Internship Opportunities in Southeast Asia!

Southeast Asia’s popularity comes from its welcoming communities and beautiful natural environments. Beyond being a tourist, you can gain real‑world experience and contribute to local development by interning across the region. 

This guide highlights some of the most exciting programs offered by reputable organizations. Each internship promises hands‑on experience, cultural immersion, and the chance to develop job‑ready skills while making a positive impact.

Bali, Indonesia – Career‑Focused Internships with Intern Abroad HQ

Intern Abroad HQ offers more than a dozen internships based in Bali. Programs include accommodation, local orientation, and dedicated supervision. Interns join local organizations to build practical skills while contributing to Balinese communities.

Civil Engineering

Students enrolled in civil engineering or related degrees who know AutoCAD can join a civil engineering internship. Interns help gather data, prepare calculations, analyse environmental impacts, and produce concept drawings. They also get exposure to budgeting, permit applications, and job‑site investigations. 

Architecture and civil engineering students skilled in AutoCAD or Revit help draft building concepts, structural details, and budgets while learning project‑management skills.

Education & Teaching

Education majors and English‑speaking volunteers can support teaching in public and private schools. Interns assist with lesson planning, classroom management, and small‑group tutoring for at least four weeks. 

Placements encourage creativity; interns may design art projects, sports activities, or literacy exercises that engage diverse learners.

In Bali’s Social & Community Development internship, students in education, psychology, or international relations plan educational programs, fundraising campaigns, and skills workshops, often for NGOs or community centres.

Event Management

Event‑management and hospitality students spend 8 to 24 weeks working alongside Bali’s vibrant events industry. Typical projects include planning and promoting corporate gatherings, weddings, and cultural festivals. 

Interns assist with budgets, marketing, logistics, and live event operations — ideal for those seeking experience in project management.

Fashion & Textiles

This placement is perfect for fashion and textile students with a portfolio. Interns join Balinese designers to create swimwear, resort wear, or accessories, learning pattern making and fabric sourcing while assisting with social‑media marketing.

Tourism & Hospitality Management

Hotel‑management or tourism students work across departments — reception, reservations, housekeeping, and food service — gaining a broad view of hotel operations. Placements expose interns to guest relations, reservation systems, and staff management.

International Trade & Business

International business students analyse market feasibility and help local companies reach global audiences. Responsibilities range from market research and partnership development to supply‑chain logistics. 

Students also learn how to navigate Indonesian regulations and cultural practices when trading abroad.

Media & Communications

Communications, marketing, and design majors can spend 4 to 24 weeks developing media strategies, researching target markets, copywriting, and designing digital content. 

Portfolios are bolstered with real campaigns and cross‑cultural communication experience.

Health‑related Placements

• Nursing – Nursing students with at least one year of study observe patient rounds, assist with basic care, and accompany mobile clinics. Internships focus on developing critical thinking and cross‑cultural healthcare skills.
• Food Science & Technology – Interns with an academic background in food technology support manufacturing and process management, food safety research, and packaging innovation projects.

Health and Therapy Internships

Projects Abroad runs a suite of healthcare internships across Vietnam and Cambodia, allowing students to gain clinical experience while serving vulnerable communities.

Speech Therapy

In Hanoi, Vietnam, interns work alongside local therapists to run sessions for children with speech and language disorders. They assist with assessments, track progress in a global database, and train staff in basic techniques. Placements include rehabilitation centres and NGOs.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia, offers a similar program where interns help children with articulation disorders, teach basic skills, and develop affordable therapy tools like bubbles and tongue depressors. Placements are based in Phnom Penh’s care centres.

Physical & Occupational Therapy

• Philippines – Physical‑therapy interns provide treatments at a free rehabilitation centre, write case notes, and develop home‑exercise plans. Occupational‑therapy interns assess motor‑skill issues and implement hydrotherapy or play therapy for children.
• Vietnam – Qualified interns assist therapists treating children with autism, Down syndrome, and cerebral palsy; they also teach vocational skills like weaving and cooking.
• Cambodia – Physical‑therapy interns help treat patients with cerebral palsy and epilepsy, design low‑cost treatment plans, and train staff. Occupation‑therapy interns work in Phnom Penh’s rehab centres and create community‑based treatment plans.

