Purpose:
Our monthly mini-internships offer business professionals the chance to practice global communication, teamwork, strategy, and negotiation in real-world business situations. Participants collaborate with a diverse team of 11 nationalities across three continents, contributing to discussions, planning, and project execution. Interns attend virtual meetings, take on tasks with global coworkers, and receive feedback on their performance. This elective program allows participants to enhance their leadership and teamwork skills in a supportive, multicultural environment, contributing points towards Mini MBA certification. It’s an ideal opportunity to apply learning in practical settings while building global business experience.
This is optionally also part of our six month Mini-MBA program which you can join anytime, in any order, and includes a mix of learning activities.
Learning Objectives:
1. Understand and overcome cultural differences in working and communication styles with multiple nationalities, including Japanese.
2. Learn how to conduct win-win problem solving, planning and collaborating on projects in a diverse global team
3. Build strategy and innovation skills for different industries in various departments and business functions
4. Practice specific skills and techniques that you've learned in workshops in a more realistic scenario.
5. Build global leadership skills (as part of the mini MBA and for your future career advancement)
Background
We offer monthly mini-internships as a realistic way to practice the skills you learned in your workshops and prel earning. by joining real business meetings, planning and execution activities with our 11 nationality team. We are from UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, India, Pakistan, Ghana, Nigeria and Japan. working virtually across three continents, with a head office inside Tokyo station Yaesu arcade.
Each month, in line with the content of our Mini MBA topic, we will identify a strategic issue for discussion and creation of an action plan. The intern is invited to attend at least one first meeting, and one follow up meeting, and to express ideas in the discussions and to volunteer to take on a project role including simple tasks completed with a global coworker, with discussion via Zoom, email or our online teamwork system.
Each meeting Agenda, the issue to solve and background information is shared a least 24 hours in advance. You can optionally join 15 minutes early if you would like to hear more about the background situation, and stay 5-10 minutes after for a feedback discussion. If you volunteer to take on any task you can have 1-2 weeks to complete it, including an optional zoom check in meeting or online chat discussions with your colleagues.
At the beginning of the monthly internship the intern creates with us a work plan and list of expected skills to practice. At the end, the intern completes a self evaluation and receives feedback from their supervisor and colleagues, including strong points and points to improve including learning program options. They then have the option to extend the internship on the same topic, or take on a leadership position for a specific project for a specified period (Internships are unpaid volunteer positions. These global teamwork and leadership experiences can be useful when documented in your resume or profile for consideration for higher positions in your future career) We recommend MBA participants join at least one leadership internship during their six month program.
Each month a different internship challenge is offered by one of J-Global’s various divisions, which may include Training, HR Consulting or IT development (DX). Department functions to join in may include strategy, sales, Marketing, content creation or IT system development. Typical tasks might include: Sales - designing our sales tools, Marketing campaigns - designing and planning ads, reviewing data, Business Strategy - evaluating departments’ performance and deciding which projects to prioritize, Content / program design and improvements , DX: improving a proposal or testing a new Smartsheet app
We recommend joining the internship while joining programs to practice the skills you learned. However you could also just join it first, and learn experientially and choose which program to study next based on that.
Benefits:
Practice intercultural communication for innovation, collaboration or project management in a real "global business " situation with friendly colleagues in psychologically safe environment. We will value your experiences and insights as a business person in Japan and as a learner in our online school.
Improve your diverse teamwork and leadership skills in a bilingual environment, via real business conversations with Japanese and non-Japanese business people.
Get positive feedback about your contributions, strengths and points to improve (including learning recommendations) which will build your confidence and future global business skills.
Dates: (All Zoom webinars, Japan time)
Target Participants
For business people that want to practice global communication situations including teamwork, strategy and negotiation studied in programs such as our Mini MBA in a real business situation with J-Global or our partner companies. This is an elective item, but it can contribute points towards your Mini MBA certification.
Language Requirements:
This program is delivered bilingually in both Japanese and English to accommodate a diverse range of participants.
How to join
You can join this and over 30 other bilingual intercultural programs to develop your global leadership skills for just 5000 yen per month. Click the buttons below to start with a free coaching session and one month free trial.
Story of a typical mini internship. (Example)
Hiroshi wants to do global marketing in future but now only does domestic sales business in a Japanese auto parts maker. He wants some practice discussing real marketing topics with global colleagues in English.
As part of his mini-MBA vision building module he chooses a mini internship working with the marketing and content department “ESGs: Supporting technical trainees before they come to Japan”.
He checks the agenda of the 7pm meeting, reads some background information posted there, (marketing research about meetings with SE Asian agents about problems faced by trainees in Japan ) and joins 6:45pm to introduce himself to other interns and hear the pre- briefing from the facilitator.
During the meeting J-Global members from UK, US, Japan Philippines and India discuss the market research, make plans and agree tasks. Hiroshi is asked his opinion about how to prepare the trainees for working in Japanese culture. He agrees to contact and interview some agents in Vietnam about collaboration with our free program, in a team with our Filipino content designer. Hiroshi and his J-Global Filipino colleague send some emails to agents and get one positive reply.
During the interview meeting (a week later, with the J-Global Filiipino colleague also joining) the Vietnamese Agent agrees to start promoting our events to the future trainees in their Japanese language classes.
In the Mini-Internship second meeting two weeks later, Hiroshi reports about this and is praised in the feedback session for his nice intercultural ideas, clear reporting and action orientation. Hiroshi asks to continue on this project for another month, until the Vietnam workshops begin. He is pleased that the Vietnamese trainees are so enthusiastic in class, and grateful for the free learning opportunity. Together we have helped create a happier world and brighter future for Japanese industry too.
Finally a few months later, after reporting about this mini-internship to his boss, Hiroshi is invited in his company to join a cross functional team to do sales/marketing planning with their US subsidiary. His global career has started taking off.
What is the J-Global Mini-MBA?
You can enjoy the mini-internship as a standalone activity or as part of the J-Global Mini MBA. Such Mini/Micro-MBAs are becoming more popular around the world, but tend to only explain global best practices. Our J-Global intercultural mini MBA explains in a practical way how to adapt and apply those lessons for use in a Japan-based organization. Our program not only teaches the practical skills and mindset necessary for a global workplace, but it has been developed in conjunction with experts from Japan’s top universities, so it also includes academic content and advanced study skills that one would ordinarily gain from a full MBA. This program is fully bilingual, and includes an appreciation of Japan’s unique strengths in team-based organizations and how to bridge gaps with global counterparts which focus on individuals.
The J-Global Mini-MBA might be for you if...
You want to build the strategic mindset and tools to win promotion and bigger global roles.
You want to learn the principles of global strategy, marketing, sales, and organizational design, and how to apply them in Japan.
You need to develop key leadership and communication skills to bridge typical cultural gaps.
You need to create a new resilient mindset for self and colleagues for dealing with constant, stressful unpredictable change.
You want to transform your role and your organization’s culture, strategy, and processes for global success.
You are motivated to do an MBA but you are concerned about the costs, time, and lack of work-life balance.