BALI INTERNSHIP
CAREER EXPLORATION IN BUSINESS & SUSTAINABILITY
With Focus On Social Entrepreneurship
Learn how to become an Impactpreneur by collaborating with local changemakers in Indonesia to develop sustainable solutions for challenges in their communities.


Internship Overview
Ever dreamed of being an entrepreneur that creates impact in your community? On this internship, learn business acumen directly from changemakers in the field! Explore topics related to planning, operations, financial literacy and strategy within a sustainable and eco-friendly model. This internship offers you the chance to ask questions directly to those who have started their own enterprise. Learn about Makadaya Impact Centre’s role in creating sustainable solutions and opportunities for local entrepreneurs to address the economic gap in Indonesia.
On GLA’s Bali Internship: Career Exploration in Business & Sustainability you will:
- Engage in business acumen workshops with local changemakers
- Witness behind the scenes of local startups
- Collaborate on a business proposal to solve a social challenge in Bali
- Explore the island’s spiritual culture through temple visits and activities
- Have dinner at the Royal Palace
- Surf with locals in Southern Bali, a world-class surf destination
- Go on a white water rafting adventure
- Earn a total of 62 internship hours throughout the course of your time on the program
Internship Menu
Learning Through Partnership
This video, created by our local partners, the Bali Institute, highlights the real impact of GLA students working alongside local partners in Bali. Through hands-on collaboration, cultural exchange and community-driven projects, students don’t just learn about global leadership, they practice it.
At GLA, we believe meaningful impact happens when students listen first, show up with humility, and work in partnership with communities on the ground. The Bali Institute plays a vital role in making that possible, creating space for learning that is ethical, immersive and rooted in communal respect. Watch to hear directly from our students and see how experiential education, when done thoughtfully, can leave a lasting impression on both students and communities.
BALI INTERNSHIP
CAREER EXPLORATION IN BUSINESS & SUSTAINABILITY
Sample Itinerary
Let’s take a sneak peek at what your program experience might look like this summer! Please note that the order of activities may differ for each program session. The details provided here represent a general outline of what you can anticipate, though community service projects and activities are subject to change based on the needs of our local community partners, cultural celebrations and traditions, weather conditions and the specific requirements of the student group.
Day 1: Arrival
Fly into Denpasar, Bali’s main gateway, where GLA staff will greet you upon arrival. After collecting your luggage, you’ll travel with them to our home base in Ubud. Once settled in and everyone has arrived, we’ll begin orientation and enjoy your first Balinese dinner.
Day 2: Orientation
Om Swastiastu! In Bali, they give this greeting, which actually means, “May you be in the best of health: spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally.” In the morning we’ll have a program orientation followed by a scavenger hunt in Ubud. In the evening, we’ll begin our Internship Curriculum led by your Internship Supervisor.
Day 3: Intro to Business, Entrepreneurship & Social Impact
After an introductory session on Business, Entrepreneurship and Social Impact, enjoy a student-favorite cultural experience. Walk through lush jungle paths and rice terraces on an herbal tour, learning how Bali’s native plants are used in traditional medicine, food and body care.
Days 4-5: Social Enterprise Site Visit & Balinese Culture
After a full day, visit Magi Farm, a social enterprise producing sustainable, high-protein animal feed. Then explore a local banjar to learn about Balinese arts, including woodcarving, offering making, gamelan, and legong dance, capped off with a world-renowned legong dance performance accompanied by gamelan music.
Days 6-7: Internship Curriculum & Cooking Class
In our next module with the Makadaya Impact Centre, we’ll explore business and community needs, branding, and marketing with a guest speaker. In the afternoon, visit an NGO tackling poverty in Bali, and in the evening, sharpen your chef skills while learning to make traditional Balinese dishes.
Days 8-9: Site Visit
After a full day, enjoy a rare tour of the Royal Palace and dinner with Prince Cok Agung, who shares how modern tourism impacts Balinese culture and traditions. You’ll have the chance to ask questions and gain firsthand insight.
On our second site visit, explore a social enterprise supporting regenerative rice farming, working with local farmers to restore traditional methods and promote biodiversity while creating positive impact through business.
Day 10: White Water Rafting & Transfer to Amed
Today we’ll head into the jungle for a whitewater rafting adventure, seeing Bali from a new perspective. After lunch, travel to the coastal town of Amed, where we’ll spend the next few days and hear from a guest speaker on financial literacy in social enterprises.
Days 11-12: Excursion to Amed: Snorkeling & Environmental Health
Travel to Amed, a quiet fishing village off the beaten path, with stops at Tirta Gangga and Bali Sehat along the way. Enjoy free time to explore before a sunrise boat ride with local fishermen and snorkeling over coral reefs. In the afternoon, assist the Bali Sehat clinic with service work, then return to Home Base for a group meal and more snorkeling time.
Day 13: Head Back to Ubud
Explore the Bali jungle on a scenic three-hour trek from a river through lush jungle to the Bali Aga village of Tenganan. Enjoy views of Mount Agung and rice paddies, with a stop at a local home to sample fresh honey and red tea, perfect for stunning photos.
Day 14: Guest Speaker & Tea Tasting
We’ll also hear from a guest speaker from the for-profit sector and get the opportunity to explore a social enterprise focused on balinese tea, having a garden tour and a tea tasking ourselves!
Days 15-18: Projects Begin
Get ready to make a real impact! After completing site visits and modules, you’ll work in groups to design innovative solutions to Bali’s social and environmental challenges. With guidance from local changemakers, you’ll present your proposal to the community, where it could be selected by a social enterprise to create jobs and lasting change.
Day 19: Surfing
Today we’ll head south to spend the day surfing in some of the most beautiful waters in Bali. Lessons will be taught by world-class instructors in an area that is well suited for beginners. South Bali is well known for being one of the top surfing destinations in the world, so this will definitely be an adventure to remember.
Day 20: Presentation of Local Business Plans to Local Community
It’s time to share your hard work and innovative ideas with the local community. After weeks of learning and planning, you’ll present your solution to a panel of social enterprises, local leaders, and community members. This is your opportunity to showcase how your project can address a real-world social or environmental issue, and potentially be selected to create lasting impact in the community.
Day 21: Departures
“Goodbye” doesn’t exist in Indonesian, so we’ll say, “See you later!” as you prepare to depart . Enjoy your last Balinese breakfast and head to the airport to begin your journey back. At the airport, GLA staff will help you check in for your flight and see you off on your trip home.
Program Map

