Frequently Asked Questions

INTRODUCTION TO III INTERNSHIP [top]

Q. Why internship experience is so important?
A. Internship provides many benefits to your academic and professional career. In today's competitive job market, it is essential to have a relevant professional experience. Internship gives you the chance to explore your desired potential career and allows you to gain valuable experience working in a real-world professional environment. As a result, you will be better prepared to make decisions about your professional career goals.

Q. What is the III internship usual duration? A. Duration of our internships varies usually between two and six months. Q. Can I extend duration of my internships than it was originally agreed? A. It is possible, but not guaranteed. You can inquiry about extending your internship at the end of the initial program. The final decision will be made then based on mutual agreement. Q. What are the start/end dates? A. The positions are open all year round, so you can apply anytime during the whole year.

Q. What are the program requirements?
A. In order to join our program you need to:

• Possess proper visa status (B, F, H or J) or US citizenship. Learn more...
• Provide a verifiable evidence of proper medical/accident insurance. Learn more...
• Follow in proper and timely manner all instruction provided to you by our officer.
• Arrive to Ft. Myers or LaBelle, Florida, USA. Learn more...

Q. What are the benefits of III internship program?
A. III internship program provides an opportunity to integrate theory and practice in a variety of settings. It affords access to the unique concentration of human and organizational resources of the Florida region. Dealing with an entirely new environment and learning to rely on your personal resources, you will have a chance to grow socially, intellectually and professionally. Besides this personal growth, you will also gain professional experience, acquire valuable job contacts, meet new (potentially life-long) friends and travel to one of the most attractive areas of the USA.

Q. Why should I consider the III internship? A. So many reasons…not enough space here for listing all of them. Mainly, you will: Test the job waters in your field of studies and develop strong professional skills Gain exposure to real-world problems and issues not found in textbooks Get experience that will be invaluable to you when you will seek full-time employment Increase your productivity and personal and professional independence Improve team work/interactions skills Learn about local political and governmental system, democracy, American culture and living standards Establish professional contacts and increase future marketability Strengthen your resume Get a good Letter of recommendation Improve your knowledge of English

Q. What am I expected to know when I begin the internship?
A. We do not expect you to know everything. We will train you on how to perform project tasks based on our procedures. We will guide you through the internship. You will be dealing with multiple activities related to your field of study. You must be active in pursuing knowledge. Always ask if you do not fully understand something.  
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III SPECIALIZATION, MISSION [top]

Q. What kind of training does III offer? A. III offers a variety of training programs for young American and international professionals seeking experience in: Scientific research and environmental monitoring Computer simulation of hydraulic and hydrological systems Design and management of telemetry and database systems Non-profit organization management and community activism Marketing strategies and administrative support Production of project reports and videos Land development and constructions Many other assignments - for full offer click here

Q. What is the company mission?
A. We provide intensive educational training (in agricultural engineering, water management and water quality services), emphasizing the technical content as well as orientation on democratical society values.
 
Q. How big is the organization?
A. III is not the place for you if you seek a traditional organization with generous funding and a formal environment. III is a small organization and office consisting of Dr. Capece, a couple of assistants and several interns being in different stages of theirs training.
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APPLICATION PROCESS [top]

Q. How can I apply for the program? A. If you are interested in being considered for an internship, you need to submit us online application. Q. I would like to know more about application process. How will I know that I am selected for the program? A. After submitting us an online application you will receive email notification that your record was inserted into our database. If selected for your desired assignment, our officer will contact you, lead through the pre-arrival procedures and help you with all issues. Click here to learn more about our standard procedures.

Q. Are there deadlines?
A. Yes and no. Our internship positions are open all year round, so you can apply anytime you want to, simply when it fits the best your schedule and plans. However, once you are accepted and your training program timeframe is set, you will need to follow the planned dates.

Q. Can an undergraduate apply? Can a non-student apply?
A. We accept into the program students/professionals of any educational level. Beside typical college junior, senior or graduate students, we have also hosted high school students just as college professors.

