thesis about internship

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Internship Performance and Level of Satisfaction of Student-Trainees on Industry Immersion Program

2018, International Journal of Recent Innovations in Academic Research, ISSN: 2635-3040

The internship provides extensive training for students that may improve their skills, knowledge, and even attitude that are necessary for their future work. Specifically, this study evaluates the performance of 116 student-trainees in terms of attendance and punctuality, knowledge and quality of work, and general attitude. Feedback reports, experiences of student-trainees, and performance appraisal reports by trainers/supervisors are being used in this study. This paper also aims to determine the level of satisfaction of student-trainees on the industry immersion program in one of the State Universities and Colleges in the Philippines. A descriptive method of research is used with standard instruments enumerated above. Findings show that the respondents performed very satisfactory during their internship. Moreover, the student-trainees are highly satisfied on the industry immersion (IIM) program of the university. The results also show the relationship between the student-trainees' internship performance and the level of satisfaction on industry immersion program. This study may be served as a basis to enhance the program that will benefit the students, academic institution, and cooperating partner industries. Introduction The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is mandated to develop and promote policies, systems, procedures and programs that address globalization, changing policies of trade in goods and services. CHED shall require student exchange established by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) of string with business and industry to promote and provide students with competitive skills and attitudes for employment. In order to promote the well-being of tertiary students, quality of their learning and constant exposure may ensure their safety while undergoing practicum considering the nature of the training course program. This program aims to provide territory enrolled in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the Philippines with the opportunity to acquire practical knowledge, skills, and desirable attitudes and values in reputable establishments/industries in the country (CHED, 2009).

Related Papers

Junichi Mori

Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI) has been contributing to the rapid industrialization in Vietnam by supplying technicians to many enterprises in the manufacturing sector. However, we may not have been sufficiently proactive in integrating industry’s needs into our educational and training programs. Having heard industry’s demand for high-skilled industrial human resources during occasional meetings with enterprises, we had strongly recognized the necessity to upgrade our educational and training programs. Thus, we organized this survey in order to understand industry’s evaluation of the quality of our graduates and educational and training programs. As described in Section 2, HaUI decided to have our staff and lecturers conduct the survey instead of outsourcing it to a professional research company. Knowing that they are not professional survey researchers, we thought that this would be a great opportunity for our members to study industry’s needs directly, rather than indirectly through a written report prepared by professional survey researchers who are not experts in industrial education and training. In addition, we supposed that they should have a lot of opportunities to observe enterprises’ latest technologies and modern production management systems. Through face-to-face interviews with more than 30 enterprises, we have been able to develop a general understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of our graduates, as summarized in Section 3. Regarding their general workplace ability, HaUI students seem modest in a good sense, but they are somewhat reluctant to take leadership roles and lack the ability to identify the causes of troubles and their solutions. Many of the enterprises also commented that they should become more disciplined by learning the basic concepts of 5S and labor safety. As for technical knowledge and skills, while HaUI graduates are often curious about new technologies and quickly absorb them, they do not have sufficient basic skills and knowledge, including reading and drafting mechanical drawings in third angle projection, operating the conventional milling machines and lathes, reading electronic and electronic assembly drawings, and reading time charts. In short, it seems that they are very interested in cutting-edge technologies but not aware of the importance of basic knowledge and skills. As noted in the latter part of Section 3, we also tried to get industry’s impression of our ideas for improvement. The enterprises basically agreed to our proposals on the subjects or teaching methods to be improved. In particular, we received positive responses on the issues which we have already included in the project activities, such as machinery maintenance, quality control, and 5S. We also collected valuable information to help improve the internship programs and the short-term courses. Furthermore, we learned the overview of previous results, general conditions, and desirable timing and duration of internships, and reconfirmed the necessity of promoting our internship programs as a supplementary opportunity to train students in practical skills and professional working behaviors. It is unfortunate that HaUI’s short-term courses were not well-known. However, given the enterprises current view of these courses, HaUI should still try to develop higher quality ones. The courses would help the enterprises save time to provide basic training internally, while HaUI will be able to learn the up-to-date technology. Based on all findings in the survey, we developed an action plan outline in Section 4, which covers various topics. Some action plans are already in progress. For example, we are developing a short-term course for machinery maintenance for company staff and a short-term course on quality control for HaUI students. We have already started implementing 5S and have tried to embed it into HaUI’s school culture. In addition, we have launched activity program to improve the mechanical drawing course by introducing third angle projection. On the other hand, we do not have the detailed plans for other courses at this time. HaUI management should develop a monitoring and evaluation mechanism for the action plan. We made some proposals for future surveys in Section 5. It is certainly impossible to collect all the necessary information by just one survey. We should continue to visit the enterprises and get further details in some prioritized fields. In addition, we propose periodically conducting a first-level survey to evaluate HaUI graduates and educational and training programs. Given the difficulty we faced in collecting information on, the subjects to improved (Section 3.6.) and the training equipment to be upgraded, the questionnaire should be improved (Section 3.7.). This would make the survey more efficient. Finally, we greatly appreciate the time our partner enterprises spent with us for interviews, as well as their very valuable comments. We also hope to develop further cooperation with them in order to develop better industrial human resources.