BALI INTERNSHIP
CAREER EXPLORATION IN BUSINESS & SUSTAINABILITY
Program Details
Dates & Tuition
2027 Session Dates
June 27 – July 17, 2027
What's Included in Tuition
In-country transportation
Lodging
3 meals per day
Professional full-time staff and experts
24/7 parent support hotline during program
Secondary medical and evacuation insurance
Cultural activities, lectures and excursions
Pre-departure materials and support
Educational materials
to hold your spot on-program.
Program at a Glance
Program Location: Indonesia (Bali)
Program Type(s): Career Exploration: Internship
Every GLA Program is Backed by our 5-Point Safety System™

GLA HOME BASE:
SAFE & SECURE LODGING

CARING SUPERVISION &
EXPERT LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

SAFE
TRANSPORTATION

HEALTHY FOOD
& PURE WATER

24/7 SUPPORT &
EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Local Partner Spotlight
MAKADAYA IMPACT CENTER & THE BALI INSTITUTE
Our partner for this internship is Makadaya Impact Center and the Bali Institute. It is a physical and virtual space providing a strategic network and learning lab to empower a community of changemakers in Indonesia who develop sustainable solutions towards challenges in their communities. As an Entrepreneurs Support Organization, they focus on social changemakers enabling their access to capital for social and environmental innovation.
The Program Experience
Career Exploration
Gain real-world experience at the intersection of business, innovation, and sustainability through an immersive internship program designed specifically for high school students. Partnering directly with the Makadaya Impact Centre, you’ll collaborate with local startups to analyze how mission-driven business models solve pressing social and economic gaps in Indonesia. Throughout the program, you’ll dive deep into core executive skills including strategic planning, operations, financial literacy and eco-friendly scaling while interviewing founder experts directly about their entrepreneurial journeys. You’ll put your learning into practice by building a fully realized business proposal targeting a local community need and pitching it directly to impact leaders and stakeholders.
Unlike typical high school summer programs that focus purely on classroom lectures or passive site visits, this program gives you direct access to real startup founders, active business operations and executive pitch sessions. Direct internships in social entrepreneurship are exceptionally rare for high schoolers. This hands-on consulting experience provides a powerful portfolio piece, a compelling talking point for college application essays and clear guidance on whether Business, Economics or Sustainability is the right fit for your university studies.

