Many students come to Sijal not just with linguistic goals, but also with goals for their own academic and professional development. Their time in Jordan is both an opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the language and culture, as well as to try their hand at working in different types of organizations. An internship or volunteer position can help forge deeper relationships with Jordanians, establish connections for future work opportunities, provide language practice, and give students hands-on experience within their desired professional field. Many of our students undertake internships while completing their Arabic courses with us.
At Sijal, we view volunteering opportunities and internships as an integral part of your learning process and time in Jordan. Therefore, we strive to facilitate connections to the best of our abilities, and are constantly working to expand our networks and the types of opportunities available to students.
Before the start of term, students in our core program are introduced to the organizations that regularly consider internship applicants. The students are also welcome to ask Sijal’s staff to connect them with the organization of their interest. To date, we have had students complete internships or volunteer opportunities at local and international organizations in fields related to development, mass media, environmental issues, heritage, and many more.
Additionally, Sijal also offers a Supervised Internship Program, where students undertake internships full time at the organization of their choice while learning Arabic part time at the Sijal Institute. In this program, Sijal will coordinate with the organizations and place students at one of their desired locations. Host organizations will be paid a stipend to ensure both accountability and equitable compensation for their work in supervising. For more information, please visit the following link.
Ultimately, internships and volunteer positions are an agreement between the employer and the student. Some organizations have competitive internships and quite strict stipulations and conditions, while others might be more welcoming of students regardless of their experience or time constraints. Of course, Sijal cannot promise any student their desired internship; that responsibility logically falls on the student, their background and their performance when applying to the organization. However, Sijal stands ready to facilitate connections to the best of our abilities and to furnish students with the resources they need to succeed both in and out of the classroom.