International Journal of Scientific Research and Management

Leonora Divina

The present professional climate for graduates is very volatile, owing to the unpredictability of corporate restructures, technological advancements, outsourcing, and remote working, among other factors. This new professional context has prompted a philosophical rethinking of what constitutes acceptable employability learning. Due to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 epidemic, many students doing professional placements and internships were force to leave their actual location of employment. Some students completing professional experiences lost their orders, while others accepted job arrangements that required them to work remotely online. Work readiness and preparedness played a vital role in business goal in today’s pandemic since it influences graduate success in the workforce. Many businesses want to hire new graduates because they believe they will bring new and innovative ideas to the company, but it is essential that the graduates be work-ready and prepared to do the job ...

Review of Higher Education and …

Zainal Karim

Gina F. Martinez

Today's high youth unemployment rate has negatively impacted economic growth and productivity. Producing new brand of talents is a big challenge especially for the tertiary level institutions in this era of the 4th industrial revolution. The inability of the graduates to find a job matching their knowledge and capabilities posed a risk of loss of talent and skills that contributes to the country's economic growth. Supporting the career development and placement needs of graduates will be difficult if no appropriate and serious plans will be made by the Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs). This study aimed to describe the level of implementation of each factors affecting career services and placement programs of HEIs in Metro Manila and analyze best practices, feedback, risk, and concerns from different stakeholders that will be used as inputs for program enhancement of career services and placement program by the practitioners. A descriptive mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) research design was utilized in this research. A purposive sampling technique in choosing the respondents of the study was used based on the following criteria: must be a career services and placement program practitioner in Metro Manila. The personnel and directors from the six (6) selected private Higher Educational Institutions (HEI’s) in Metro Manila were asked to complete a self-made survey questionnaire by the researcher which was validated by experts in the field of career and placement and was tested for reliability with Cronbach alpha value of a= .96. The self-made survey questionnaire was designed to profile the respondents and measure the level of implementation of each factor affecting the career services and placement programs of the HEIs namely personnel, facilities and budget with a likert-scale ranging from 1-not yet implemented to 4-fully implemented and the HEIs evaluation to their expected graduate competencies with 1-strongly disagree to 4- strongly agree. Interview was also conducted to know the feedback from stakeholders, risks, issues, challenges and best practices in the conduct of the services and programs by the respondents. Pearson-Moment Product Correlation was used to analyze the relationship between levels of implementation of factors affecting the conduct of programs to students' expected competencies. Thematic analysis was used to analyse common themes on the respondents’ interview answers. Results of this study found that the level of implementation of factors affecting the conduct of placement programs have a significant relationship to the graduate students' expected competencies as rated by the practitioners. Other important research findings that will be used as inputs for program enhancement of different career services and placement programs practitioners were also discussed.

Education Quarterly Review

Kingsley Karunaratne

ADVANCES IN BUSINESS RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL

DR. MARZIAH MOKHTAR

Higher Learning Institutions today are increasingly required to produce highly mobile graduates able to respond to the ever changing needs of the contemporary workplace. Through industrial training, interns will be exposed to ethical values and good working practices as well as to help them understand the safety practices and regulations inside the industry and to instill the spirit of teamwork and good relationship between interns and employees. The motivation for the current research study is to examine the implementation of industrial training conducted by Faculty of Business and Management of Universiti Teknologi MARA and industrial perception on Business Students during their practical period. This research is also prompted by the concern in the increasing number of unemployed among fresh graduates. Feedback from industries would give a better picture of what is required of students since employers are increasingly looking beyond a graduate's academic knowledge. Results sho...