Q. Will I have an interview?
A. No, we do not require a phone or personal interview. We will request you to complete a Questionnaire form, where you will need to describe your internship motivation and goals. After that, we will also exchange with you several emails, where we will clarify all necessary details in order to proceed ahead.

VISA REQUIREMENTS [top]

Q. Can a foreign (non-US) student apply for III internship program? A. Yes, however, you will need to obtain proper visa. In selecting visa option, be sure that you fully understand the costs and procedures involved. Do not request from us to process J-1 application forms if you are unable to pay the costs to the visa sponsoring agency and medical insurance sponsor. Once you select a visa option, follow through the process listed step by step on the official web-site of the local US Embassies. You are responsible for tracking the process and making sure that all forms are completed and submitted. You will need to keep us informed about your choices and your progress in the visa application process. J visas can take as long as 2 months to complete, so we do not want to introduce additional delays as the result of poor communications between us. In some countries (notably Germany, Italy and France) the processing time for J visas can be as short as 4 weeks, if you push the process along. B visas can be usually secured very quickly, from one week to one month.

LOCATION, TRANSPORTATION [top]

Q. What is the location of the program? A. The program is located in LaBelle, in Hendry County, an agricultural region of south Florida. LaBelle is approximately 30 miles east from Fort Myers or 120 miles west from Miami. Click here for detailed maps location. Q. How do I get there? A. Click here to learn more about arrival options.

CURRENT PROJECTS [top]

Q. What are the current projects III is involved at?
A. For a detailed description of our current projects, click here.

INTERNSHIP STRUCTURE [top]
Q. How many hours per week will I get trained? What will be my schedule?
A. Your training hours will be Monday - Friday, from 9 am to 6 pm, with 1 hour lunch break.

Q. What will I do most of my time? How will be my training day organized?
A. Well, it really depends on your project assignments. There is a variety of activities that come up on a daily and weekly basis – training in the office, attending to laboratory tasks, going to field trips, organizing community events and seminars and many others.

In all cases, your supervisor will tailor the program scope according to your background and needs, indicate duties and responsibilities and develop a performance plan, including your training schedule to follow, training elements and performance standards. 

HOUSING [top]

Q. Is the housing provided? Where will I live during my internship? How does the house look like?  A. There is a variety of housing that is used by the III interns. For detailed description, click here. We provide you with a single room residency in furnished house or apartment, with basic domestic equipment (washer/dryer, pots/pans/dishes, towels/sheets, TV), utilities (water, electric, local telephone, etc.), DSL Internet access with network and shared PC in each house. Additional Housing Agreement will be signed with one of our partner organization, providing the housing. Q. What special should I bring to the house? A. Basically nothing. You just need to bring positive attitude, since you will be sharing the housing unit with people from different nations and cultures. However, you will have your single room for yourself.

FORMER TRAINEES [top]

TANGIBLE OUTPUT OF THE TRAINEESHIP [top]

Q. Will I get academic credit for the internship? A. The authority to grant academic credit is entirely determined by each academic department; some absolutely never do, some commonly do; with some it might be negotiable. It will be your responsibility to ask your academic supervisor for an advice in finding out related information. Some students are not in need of credit to graduate and will not want to sign up for credit at all. If you decide to pursue credit-bearing options, we will help you to fill out the appropriate paper work, but you need to inform us about that before your training gets started. Q. Can I include internship experience in my resume? A. Yes, absolutely. Our internship opportunities provide related experience to your career field and will definitely strengthen your resume and attract the potential employer's attention. Usually, employers rate career related experience as a fundamental factor affecting their decision to hire candidates for full-time positions.

SECURITY AND SAFETY ISSUES [top]

Q. Is it safe to go to US?
A. Security issue is defined as a top priority by the US government, so you shouldn't be afraid to come here more than to any other safe country. Moreover, safety is also our organization’s primary concern. Poor safety habits and practices can be a sufficient basis for canceling the internship.

