Help People with Intellectual Disabilities -Serbia

Next Gen

“My KEC internship is how I knew I was on the right academic and professional path,” said Marijana a fourth year psychology student at Singidunum University. After almost four years of studying psychology Marijana wasn’t certain how she would put all her theoretical knowledge to use or if it even had any practical application. That changed when she began her six months internship at KEC. She was one of more than the 200 hundred Singidunum students finishing degrees in psychology and social work who have interned at KEC over the past seven years. For a minimum of 40 hours students come to KEC to see for the first time what it will be like to put their academic knowledge to work. Working alongside KEC  staff these students have the opportunity to develop and implement their own programming. “KEC gave me my first chance to work with people with various intellectual and developmental disabilities,” said Ana a fourth year social work student, “but what was most meaningful was when I saw that my work made an impact on the beneficiaries.”

In addition to creating and implementing programs the interns are provided with supervision from the KEC professional staff. In the warm and friendly environment of the KEC center the interns get feedback and guidance from the experienced professional team. Interns are also taught how to navigate the bureaucratic and administrative elements of working and running a center of this nature. As Marijana, Ana and the other interns enter the workforce this internship will have provided them with the skills to easily integrate into any workplace in this field. One common remark from all the internship alumni is that after their time at KEC they feel much more confident about their ability to find a job and how they will perform once they have one.

KEC is excited that over the past seven years it has been so closely involved in helping shape and inspire future professionals in the social service fields. This new generation of teachers, psychologists and social workers are the ones who will serve our beneficiaries for the next decades and we are honored to have a role in helping them grow.

Your continued support enables this and all of KEC’s other programming.