Lyceum of the Philippines University Batangas

Every higher education institution aims to deliver quality instruction, student services, research outputs and community extension programs to its customers and clients. It serves as a marketing tool especially for private institutions to promote their image as universities with high standards of education that would be able to compete with foreign universities while maintaining international climate from its home country. This article reviewed the studies and literature pertaining to some initiatives and practices of Philippine Tertiary Education. Institutional vision of the Philippine Higher Education Institutions clearly reflects their aspiration of moving towards internationalization through its graduates and accreditation initiatives. The university tri-fold function must be sustained with highly qualified and dedicated human resources who will support the activities of the school management in delivering the strategic plans and attaining the specific objectives of internationalization. Government plays a significant role in supporting the initiatives of HEIs in terms of educational programs and projects for student and faculty mobility as well as quality assurance in accordance with the ASEAN Integration which assist the local academic institutions in reaching the goal of globalization.

Economic Policy

Divina Edralin

MUHD AZWAN ABDUL GHANI

Industrial training for students studying at higher learning institutes has been long recognised as part and parcel of the training required prior to graduation. It provides students with some exposure to the actual working life while at the same time allowing them to extend their theoretical knowledge into practice thus enhancing their understanding further. Industrial training has been set as one of the requirements for accrediting Engineering and Technology programmes in Malaysia. Currently, a minimum period of 10 weeks at industry has been made compulsory for all engineering programmes offered at the higher learning institutes. This is seen as an effort to provide working exposure to students such that they will have some practical experience prior to graduation. All the institutions of higher learning in Malaysia that offer Engineering programmes have this requirement in their curriculum. In the case of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), the requirement has been made compulsory for all engineering and technology students and the period has been extended to 32 weeks. The programme worth 16-credit hour, which is almost equivalent to a semester academic load and is, called Industrial Internship Programme. During the programme, the students will have to undergo a structured mode of assessment, which will contribute to their cumulative grade point average, used as the performance measurement in the University system. The paper will provide an overview on the UTP Industrial Internship Programme focussing on its objective and approach, management of the programme, operation and monitoring of progress, assessment method and challenges in running the programme.

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The Role of Internships in Shaping Professional Careers: a Comprehensive Definition and Analysis

This essay about internships highlights their crucial role in professional development, connecting academic knowledge with real-world experience. It discusses the diverse structures of internships, their benefits for both interns and organizations, and their impact on education and industry innovation. Additionally, it addresses challenges such as unequal access and the need for meaningful learning experiences, emphasizing the importance of inclusive and accessible internships to foster a skilled and adaptable workforce.

How it works

Internships stand as the cornerstone of professional development, forging a direct link between theoretical knowledge and practical application in the professional realm. In today’s fiercely competitive job market, they have evolved from mere resume embellishments to indispensable avenues for career advancement and industry insight. This comprehensive exploration delves into the intricate layers of internships, unraveling their profound significance, distinctive attributes, and the transformative influence they wield on individuals and sectors alike.

At their core, internships represent immersive learning opportunities extended by organizations to students or recent graduates, enabling them to garner hands-on experience, explore career pathways, and forge invaluable connections within their chosen field.

Unlike the confines of traditional classroom settings, internships plunge participants into the throes of real-world operations, offering firsthand encounters with industry challenges and fostering skill refinement. This experiential approach not only bolsters skill acquisition but also nurtures adaptability and instills a nuanced comprehension of industry dynamics.

One defining facet of internships lies in their diverse structures and scopes. Ranging from brief, project-based stints to year-long placements, internships traverse myriad industries, roles, and corporate cultures. Some internships offer monetary compensation, recognizing the intern’s contributions, while others provide academic credit or serve as conduits for invaluable networking opportunities. Irrespective of their form, internships serve as catalysts for personal and professional growth, serving as a launchpad for future accomplishments.