Nursing & Medicine

• Nursing & Public Health – For those interested in community health, the Public Health Internship offers weekly start dates, a minimum one‑week duration, and tasks such as home visits, health screenings, and teaching hygiene workshops. Interns support physiotherapists and contribute data to a global health database.
• Nursing Internship in Vietnam – Nursing students shadow hospital nurses, prepare equipment for surgery, and assist with post‑operative care. The internship includes monthly workshops on Vietnamese healthcare.
• Medicine Internship in the Philippines – Interns rotate through departments at provincial hospitals and rural clinics, assisting with diagnostics, health education, and outreach camps. 
• Medicine Internship in Vietnam – Students shadow doctors in departments such as surgery, pediatrics, and oncology, learn traditional Vietnamese medicine, and participate in monthly workshops.
• Public Health Internship, Cambodia – Participants screen villagers for diseases, conduct health checks for children, and teach nutrition and hygiene. They support physiotherapists in rehab centres and record data for the Global Impact Database.

Dentistry Internship in Vietnam

This program welcomes dental students to shadow dentists in Hanoi. Interns observe consultations, sterilise equipment, and assist with outreach programs that teach oral hygiene, with time set aside for community education.

Long‑term goals include improving specialised dental care and hygiene standards in rural areas.

Rural Medical Internship – Leyte, Philippines

In Tacloban, volunteers assist doctors and nurses in rural health clinics. Tasks include recording patient vitals, obtaining medical histories, dressing wounds, administering inoculations, and conducting medical screens. Participants also shadow doctors during minor surgeries and help deliver public-health seminars. Check out the Rural Medical Internship in Tacloban, too!   

Thailand Medical Elective

Volunteering Solutions’ Med Trips’ Medical Elective in Chiang Mai allows pre‑med and nursing students to shadow Thai doctors in private hospitals and gain exposure to modern healthcare.

Highlights include rotating through multiple departments, learning from local professionals, and sharing housing with other interns in central Chiang Mai.

Teaching Internship – Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

This 4‑week teaching internship places volunteers at a tourism college in Ho Chi Minh City. Interns teach English to students aged 14 to 25 who are studying restaurant management, hotel operations, and tour guiding. 

Responsibilities include lesson planning, creating interactive games, and designing educational materials. Participants also organise extracurricular clubs and language “playgrounds” and help students refine their vocabulary, pronunciation, and confidence. Accommodation is on a university campus and includes three meals per day.

Micro‑Finance Internship, Cambodia

Interns work with a Phnom Penh NGO to interview potential loan recipients, administer zero‑interest loans, and teach workshops on accounting, customer service, and marketing. The aim is to help food sellers, tailors, and salon owners achieve financial independence.

Conservation Internships

Marine Conservation Internship – Bali

GVI’s Bali program runs 2 to 12 weeks with around 40 hours of fieldwork per week. Interns monitor coral reefs and seagrass meadows, assist with coral transplantation, and support marine conservation initiatives.

Accommodation in the coastal village of Amed includes private or shared rooms with en‑suite facilities, a swimming pool, and views of Mount Agung.

Coastal Conservation Internship – Ao Nang, Thailand

Based in Krabi Province, this internship immerses participants in species identification and data collection across beaches, limestone cliffs, and mangrove forests. Interns assist with coral-reef restoration, plastic-pollution removal, seagrass surveys, and coastal mapping using drones. 

No diving certification is required — snorkelling surveys and data analysis opportunities let interns contribute to research while working toward scuba qualifications.

Gibbon Conservation Internship – Chiang Mai, Thailand

In the mountains of Chiang Mai, interns track endangered gibbons and record data on their habitat use, group size, and behaviour. Participants may also conduct wildlife research on plants, mammals, and reptiles or join elephant‑conservation projects. 

Dugong, Turtle, Habitat & Coastal Conservation Internship – Thailand

This internship is based in Trang Province. Interns conduct snorkel surveys to monitor dugongs and sea turtles and map key habitats using snorkelling and drone technology. They also support mangrove and coral‑reef restoration, organise beach cleanups, and deliver environmental education sessions. 

Expert mentors provide training in species identification, habitat monitoring, and community engagement to prepare interns for careers in marine conservation.

Elephant Conservation Internship – Chiang Mai, Thailand

Participants live with the Karen hill‑tribe communities and assist with monitoring semi‑wild elephants that have been retired from the tourism industry. They record behavioural data, help reintegrate elephants into the forest, and teach English to local schoolchildren and mahouts. The program also promotes community development by helping families develop alternative livelihoods.

So – Why Intern in Southeast Asia?

Participating in an internship in Southeast Asia offers more than just a résumé boost. Across Bali, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines, you’ll develop practical skills, cross‑cultural understanding, and a sense of global citizenship. Many programs are flexible, starting on a weekly or monthly basis, and include accommodation, meals, and local support. By choosing a program that aligns with your academic path — from engineering or fashion to speech therapy or marine conservation — you’ll gain experience that directly supports your career goals while leaving a positive footprint in the communities you serve.

Ready to embark on an unforgettable journey? Click through to the programs that resonate with you and take the first step toward interning in Southeast Asia!