New Brandeis Global Career Accelerator internship program leverages industry partnerships

Brandeis Stories

New Brandeis Global Career Accelerator internship program leverages industry partnerships

By Steve Foskett
May 27, 2026 • General

The Center for Careers and Applied Liberal Arts this summer is launching a pilot experiential learning option, giving students a new way to gain authentic work experience while avoiding challenges that can make traditional internship formats difficult to navigate.

The Brandeis Global Accelerator, a credit-bearing, 10-week digital program for rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors, will start June 1, with a registration deadline of May 31.

"It's an online way to get internship experience, and it aligns with Brandeis' continued focus on infusing career readiness into a rigorous liberal arts education," said Lewis Brooks, director of the Center for Careers and Applied Liberal Arts. "The Accelerator will expand access to real-world projects for students who may have had difficulty navigating traditional internship formats."

Through a partnership with Podium Education, students in the Brandeis Global Accelerator will have access to hands-on learning opportunities in several areas, including artificial intelligence, analytics, branding, digital marketing and career-ready technical skills.

The program offers authentic project work tied to several companies and nonprofits, including Crocs, L'Oreal, OpenAI and the GRAMMY Foundation. It also includes the opportunity to obtain verified certifications in tools and platforms that include ChatGPT, Instagram Ads and Tableau.

Brooks said the structured training in technical skills and durable competencies mirrors Brandeis' own approach as it implements the Brandeis Plan to Reinvent the Liberal Arts, a university-wide effort to seamlessly integrate career development into the curriculum through microcredentials, access to career counseling and mentoring, and the creation of a "second transcript" that highlights the skills, experiences and competencies students gain in and out of the classroom.

The courses are fully online, with both synchronous and asynchronous components, and the pilot at Brandeis will run from June 1 to Aug. 9. For questions regarding registration or to explore the various tracks available, students should visit the Brandeis Global Career Accelerator website.