Moreover, internships epitomize a symbiotic investment for both interns and host organizations. For companies, internships emerge as talent reservoirs, enabling them to identify and nurture potential future assets. By furnishing interns with mentorship, training, and substantive projects, organizations gauge their competencies, work ethic, and cultural alignment, thus streamlining the recruitment process and mitigating hiring risks. Additionally, hosting interns engenders a culture of innovation and knowledge exchange within the company, as novel perspectives and insights invigorate established paradigms.

For interns, the benefits extend beyond the acquisition of technical proficiencies. Internships offer a firsthand glimpse into workplace realities, honing essential soft skills such as communication, collaboration, and time management. Furthermore, internships serve as conduits for career exploration, empowering individuals to make informed decisions regarding their professional trajectories. Through networking engagements, professional development workshops, and interactions with industry stalwarts, interns expand their professional networks and accrue invaluable mentorship, thereby paving the way for future opportunities.

However, the influence of internships transcends individual realms, permeating broader domains of education, workforce development, and industry innovation. As academic institutions increasingly prioritize experiential learning, internships assume integral positions within academic curricula, enriching theoretical knowledge with practical acumen. Furthermore, internships play pivotal roles in addressing skill lacunae and facilitating seamless transitions from academia to employment, thus aligning industry demands with workforce proficiencies.

Additionally, internships catalyze industry innovation and adaptation by engaging with burgeoning talent and harnessing their fresh perspectives. Organizations, by welcoming interns, remain attuned to market dynamics, technological advancements, and evolving consumer preferences. The infusion of youthful vigor, creativity, and digital fluency not only challenges conventional wisdom but also propels organizational metamorphosis. Thus, internships cultivate environments conducive to continuous learning and evolution, positioning companies for sustained growth and competitiveness amidst dynamic global landscapes.

Nevertheless, internships encounter challenges and constraints. Access to quality internships remains disparate, with students from marginalized backgrounds often grappling with financial constraints, networking deficits, and systemic biases. Moreover, some internships may prioritize menial tasks over substantive learning experiences, leaving participants disenchanted and undervalued. Addressing these issues necessitates concerted efforts from educational institutions, employers, and policymakers to ensure equitable access to internships that adhere to best practices in talent cultivation.

In summation, internships constitute pivotal conduits for professional development, intertwining experiential learning, skill honing, and industry immersion. As precursors to future employment, they furnish individuals with avenues to explore their passions, broaden their networks, and glean firsthand insights into diverse industries. Furthermore, internships confer benefits upon host organizations, serving as talent incubators and engines of innovation. Nonetheless, to unlock their full potential, internships must be inclusive, accessible, and aligned with evolving workforce dynamics. By investing in internships, stakeholders sow the seeds for a skilled and adaptable workforce poised to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape.

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• Published: 10 January 2020

Impact of internship programs on professional and personal development of business students: a case study from Pakistan

• Sadia Anjum   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3308-0935 1  

Future Business Journal volume  6 , Article number:  2 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

31 Citations

Metrics details

This study aims to evaluate the impact of internship programs on the professional as well as on personal development and skills of business students in Pakistan. The data of the study consisted of 800 undergraduating business students of 4-year degree programs from 15 universities of Pakistan. The study used structured questionnaire (35 close-ended questions assessed using 5-point Likert scale) comprised of six parts: Part I: Demographic information, Part II: Reasons for participation in internship, and Part III to VI: Assessment of information related to professional and personal growth and skills. The study employed descriptive analysis to evaluate demographic information and central tendencies of the responses. Furthermore, scale measurement analysis is used to check distribution normality of study data and reliability of the questionnaire. The results of the study depict the impact of internship programs on the professional and personal growth and skills of the business students of Pakistan.

