AJY Internships
New partnerships with local institutions are enabling qualified American Junior Year students to take part in internships during their first semester at the University of Heidelberg.
Prior to their departure from the U.S., AJY students are informed about internship opportunities. They apply for a particular internship by the start of their semester in Heidelberg. Academic qualifications and relevance to a student’s academic and professional goals are the primary selection criteria. Students are assigned to work with a supervisor at a hosting institution. They spend approximately 8 hours a week at that institution, read relevant articles or books, and write a term paper relating to their internship experience and their academic readings, enabling them to earn 3 semester hours of credit.
The Barmer Insurance Company
AJY interns have a weekly program of instruction and work at the regional center of the Barmer Insurance Company in Mannheim. Barmer is Germany’s largest health insurance provider. Students learn not only about health insurance but also about the broad range of social insurance services available in Germany.
Friedrich-Ebert Memorial Archives
The AJY intern working in the Friedrich-Ebert Gedenkstätte in Heidelberg has the opportunity to do archival research for publications, prepare exhibitions, and participate in public events of this small museum focused on the life and times of Germany’s first Reichtagspräsident, Friedrich Ebert. The focus of the work of the Gedenkstätte is the period of the Weimar Republic—after World War I and prior to the assumption of power by the Nazis in 1933. The Gedenkstätte is located in a building which was Ebert’s birthplace in the Pfaffengasse (near the Untere Strasse).
The German-American Institute in Heidelberg
Most former American Junior Year students will have no trouble remembering the Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut (DAI), formerly known as the Amerika Haus. AJY interns at the DAI assist patrons in the library with questions about the U.S. They also take part in lectures, seminars, discussion groups, and cultural events at the DAI.
The Heidelberg Center for American Studies
An AJY intern works at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies of the University of Heidelberg. The HCA is an interdisciplinary center with graduate coursework in 10 departments of the University of Heidelberg. A select number of students from around the world are chosen to participate in the MA program. The new Ph.D. program is currently being expanded. Prof. Detlef Junker (formerly of the History Department) is Founding Director of the HCA. Thanks to a generous grant from University senator Curt Engelhorn, the HCA now resides in a Stadtpalais next to the Zimmertheater, just west of the AJY Center on the Hauptstrasse.
The Heidelberg City Theater
Two AJY interns work with the Opera Director to prepare productions at the Theater der Stadt Heidelberg. Among the new opera productions are Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Vivaldi’s Motezuma, and Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. One intern works with the Director of Dramaturgy, helping to stage various new dramatic productions at the Theater.
Hölderlin Gymnasium
In the challenging academic environment of the Hölderlin Gymnasium in the Heidelberg Altstadt, an AJY intern works as assistant teacher in several classes. Teaching English language and sharing information about life in the United States requires good preparation and an effective command of teaching methods. Students are rewarded by the insights they gain into the German school system.
Internationale Gesamtschule (IGH)
AJY interns at the International Comprehensive School in Heidelberg work closely with English teachers and give independent instruction to students of various grades. The interns also help out with after-school special interest clubs. This past academic year, one of the AJY interns elected to continue her IGH internship into the second semester.
Tiefburgschule Heidelberg-Handschuhsheim
An AJY intern works with elementary school children in the first to fourth grades, planning activities which assist the pupils in learning the basics of English in a playful pedagogical setting.