Minneapolis Internship Program

Minneapolis Internships

Student Volunteer Internship Opportunities

The Minneapolis Office of the U.S. Commercial Service will open 2025 internship opportunities in January 2025.  Time commitment is 4 – 6 months, 12 -16 hours per week, 50 - 100% virtual.  Limited spots are available. 

Please review information and criteria below and send resume and brief cover letter to Mathew.Woodlee@trade.gov. 

Interning with the U.S. Commercial Service

The U.S. Commercial Service is the trade promotion arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. Our global network connects American exporters with foreign business opportunities. We assist U.S. companies through one-on-one consultation and provide market intelligence, business matchmaking and commercial diplomacy. 

The Minneapolis office is a very active and engaged office, both locally and throughout our agency projects and global teams. We work with local companies by providing counseling, research and trade promotion programs that support their business growth efforts. 

Intern Activities

Interns may support the office staff with client development research, local and international market research, event planning, counseling U.S. companies, website management, marketing and database management. They also learn how to use the U.S. Commercial Service’s information databases to access economic and market trends and data to support the office’s client activities. 

Internship Eligibility

  • Intern candidates must be a U.S. citizen. 
  • Must be enrolled in an accredited higher education institution.
  • Must be able to communicate in a professional environment and be enthusiastic and willing to learn. 
  • Time commitment is 12 to 16 hours per week for 4 to 6 months, generally following semester schedules with some overlap. 
  • Internship is a volunteer, unpaid position.

Major Areas of Study

International Business, Economics, Political Science, Public Administration, Law, International Relations, Marketing, Communications, Sociology, Geography, Anthropology, and History majors are encouraged to apply. Any major is appropriate if students want to learn how to market and sell U.S. products abroad.

Virtual with In-Person Opportunities

Most of the work is project-based and will be done virtually, with video meetings with office staff through Teams. Interns may be in-person (downtown Minneapolis) approximately one day per week and/or attending events or meetings with CS staff.

Interns typically will utilize their own IT hardware for virtual work. ITA provides Office 365 and other ITA resources that are accessible virtually.
 

To apply, send a brief cover letter and resume to Mathew.Woodlee@trade.gov.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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