Introduction

The change of life stages from a student to a professional is not always very simple. Students have to face many challenges when they enter into professional life. They have to adjust themselves according to the professional environment by implementing their conceptual knowledge in the new world of work. Usually, business students use their skills and theoretical business knowledge in their first jobs [ 2 , 44 ]. By integrating conceptual knowledge and training through academic internship programs, students can be facilitated to better implement their concepts at the workplace [ 62 ]. According to Gault et al. [ 23 ], academic internships are a bridge to link the theory and practice by taking part in supervised and scheduled work. These internship programs not only improve students personal skills but also polish their professional growth and experience. Today, educational institutes, students and business recruiters are well aware of the importance of internship programs [ 28 , 1 , 11 , 30 , 40 ]. Internship programs are the opportunities for educational institutes to upgrade the students enrollment and prepare their curriculum [ 9 , 18 , 32 ]. For students, internships are experience of practical work [ 50 ]. As companies prefer those business graduates who have required skills and practical knowledge [ 42 ], internships supply valuable employees and competent job applicants to the companies [ 15 ]. Internship programs enable students to get training during their course programs and save companies’ supervision and training costs by providing them trained employees [ 31 ].

Now the questions that come into the minds regarding internships are: Why internships are important? and Why business students do internships? The answer to every question related to internship programs is that they are short-term workplace practical experience which provide opportunities to the students to enter the job market during and after their undergraduation course programs [ 47 ]. Internships are excellent source of practical experience [ 19 , 20 , 22 , 33 , 51 ], learning team work [ 53 ], for polishing resumes [ 63 ], for building personal and professional relationships and for earning real money [ 16 ]. Oehlert et al. [ 49 ] stated that more attention should be paid on the internship programs to meet the needs of growing competitive job market. But what is the exact value of an internship program for business students, educational institutes and employers? Unfortunately, to answer this question not much quantitative or qualitative literature work is available.

We are living in the earlier stage of twenty-first century in a global world. In under developing countries like Pakistan, education system is still in improvement process. Here, although teachers are facilitated, they are not directed to enhance practical knowledge of their students with conceptual knowledge during a course program. Inappropriate teaching methodology may be one of the reasons due to which students find it difficult to implement conceptual knowledge in solving their daily lives problems. This problem can be solved with the help of internship programs. In Pakistan, it is supposed the internship programs would be beneficial and helpful to improve the performance of the faculty members and to enhance the workplace experience of the students during the course work of their degrees.

Purpose and objectives of the study

The main purpose of this study is to determine how much internship programs are beneficial for the undergraduating business students for their future career development, professional and personal growth. This study also aims to evaluate the impact of internship programs on the improvement of the professional and personal skills of business students of Pakistan after the completion of their internship period. The following objectives are set by the study in order to reach and achieve the purpose of the study:

To determine the background and rationale of engagement of business students in internship programs.

To determine the impact of internship programs on professional as well as personal growth and skills of the undergraduating business students.

To identify the strengths and weaknesses of internship programs existing in Pakistan.

Need and importance of the study

A large number of educational institutes are coming to the opinion that internship programs are an excellent source for career and professional preparation of the students. They provide work-related experience to the students. On the other hand, they make it easy for the companies to select flexible, experienced and highly qualified job applicants. So internship programs are rewarding to the students, educational institutes and employers [ 29 , 52 , 59 ]. This is the era of innovations and technological development and expansion. So it is necessary to grow such capabilities in the students that will assist them to deal with the modern world of work [ 25 ]. For this, there is a need to reform the educational system of Pakistan by improving teaching methods, curriculum development, involving more research and providing practical training to the students. Internship programs create a link between classroom concepts and real workplace experience. Students are the future of any country. It is the requirement of the time that if Pakistan wants to be a developed country, it should focus more on the practical training of the business students so that they can outperform in the real world of progress.

This detailed examination of internship programs is the prior research within Pakistan to evaluate the impact of internship on career preparation of the business students as well as on their professional and personal growth. This study is important because it supplies valuable recommendations to the companies, educational institutes and students regarding the advancement of internship programs to improve personal skills, professional growth, leadership skills and work-related experience of the Pakistani students.

Theoretical framework

This section deals with the explanation of the theoretical framework, review of the prior literature and conceptual framework of the study.

Social learning theory is related to this study priorly developed by Bandura [ 4 ] and extended by Lave and Wenger [ 39 ]. Social learning theory is a cognitive process that is set on the notion of changes in beliefs, concepts and knowledge and improves professional and personal learning process through participation in real work environment. The motive of the present study is to evaluate the impact of internship programs on the professional and personal growth of the business students of Pakistan.

