London Internships with Beyond Academy

I absolutely loved my time in London while interning through Beyond Academy. First, they make sure to find you a perfect match that you can intern with and then help you step by step through the Visa process. They can provide you with housing (optional) and then have many events planed throughout your time in the city. These are optional as well, but it made it so fun to explore and experience the city with other interns. I always felt safe and never felt like I was alone, which was a big plus for me.

Even though the other interns I met during the Beyond Program were lovely, the actual program itself was very poorly organised and very much overpriced for what it was. I have separated the issues I encountered both as part of the internship itself and Beyond academy issues below as there aren’t many reviews for Beyond Academy and I think it’s important for aspiring beyond interns to consider before spending that much money.

Beyond Academy:
The pay over time scheme isn’t actually what you’d think as you end up paying 75% if your programme fee a few weeks before you depart.Myself and a few of the other interns only had interviews with companies a a few weeks before we actually flew out.
During the application process you don’t get to pick from a range of companies a new company is only offered if you reject the one presented to you.
You don’t get much CV or interview help, you just get recommended a website (Novoresume) where they give you a template and you fill in your details
Most of the events that were held for the duration of my internship were very repetitive. The ‘welcome’ day for the new interns that arrived every week included 1 paid drink at Hongdae (already covered by the overpriced program fee you pay). So if you were there for 2-3 months chances are you won’t attend all of the events organised by beyond because they’re the same.
Some of the events were actually awful. One of the planned trips was the Hyundai mall, which I know recently has become more of a touristy attraction but as someone who’s internship company was right by it, it didn’t feel like my £5000+ ($6300) was being used efficiently.
If you don’t attend an event you don’t get your budget allocated for that Beyond Academy trip back. For example most of the interns worked regular office hours 9am-6pm (some until 8pm) so could not attend the event, however they couldn’t have their allocated event budget back (which is covered by the initial £5000 you pay them)
For £5000- I would expect the taxi back to the airport covered as well however this wasn’t.
The SIM card they recommended didn’t arrive until the third week and there was not any help on how I could get mine until the 3rd week which meant getting anywhere in Seoul was very difficult.
The two beyond academy leaders we had were lovely and helped us navigate the city and gave us recommendations as well. However when I had issues with my internship, I wasn’t made aware that I could change my internship if I had experienced issues in my first couple weeks until my 4th week- by then I couldn’t switch as many companies understandably wouldn’t want an intern for 4 weeks.

Internship Beyond Academy found for me:
As for my internship, from the second week on I had already finished all of my projects and told my beyond program leaders about this however was not told that finding a different company was an option. So I spent the next 6 weeks sitting by a desk with no work, despite raising this issue with the company I worked at. Someone at Beyond offered to email the company to ask for more work, however I think the issue is Beyond Academy as a company not researching the companies their interns work at properly.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend Beyond Academy for aspiring interns. It was my first time abroad by myself, as most students who are contemplating on doing one of these internships, However I was disappointed at the lack of the support given in the first week to settle in and the overall poor planning of the whole internship. I would recommend either a different company or even better researching your own accommodation and making a list of places you would like to see beforehand because myself and the majority of the other interns did not see where the thousands of pounds/ dollars we were spending were going to.

I believe I could’ve seen more of Korea with the money I gave Beyond Academy if I had organised my finances myself or picked a more reputable and affordable company.

When I was first looking at the program, I was planning on going to Berlin. Due to COVID the Berlin program was cancelled, but I was offered to go to London instead. At first I was a little apprehensive because I had been to London many times in the past. This quickly changed due to Beyond academy’s great support team that offered a great internship, fun events, and many opportunities to meet other people. I feel like I was able to grow professionally and personally during this program. The support team encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone, which gave me the opportunity to make new friends and great memories. I am very glad I decided to do the beyond academy London program and I only wish I was there longer.

My two months of internship were indeed a great time. It really helped me in learning and experiencing so many things, especially in my working discipline. When it comes to the fun part I loved all the events which were organized by Beyond. I enjoyed meeting new interns and it's so nice to have them connected. Right after my internship I got a job offer from another company, I believe, a great part of this goes to the internship I did through Beyond and I am happy to be called as a Beyonder. Such a memorable experience.

My London internship was a memory I will hold in my heart forever. I was lucky enough to already have ties to the UK before attending this internship, therefore my experience is a bit different. I was already traveling beforehand, and arranged my own transport although Beyond does offer this for you. There was communication beforehand, but I would have preferred a bit more hands on! My first accommodation was quite bad - but I reached out to Beyond and they were so kind enough to switch me into a lovely one with many people my age, and it meant the world to me that they heard my concerns and switched me as soon as they could - even offering me free transport to and from the old one. The events they organized were really fun, and the calendar was always there for you to plan ahead of time. They took into consideration what we liked and incorporated it into the calendar, and there was no pressure to attend. I prefer to do a lot alone, and they had no problem with my busy schedule and I showed up when I could - which was super nice for us to not have any pressure or feel bad if we missed. At the beginning I was one of two interns which I found a bit tough but just my luck and not Beyonds doing! But as I stayed longer more people joined. I got to meet people, go for a few nice days out, and the calendar always had something on every week. I feel I got to see the most of London, really feel like a local and enjoy it, whilst doing an internship as well. I had a few hiccups in my internship, but this was mostly due to my company and not the fault of Beyonds. Anyhow, I got to learn a lot in my field and make some valuable connections I can take with me into my future career. The Beyond Academy alumni and staff are such kind people, and really cate about making sure you have a great time and are comfortable. The warm welcome and kindness they showed me is something I will never forget, and made it a whole lot easier to transition to living in a new country. Thank you Beyond!

The Beyond Academy London Internship Program has been so far the best experience in my life! Could not expected better! The location of the accommodation was perfect: a very central and dynamic area! At the beginning I had a little problem with my accommodation but the Beyond Academy team has been very responsive. In only few days I was in a better accommodation in the same building. The whole team is very caring and in case of a problem, they will fix it in a very short time. My internship was very interesting and in a very great area also. The trips organized by Beyond were well chosen; there were different styles of trips: cultural, food, drinks, excursions, visits of London monuments... For all tastes!
Thank you Beyond for this experience, I am grateful to you!

I really enjoyed my experience and the support was amazing! I couldn’t recommend it more!
It’s a great experience for both career building and gaining experience but it’s also very sociable and easy to make friends. Location wise accommodation was great and easy to navigate and we had weekly events which was really nice!
I would highly suggest beyond academy for anyone and the workshops on offer also provide invaluable help with career building and working on your confidence and public speaking.

I approached Beyond Academy to join their London internship program. The overall process, from admission to placement, was very smooth, and the staff at Beyond Academy was very helpful in every step of the process. Even before the role-matching process began, I had a meaningful conversation with the program manager where I was able to express my needs and outline goals for the internship. Then the role matching team looked at many different opportunities for me and came up with something that really matched my interests and profile. I found that Beyond Academy understands the fact that many students and young professionals do internships so they can learn more. They'll do their best to find you an internship where you will not only add experience to your CV, but where you will also meet your learning objectives. Apart from that, they are always happy to support their candidates and hear their concerns. Whenever I had any questions, everyone was happy to talk to me at a moment's notice; I felt cared for. The staff at BA are genuine and honest people who really want to see their candidates succeed. That for me is very important and for this reason, I will recommend them to anyone who is looking to gain work experience overseas. You'll be in good hands!