On September 27, President of the Republic of Poland Bronisław Komorowski met with young Poles living in the United States, representatives of the Polish-American Chambers of Commerce and Polish companies active in the U.S. market. The meeting took place at the Polish Consulate General in New York and was also attended by students participating in the 2nd edition of Polish-American Internship Initiative and representatives of renown American companies that offer the internships.
Speaking of young Poles, the President emphasized that they are geared to “personal career and personal development but at the same time, they don’t forget about Polish affairs.”
President Komorowski’s visit to New York was an occasion to launch the third edition of the Polish-American Internship Initiative – an undertaking which enables outstanding Polish students to participate in summer internships at leading American corporations. These companies join a group of institutions which, by sharing their knowledge and experience, teach young people how to benefit from global and culturally diversified world. The recognition of this initiative was communicated in a joint statement of President Bronisław Komorowski and President Barack Obama at the White House in December 2010.
The U.S. internships are offered primarily to participants in the Polish-American Freedom Foundation’s two programs: scholarship holders of the “Bridge Scholarships” Program and university students of the “Student Volunteers” Program. The Initiative presents the opportunity to apply for a paid 2-3 month-long internship at American companies, traveling expenses are covered as well as assistance in obtaining a visa is provided. The internship is available for fulltime students of the second year and above at Polish universities, with fluent command of English, achieving the highest academic marks, who have already shown outstanding abilities and commitment.
In 2011, 22 students completed internships at four U.S. companies: GE Hitachi, Pittsburgh Glass Works LLC, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, and Westinghouse Electric Company. Another group of 22 Polish students travelled to the USA this year. Their hosting companies included Chevron North America, General Electric, Hitachi, Pittsburgh Glass Works LLC, Raytheon BBN Technologies, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, and Westinghouse Electric Company.
The Polish-American Freedom Foundation is the founder and organizer of this initiative in cooperation with the U.S. Embassy in Poland and companies offering the internships. The Educational Enterprise Foundation is the manager of the Program.
Currently the companies interested in participating in the Program in the 2012/2013 academic year can apply. The recruitment process for the inters will start in November.