Adventure
With its pounding surf, emerald rice terraces and vibrant artistic culture, Bali offers non-stop outdoor thrill across ocean, river and jungle environments. Journey to Amed, a peaceful fishing village tucked away from typical tourist crowds, where you will board a traditional outrigger boat at sunrise to explore quiet coastal waters and snorkel over vibrant coral reefs teeming with colorful tropical marine life.
Near your Home Base, hit the waves with guidance from local instructors, experiencing firsthand why Bali is celebrated worldwide as a top surfing destination. Your adventure continues as you venture deep into Bali’s lush rainforests on high-energy hiking trails, before gearing up for an exhilarating whitewater rafting expedition through winding river gorges framed by dramatic jungle canyons and cascading waterfalls.

Country Spotlight
Immerse yourself in the artistic heritage, spiritual traditions and serene tropical atmosphere of Bali.
Lodging: Experience authentic Balinese hospitality with a primary Home Base set in Ubud, the island’s renowned cultural hub, alongside a coastal excursion to Amed. Accommodations range from authentic family-run compounds to serene beach bungalows, featuring comfortable, gender-segregated student rooms with Western-style toilets and showers.
Meals: Enjoy healthy, flavor-packed meals highlighting Balinese staples like fresh rice, noodles, chicken, fish, tofu, seasonal vegetables and tropical fruits prepared fresh daily at Home Base (vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free dietary options are fully accommodated).

BALI INTERNSHIP
CAREER EXPLORATION IN BUSINESS & SUSTAINABILITY
Internship Details
Everything you need to know about the travel internship.



High school students who participate in this GLA travel internship in Bali will develop essential leadership and career skills, while working on initiatives centered around the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development worldwide.
This is an experiential career development internship with sociological underpinnings into a specific theme and concentration in a field of interest. Interns will gain experience working in-person with a social enterprise or nonprofit host organization from around the world.
Throughout the course of your session you will complete 62 total internship hours:
- Contact Hours: 52
- Self-Study Hours: 10
- Service Hours: 36
The outcomes of this internship are related to five main learning objectives:
- Gain insights into your personal goals and professional growth areas, along with a deeper understanding of Bali and fields related to Business & Sustainability within the context of social enterprises.
- Expand your knowledge of recent trends, terminology and case studies to strengthen your understanding of business acumen.
- Learn to recognize and express diverse perspectives within broader social and cultural contexts.
- Develop critical analysis skills by evaluating quantitative and qualitative data to form well-informed opinions.
- Observe and thoughtfully assess real places and situations where impacts and results can be interpreted and applied within context.
The 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development serves as the framework for discussions and the self-study coursework for our student interns here in Bali. During this travel internship, you will focus on three SDGs, including:
- SDG 08: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- SDG 10: Reduce Inequalities
- SDG 13: Climate Action
Explore topics related to building the case for creating Impact hubs as a community resource to stimulate the local economy
Complete a core curriculum with your peers and through the guidance of your internship supervisor. Build your personal competitive edge, as part of a cohort of student interns working in partnership with our global nonprofit partner in Bali. Create a portfolio from completed project work to enhance your college application or future career resume.
By completing this travel internship you will earn:
- CliftonStrengths Assessment & Debrief
- Personal Mission Statement Updated
- Resume or LinkedIn Resume
- Letter of Recommendation completed by your Internship Supervisor & Internship Director
- Certificate of Completion (62 hours)
- Certificate of Service Hours (variable per internship)
- Professional Headshots for Resume or CV
- Portfolio of Evidence/Internship Log Book (if needed)
- Recommendations via Common App
Global Leadership Adventures can also provide any supporting documentation and serve as an organization of record, should you want to earn college credits for your internship.
Global Leadership Adventures is proud to partner with Hartwick College, a private liberal arts institution based in Oneonta, New York, to offer official U.S. undergraduate college credit for students who successfully complete the Career Exploration Travel Internship program.
Through this partnership, eligible students (16+) may enroll in the optional college credit add-on and earn 3 semester credits upon successful completion of the internship coursework. Upon successful completion of the internship requirements, students will receive:
- Official enrollment with Hartwick College
- Faculty evaluation and grading
- Issuance of an official college transcript
The deadline for college credit registration is May 31, 2027. Students must enroll in the college credit add-on by this date in order to be formally registered with Hartwick College.
- Accreditation: Fully accredited U.S. undergraduate credit.
- Optional Enrollment: The college credit add-on is 100% optional.
- Tuition Fee: The additional fee to earn up to three semester credits is $500.00.
- Click here to learn more.
BALI INTERNSHIP
CAREER EXPLORATION IN BUSINESS & SUSTAINABILITY
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BALI INTERNSHIP
CAREER EXPLORATION IN BUSINESS & SUSTAINABILITY
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