2020 has no doubt been a year to remember – for good and for bad. A global pandemic, mixed with changes in global politics, travel, lockdowns, and worldwide pushes to remote work have created an equal amount of challenges and opportunities for the future.
As we reflect on 2020 and the massive impact this year has had on our organization, participants, and partners alike, we wanted to share our “2020 Year in Review” moments and events.
This year, Virtual Internships hosted a record 1,500+ global internship participants representing a variety of nationalities, career interests, and universities. We also grew our network to more than 3,500 host companies spanning more than 70 countries. Check out this introduction to one of our great host company partners!
Virtual Internships was assessed and selected as one of the top 20 EdTech startups ready to address the education sector’s biggest challenges by Jisc and Emerge Education!
Virtual Internships has been listed as one of the top 100 EdTech startups in Europe in the Holon IQ Europe EdTech 100, with the criteria including quality of the product, the expertise of the team, and importance to the market.
As one of the world’s leading startup accelerators, MassChallenge selected Virtual Internships as one of the nine top startups among a list of 42 in their Israel cohort.
Through our collaboration with Kiron, an NGO which supports refugee education opportunities, we awarded 5 Fully-Funded Virtual Internships to students from refugee backgrounds in Jordan and Lebanon.
We also hosted a variety of other fully-funded scholarships, in order to provide opportunities to students whose summer travel programs were canceled due to COVID-19.
“The scholarship means a lot for me, especially since I am struggling in finding a job or internship. I am looking forward to expanding my professional network, meeting new people from different countries, learning from professionals, and gaining experience!” – Ahmad Al Hajj (Scholarship Winner)
Through a grant from David Armstrong, Virtual Internships board member and former President of Broward College, 5 Broward College students were awarded fully-funded internship opportunities this summer!
“I feel very honored to have won this scholarship as it helps me participate in a wonderful opportunity to work in the field I eventually want to have a career in!” – Ariana Martinez (Armstrong Grant Winner)
Virtual Internships has been featured in various press and media outlets including The Telegraph and The Pie News.
CareerBridge, our online global employability curriculum developed with our sister company, was selected as the winner of the 2020 GoAbroad Innovation Award for Innovative Technology.
Our Vietnam office staff recently adopted a stray kitten, named Mô, who is looking forward to the upcoming holidays with his new family! Mô also wants to wish all of our wonderful partners, students, and colleagues a wonderful holiday season and New Year!
Once more, we remain thankful for all our achievements in 2020, and send our best wishes for a safe and healthy 2021!