Connecting Universities Globally with Sprout
By: Hailey Steinberg, Wharton ’24
Sprout Academy – Cape Town, South Africa
My experience in the VIA program thus far has been extremely positive and a rewarding learning experience. I decided to pursue this internship because of the flexibility it affords interns. While working as a business development intern for the Sprout Academy in Cape Town, South Africa through the VIA program, I am also taking a Wharton summer class and working a part-time job at a local DJ and production company. I have greatly improved upon my time management and communication skills by balancing these responsibilities and roles.Â
Before I give you a glimpse into my life as an intern, I want to first explain the mission and goals of the Sprout Academy. The Sprout Academy is a food and beverage learning academy founded in partnership between 4Exchange Internships and Source Foods. The Academy provides curious students with a 10-day innovation course about the food and beverage industry, followed by an internship in the field. Students are matched to different internships through 4Exchange. The Academy has the ability to provide students with a solid foundation and understanding of the industry before they actually begin their work. It is also meant to inform students about recent innovations in the field and possibly spark their own entrepreneurial ideas.Â
A typical day working as a business development intern for the Academy begins with me waking up at around 8:30 AM. I start off the day by making myself a cup of hot tea and checking my email. On days I am planning on working on my internship, I check in with my supervisor via WhatsApp. Sometimes, we also video chat to discuss my recent work and receive feedback. After that, I start working on completing new projects for the company. I am almost always tasked with working on the company’s university database. The university database has a comprehensive list of contacts at different universities that might be interested in the Sprout Academy and subsequent internships in the food and beverage industry within Cape Town. I work on finding more universities in the United States and abroad with dedicated food science programs and study abroad offices and add them to the database. Additionally, I write promotional emails to some of the universities and contact some of them by phone to hear their thoughts on the program. I also work on creating marketing materials for the Academy. I hope to start working on a social media campaign for the company in the near future.Â
The Virtual Internships Abroad (VIA) program provides self-directed and motivated Penn undergraduate students the opportunity to gain a fully funded professional work experience over the summer with a global employer, with the added convenience of working remotely.