Name: Jessica Silver
Class Year: 2026
Major: Neuroscience
Minor: Health Studies
 
Internship Organization:  Health Hub Vienna
Internship Title:   IES Abroad Psychology
Location:  Vienna, Austria
 
What’s happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!  

This summer I had the opportunity to intern at Health Hub Vienna. This organization works as a hub for startups, a place to share ideas for products to be integrated into the international healthcare market. As an intern, I was given tasks to research specific products and individuals important to this process, who are part of the up-and-coming startups. Throughout my internship I was also able to network with the founders of these startups, and to hear their pitches describing the initial product details. Overall, there was a great emphasis placed on learning more about the international healthcare system from a broader view, and to know how healthcare products transition from basic ideas to becoming fully integrated into the market.

Why did you apply for this internship? 

I am extremely passionate about the healthcare system, and I want to pursue a career within healthcare in the future. On the other hand, I have always wanted to experience living internationally, however being a current premedical student, I do not have space in my undergraduate years to complete a semester abroad. Spending a summer abroad studying something related to the healthcare system perfectly balanced these two passions, while not taking space from my busy semester schedules. As I researched possible options, the IES Psychology Program in Vienna related the most to my interests, and so I made it happen. I ended up having the most amazing experience during my eight weeks abroad, and I would suggest that everyone pursue something similar during their undergraduate years.

Was there anything special about how you found this internship?  

I found this internship after attending a study abroad informational fair on Bryn Mawr’s campus, and looking specifically for summer opportunities.
 
What has been your favorite part of this internship?  

My favorite part of this internship was the incredible work-life balance present in the Vienna culture, and the ability to travel easily on any given weekend. From the first day of my internship, my colleagues mentioned how after the end of work hours, nobody does work for the remainder of the day. This gave me an opportunity to explore the city after the end of a work day, using the convenient public transportation. Then, on the weekends I would travel with some friends to a nearby city or even country, to spend some time exploring places I had never previously visited.     

What is something you have learned from your internship that you didn’t expect? 

This summer, I learned how to utilize AI technology in a variety of contexts, which was unexpected. The company that I interned with uses AI for all preliminary research, and so I was introduced to a new platform and utilized it for my tasks throughout the summer. While the platform organized all the information in a very easy-to-understand format, it felt strange to use it so casually when completing my tasks. 

Working remotely for the first time? What has that experience been like for you? 

My internship was hybrid, and so generally two days of the week were spent in the office, while the other two were remote. While I enjoyed having the flexible freedom of working where I wanted, personal interaction is very important to me, and so I felt as though the remote days impacted my ability to get to know my coworkers during my internship. 

Can you talk about the skills you learned and why they are important to you? 

This summer, I quickly learned how to be very independent, as I was living in a new place, in a completely new country than I had grown up in. This summer was a big learning experience for me, with a variety of learning curves, most of which were good. Learning how to live fully on my own, without parents or a cafeteria to rely on, combined with planning my own trips and adventures, provided me with an incredible experience this summer. More specifically relating to my internship, I learned how to integrate myself into a new culture, with methods of communication and teamwork different than I am used to in the US. I continued learning every day, and felt as though I ended the summer with a better grasp of a new culture and way of living.  

What has been the biggest challenge you have faced at your internship? 

The biggest challenge I had during my internship was the language barrier that was present. Although most of my colleagues spoke some level of English, they were much better at German, and sometimes reverted to it when in a group setting, leading to me being unable to understand what they were saying in meetings. I handled this challenge by continuing to request translations in English when they were finished, or reminding them that I do not know what is being said. When this was requested, they were very responsive and translated to English so that I could understand everything and be a part of the conversation. 

Can you give us three adjectives and three nouns that describe your internship experience?
 
Adjectives: Informative, spectacular, transformative  

Nouns: Friendship, travel, discovery

What is most rewarding about your internship?  

Although the tasks that I was assigned to complete during my internship were not the most interesting to me personally, it was rewarding to notice how much of a difference they made to the progress being made in my company. This applied most clearly to the preparation being done for the big networking event hosted by my company, for which they used my prepared lists to reach out to healthcare organizations personally, and then prepared a keynote speech. In addition to the work being done in my internship, it was rewarding to have been given the chance to visit so many new places, and explore the world in the two months I was living in Vienna.

Was this internship what you expected it to be?

The internship this summer, and living in Vienna, was a better experience than I ever could have dreamed of. Without a second thought I would pursue a similar experience again in the future, and I would encourage everyone else to experience something of this nature at some point in their lives.