CIEE and University of California San Diego Partner to Empower the Next Generation of Innovators
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University of California San Diego and CIEE are expanding access to global opportunities for UC San Diego students through the Future Innovators Global Internship Program, which provides Pell-eligible, first year students a fully funded eight-week summer internship in one of four CIEE locations: Berlin, Cape Town, London, or Singapore.
The program, which is supported by a CIEE Leading Change in Study Abroad Grant, demonstrates CIEE and UC San Diego’s shared institutional commitment to fundamentally transform who gets to go abroad and what they achieve while there. The goal is for 180 UC San Diego students to participate in a global internship within the next four years. Students from the inaugural cohort gathered on October 28 to talk about how the opportunity has enhanced their career plans.
UC San Diego is one of four institutions nationwide selected as partners in CIEE's Pledge to Lead Change in Study Abroad Initiative, alongside Arizona State University, Borough of Manhattan Community College, and Northeastern University. Each institution matched CIEE’s $1 million investment, creating a combined $8 million fund to expand student access to global experiences and measure how study abroad can strengthen enrollment, retention, and career outcomes.
“UC San Diego believes in the transformative power of international education. The Future Innovators program, which offers students in their first year the opportunity to engage in an entrepreneurship course and then a global internship with CIEE, is life changing,” shared Tamara Cunningham, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Global Initiatives at UC San Diego. “We’re grateful to our Chancellor, Pradeep Khosla who met the match for the Pledge to Lead Change grant and is a true champion of this work.”
The Future Innovators Global Internship Program is open to Pell-eligible incoming students and contributes to UC San Diego’s goal of facilitating transformational, global engagement opportunities across its student body. The inaugural cohort of students came from diverse backgrounds and majors including economics, biology, mechanical engineering, and pre-med eager to apply innovation in a global setting.
The semester before their internship, students take a global entrepreneurship course to prepare them for the experience. Once in their host countries, students develop career skills through professional internships at globally recognized companies, AI startups, local hospitals, and more. Program alumni share that their pre-departure entrepreneurial training enabled them to take initiative in their host companies.
Upon returning to UC San Diego, alumni brought newfound intercultural communication skills and confidence to their academic and career pursuits. One participant, Princess Chidema Nwanisob, is applying the skills from her internship in London to her role working at UC San Diego’s Study Abroad Office: “Before the internship, I was thinking locally; now, I see my career on a global scale. Being back in the office and helping recruit the next cohort feels like the ultimate pay-it-forward.”
Interest in the program’s second year is already strong, and UC San Diego is using insights from last year to raise the bar even higher. “We've refined our preparatory workshops and strengthened on-site advising to ensure a smoother transition; we are constantly optimizing the experience,” noted Jay Minert, Director of Outreach and Academic Engagement, UC San Diego.