• By Aniket Singh (Apple Inc, IIT Madras, Author of “Intern Abroad This Summer”)

You have just received the good news that the professor is willing to take you in – Congrats! A life-changing experience awaits you. However, while you bask in the happiness of getting the internship, you will need to think practically as well. With the cost of visa, air tickets, insurance, and living costs, foreign internships can be expensive.  But, you do not need to pay for everything out of your own pockets. Here is how you can find funding for your internship:

Approach your professor/internship employer: Now is the time to be forthright and ask for a financial cover, if the acceptance mail does not explicitly mention the same. If you are able to secure funding, you may be covered for your travel, visa, accommodation – making your internship that much more feasible.

The University of Southern California, The Smithsonian Institution Postdoctoral Researcher Fellowship programme, University of Lausanne, etc offer stipends to interns. A number of companies including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc, provide paid internship programmes which will cover most of your living expenses there.

University grants: Check with your university if they provide grants for foreign internships. Some universities have grants set aside for research work.

Scholarships: There are a few organisations which offer grants for interns:

• The S.N Bose Scholars Programme: A partnership between Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) and WINStep Forward, USA, the programme offers scholarships for 50 Indian and US students to conduct to take up summer internships at partner Universities in the U.S. for a period of 10-12 weeks. The scholarship includes a stipend of USD 2000, health insurance and airfare.
• The India-Korea Research Internship: The DST and National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) have also jointly set up scholarships for internships for scientists and researchers from the two countries. The scholarship will include research expenses, air-fare, living expenses and local travel.
  DAAD: The German Academic Exchange Service offers internship scholarships to for higher education and research institutes in Germany: http://www.daaddelhi.org/en/14498/;
• Campus France’s Charpak Scholarship program: Designed for Engineering, Science and Economics students at both the Bachelor’s and Master’s levels, Campus France’s Charpak Scholarship programme is aimed at those students who wish to pursue their internship at French Institutions during their academic break (May to July). The internship offers a monthly stipend of Eur 310, free student visa, medical insurance coverage and assistance to find affordable student accommodation.
• The Ravi Sankaran Organization: The organization offers scholarships for internships of 6 weeks to 1 year with a university research group, NGO, government agency, or other organisation, known for its work in conservation science in a country other than India:

Part-time work: While your internship may take up most of your time, you can also earn extra money through taking up a part-time work. This is also a great way of learning more about the local culture, language and their work environment. Just make sure that it does not hamper your internship work.

Approach alumni: If you have an alumni association which is active in your college, try approaching them to see if someone can help you out.

Crowd funding: In case you are finding it difficult to come up with the required resources, you can also check the numerous crowdfunding websites that are available. If you are able to convince people to donate to your cause (which in this case is your internship), you may be able to gather some funds to finance aspects such as your travel and visa. Wishberry (creative), Crowdera, Impactguru, ketto, are some sites you can try.

About the author:

Aniket Singh works for Apple Inc. in California, United States. He is also the author of “Intern Abroad This Summer”.

Aniket holds a BTech degree in Electrical Engineering from the IIT, Madras, Chennai, and a Master’s degree in Wireless Systems from Politecnico Di Torino in Torino, Italy. He has interned at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom and Ecole Polytechnic Federale de Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland during this studies.

Visit him at www.aniketsingh.com

Check out his book at www.internabroadthissummer.com