotel, in, with a tour operator, in a travel agency,.)
• Medicine (e.g. patient care or clinical traineeship in different medical departments,.)
• Law (e.g. in a lawyer's office, legal department,.)
• Engineering (e.g. roadwork , infrastructure,.)
• Architecture (e.g. in a architect's office)

You want an internship in another field? No problem, just contact us by phone (+49-(0)221-29948030) or by e-mail: info@academia-columbus.com

Application and Internship Placement

To arrange your internship, please send us an informal letter of motivation, in which you describe your motivation for and the planned length of your internship. In addition, we also need your curriculum vitae in Spanish including information about your Spanish knowledge.

After receiving your application, we start searching for a suitable internship placement with one of our partner firms in Costa Rica .

The best date for your application depends on the duration and the field of your internship, and should vary between two and four months before the departure date. Applications on shorter notice are also possible, but the options might be limited in those cases.

Conditions for a successful arrangement of an internship are good abilities to speak and write Spanish and also a minimum duration of eight weeks. Advantageous for an arrangement in San José and Costa Rica are practical experience in the chosen field, a good knowledge of Spanish, a university career and a long duration of the internship.

Knowledge of Spanish

If your Spanish knowledge is advanced, you can brush up on your language skills in our language school in San José . Before your Internship abroad you should take a language course with a minimum duration of 4 weeks as preparation for your new environment. Our special courses for Business or Medical Spanish, for example, serve as an ideal preparation for your trip. If you are an absolute beginner, you should study for a minimum of 8 weeks.

Special Courses

Special Courses prepare you for your internship in Cost Rica with a very focused and intensive Special Course programme in our language school in San José . These language courses are always in the form of individual training and especially designed for your internship aboard, this training is the best way to prepare for your internship.

Accommodation during your internship

Many of the participants of our internship programme live with a host family Our host families live about 10 to 25 minutes walking distance on average from the language school in San José . The Host families offer single rooms, half or full board and laundry service. In addition, you have an excellent opportunity to use and to increase your Spanish skills, and through the contact with native speakers you can learn a lot about the culture of Costa Rica . The result of this is often a long-term friendship.

Every student is welcome to stay with a friend together in the same host family. If you have any special dietary requirements or allergies, please inform when registering for your internship and the host family will prepare themselves accordingly.

At the beginning of your stay aboard we will arrange your transfer from the airport to the accommodation in San José .

Contact person during the internship

In addition to the contact person in your firm the team in the language school in San José is available for any questions you have.

How to apply for an internship in Costa Rica

• First of all you send us the cover letter in Spanish with your application. This cover letter should include the duration (minimum 8 weeks) and your personal motivation. In addition we need your curriculum vitae in Spanish. If you don't speak any Spanish at the beginning, you can send us the documents in English or German.
• We get in contact with our partners for your internship in Costa Rica and arrange accommodation for you if desired.
• You fly to San José and are transferred to your accommodation for free.
• If you don't speak any Spanish, you have to study for at least 8 weeks in a language course in our language school in San José as a preparation for your internship. If you already have Spanish skills you should take a preparatory 4 week language course. In this case, we recommend our special language course as the best preparation for your internship.
• You start your internship, not only to improve your Spanish, but also to experience the culture and the working life in Costa Rica .