GRIP, Internships Abroad Learning Through a Journalistic Lens

NoCamels.com - Herzliya, Israel

For the past two weeks, I have been working as an intern for NoCamels.com, a news website covering innovation and technology from Israel. So far, my task focuses on writing weekly news features and daily news briefs on developments in the Israeli technology, medical, and business fields. News features allow me to interview professionals and report on their experiences with innovations, and news briefs include shorter pieces that cover updates from the Israeli startup community.

Having previously traveled to Israel in 2019, I applied to this GRIP program hoping to “re-visit” the region to gain more insights into the area’s culture from a journalistic perspective. NoCamels’ dedication to using journalism to promote innovative solutions to pressing issues across boundaries resonated with me deeply, and I was excited to embark on this virtual internship.

The most challenging aspect would be the process of onboarding and adjusting to the rhythm of my internship. Due to time zone differences, it was difficult to coordinate real-time meetings and work simultaneously as my co-worker and other staff members. Thankfully, I have a flexible schedule very much adjusted to my own pace and my supervisors have been very flexible and understanding when it comes to scheduling difficulties.

I have really enjoyed the opportunities to engage in conversations with locals during the internship as they offer me unique narratives that help frame my understanding of the region. In the first week, I completed a news feature reporting on an agreement to establish a joint water research institute between Israel and the UAE. After referencing NoCamels’ past articles related to the agreement and conducting some background research, I reached out to a professor from Tel Aviv University contributing to the collaboration and interviewed him on the details of this agreement. During the interview, I not only learned more about his first-hand experience working with both sides of the agreement but I was also intrigued by his account of living through the pandemic as an academic in Israel. Through some back-and-forth revisions of the draft, the article was then published.

I truly value the personal connections that I have made by interacting with the locals, and I am looking forward to conversing with more people in the course of the internship.  In the next few weeks, I will continue working actively to produce stories covering innovations from Israel while building upon my knowledge of the region from a journalistic lens.