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Auckland supports stranded students with online internships

International students affected by coronavirus travel restrictions will be matched to a variety of employers

The University of Auckland has developed a programme of online “micro-internships” to allow international students affected by Covid-19 travel restrictions to take part in business research and data analysis projects.

The students—stranded in China and Auckland—will work with nine employers including global consultancies Deloitte and KPMG, local tourism and transport agencies, a national mental health helpline service, a sea kayaking company and an Auckland chocolate manufacturer.  

Finance minister Grant Robertson recently told local media that international students were unlikely to be allowed to return to NZ campuses in 2020.

The internships will provide work placements for 100 international students enrolled at the university. Forty of the students are stranded in China due to Covid-19 travel bans but are able to take part in the research projects online. There are also 60 students based in Auckland, who will work on the projects during their semester break.

Brett Berquist, director of international education at the university, said the students included undergraduate, masters and PhD candidates.  

“These projects offer something beyond the traditional internship, bringing together international students from a wide variety of disciplinary areas and cultural backgrounds to address specific projects born of the challenges Auckland businesses now face.”

He said the businesses included multinationals and smaller Auckland-based companies who were grappling with the economic and social challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Auckland Sea Kayaks is one of the smaller local businesses involved in the project. Nic Mead, the company’s director, said that NZ’s tourism economy was in crisis and the ideas and perspectives of international students would be valuable.

“We have certainly felt the impacts of Covid-19. The pandemic has given us an opportunity to consider new ways to do business with a focus on the domestic market in the short term,” he said.

The internship programme is being administered by the Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development agency and the recruitment consultancy Talent Solutions.