PRICES, FINANCE [top]

Q. Are the positions paid?
A. No, as a non-profit organization we can’t afford to pay you for your training. You won’t receive any direct salary or payments.

Q. How can I finance my training in the USA then? A. It is very important for you consider whether you can afford to come to the USA and support your living and training there, before you apply to us. If you can't afford it, as an option, you can choose to apply for student travel and training support grants that many universities provide. Moreover, students have also a possibility to apply for a student grant program or funds. There exist a number of them, as many universities and schools already work closely together with various student grant organizations. You should ask a person at your university career center that is responsible for your practical training, whether there is such opportunity and pursue that.

Q. Are there any program fees that I have to pay to the company?
A. No. There are no program fees for our interns.   

Q. Do you provide housing? Is the housing paid? How much will it cost me?
A. Yes, we provide a residency in furnished house or apartment, in a single room, with basic domestic equipment (washer/dryer, pots/pans/dishes, towels/sheets, TV), utilities (water, electric, local telephone, etc.), DSL Internet access with network and shared PC in each house. The total housing cost for 2 months internship is $1,500. For the next months of internship housing could be provided for free if all program conditions are obeyed.

Please note that we require from our participants to pay Initial housing reservation deposit of $150 upon their formal program participation acceptance. This deposit is non-refundable and is included into the total sum of housing cost ($1,500).

Q. What kind of insurance do I need? A. Prior to your arrival to our program, you will need to submit to III evidence that you have proper medical and accident insurance. It is your responsibility to verify that the insurance certificate you have bought at your insurance company meets or exceeds the coverage limits set forth by U.S. Federal Regulations... Click here for more detailed information. Q. Will the company cover meals during my internship? A. No, you will be responsible for covering that cost yourself. Q. What is an estimated cost of meals per month? A. It really depends on your demands, "average" intern needs probably $250/month. It is very usual though that intern residents, living together in one house cook together. This decreases the expenses rapidly and you can also get the fun of cooking and eating meals prepared by your roommates from completely different ends of the world.

Q. How much money will cost me the whole experience?
A. As there are several factors to consider, it will be different for each and every applicant. Do the mathematic yourself, based on your costs estimate for these items:

• return flight ticket (Where will you fly from? Do you want open-end flight ticket or fixed dates ticket?)
• health/medical insurance (Do you prefer standard or higher quality insurance?)
• living expenses (How high are your demands?)
• housing expenses (Fixed price $1,500 for 2 month period)

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OTHER QUESTIONS [top]

Q. What is the appropriate dress code required during the program participation?
A. Program participants are allowed to dress in a casual manner, since III is a hands-on training environment, not an aloof office. However, that is not to say that anything goes, so click here for additional information.

Q. Is my English appropriate for the program?
A. That’s a question you should answer honestly yourself. We do not expect you to be a fluent speaker, however you must be able to communicate in written and spoken English.

Q. What are the evaluation standards?
A. Students are evaluated on their overall performance and suggested areas of improvements. Specific areas emphasized are the student’s technical and communication skills, initiative, and the company’s overall impression of the intern. Upon arrival, the intern will be issued an evaluation ledger. The program participant is responsible for getting the form completed each two weeks by the personnel manager. The intern must also initial this form each two weeks. Bi-weekly evaluations will include assessments of progress on technical tasks (first letter grade) and their general conduct as an intern (second letter grade). These descriptive terms can be interpreted as corresponding to the US-style letter grades listed next to each descriptive term. 

Q. Can I get vacation days?
A. Interns are allocated no vacation days in addition to the standard holidays (New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day). Interns may however earn vacation days by accumulating extra project hours on weekends. Each intern is allowed sick days, which are granted on a case by case basis. If vacation days are requested and approved, then arrangements must be made to make up for these absences on subsequent weekend days. Please visit for most complete procedural steps description at our password protected area.

Q. Can I do internship with III more than once?
A. Yes, you can enroll more than once.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION [top]

Q. What if my question isn't answered here?
A. Should you have any other questions not answered here, contact us via e-mail.