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Kyoto Program Summer Internships

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Stanford Program in Kyoto student doing internship at infield design inc. in Japan
Chanel Kim making her final presentation in front of her mentors and colleagues at infield design inc. © Photographer Junichi Shibuya and infield design inc.

Introduction

The BOSP Stanford Program in Kyoto combines a Spring quarter of academic study in Kyoto with the possibility of a subsequent 10-week fully-funded summer internship, frequently located elsewhere in Japan. Stanford Program in Kyoto internships are an incredible opportunity for students to apply the cultural lessons they have learned in the academic program, to learn to live independently in Japan, to learn new technical skills, to gain distinctive and valuable work experience, as well as to further improve their cross-cultural communication skills. Some students also engage in their internships as a way of testing the waters before potentially embarking on a career in a certain sector, or even a career in Japan.

In recent years, students interning through the Stanford Kyoto Program have:

  • written software to optimize production processes at a Japanese robotics firm
  • worked on arts projects with a charitable NGO for low income and homeless people
  • programmed medical robots to self-navigate down hospital hallways in an industrial robotics company
  • worked with a leading indie game developer on a major new console title
  • researched Japanese equities trading strategies at a bulge bracket investment bank
  • experienced working life in a leading clothes fashion brand
  • improved the efficiency of algorithms used in medical ultrasound devices in a global technology firm
  • worked on peace initiatives with a prefectural government
  • researched cures for Alzheimer’s disease at a national university
  • researched Asian economies for a major economics think tank

...among many others!

We have also sourced internships for students with highly specialized interests, including working in a traditional taiko drum company, and even on an organic farm.

For specific examples of what students have done, please visit Recent Student Experiences.