Review of the literature

Work-related learning and practical training in the form of internship programs are vital for business students for their personal and professional development and to build their strong connections with the leading business organizations. However, most of the research works until recently have focused on the advancement of students knowledge and advantages of an internship program after its completion [ 57 ]. There is limited amount of research work on how internship programs assist in professional and personal growth and skills of business students especially in underdeveloped countries like Pakistan. Much attention is paid on knowledge of facts in formal educational classes. If a student works hard, pays attention in class and learns the classroom material by heart, he will definitely pass the examinations [ 3 ]. In formal classes, the major focus is on what students know, but in an internship program, the major focus is on what students do. Ronnestad and Skovholts ([ 53 ], pp. 20–22) stated that practicality of knowledge depends upon what students already know and how they associate their information with the situations they face in the real world of the work. Raskin ([ 51 ], p. 18) indicated through an empirical research that there is a huge gap between the linkage of classroom knowledge and practical work. Students and academic faculty members pay very little attention on gaining full benefit from internship opportunities. Sometimes, students just observe the internship work environment without applying their classroom knowledge to the situations they encounter there, and sometimes, educational advisors or faculty members do not properly guide their students to get full advantage from the internship opportunities [ 21 ]. Harrison and Kennedy [ 27 ] believed that an internship program can be made successful for students through proper recognition of internship plans and relevant industry participants, picking out motivational student interns, internship program evaluation, monitoring and feedback. They also identified that educational institutes and academic advisors should play a vital role in the implementation of an internship program.

Many previous studies have proved that internship programs improve the academic and professional performance of the business students who follow an internship program during or after the completion of their institutional degree [ 17 , 36 , 58 ]. Internship programs provide the opportunity to the business students to gain fruitful experience by implementing their classroom concepts in the real work settings [ 8 , 26 , 45 ]. Internship experience then has an impact on the professional growth and success of business students and helps them to receive good financial earnings in their first job [ 13 , 24 , 37 ]. Students also learn required skills acquired for their professional success [ 6 , 38 ]. Moreover, internship helps business students to develop good personal qualities and working habits as well as appreciable confidence level [ 1 , 24 , 41 , 55 , 60 ]. Internship opportunities make the students able to receive high-quality job offers sooner [ 38 , 43 , 54 ]. They help them to directly interact with corporate professionals and thus build a strong network for their first job [ 24 , 56 ]. But different studies have shown that to achieve all the above-mentioned advantages related to internship, appropriate feedback is needed from both the corporate supervisor and the institutional supervisor of the student. As feedback is considered as a vital element in upgrading and maintaining the performance, quality of internship programs and professional learning of the business students, a proper feedback should be provided by company and academic supervisor to check the intern’s progress [ 12 , 34 , 46 ].

Corporates usually favor the job applicants with work experience and practical knowledge. Therefore, they sometimes have an eye on their interns to select them as their future employees [ 5 , 7 , 14 , 24 , 43 ]. In this way, companies also save their hiring and training costs [ 5 ]. Interns provide part-time help and innovative ideas and exchange other knowledge with the business firms [ 5 , 61 , 64 ]. On the other hand, the major disadvantages of internships for the organizations are that they have to provide guidance, extensive support, training and feedback to the interns at every stage in order to make them productive for the organizations [ 10 ].

Furthermore, internship programs help educational institutions to get reputation by strengthening their bonds with business world, availability of research grants, receive positive feedback from corporates on their curriculum and increase job opportunities for their students [ 5 , 14 , 24 , 42 , 43 , 64 ]. Although the existing literature provides a good overview of the benefits of internship programs for the business students, there is a lack of such empirical research in the context of underdeveloped countries like Pakistan. This study will give the overview of internship pros to the business students of Pakistan.

The hypotheses of the study are as follows:

Internship programs have an impact on the professional development of the business students.

Internship programs have an impact on the professional skills of the business students.

Internship programs have an impact on the personal growth of the business students.

Internship programs have an impact on the personal capabilities of the business students.

This section of the study elaborates methods of data collection, population and sampling procedures, analysis of data and the research design. This study was submitted to and approved by Advanced Studies and Research Committee of Government College University.

Collection of data

The study collected primary data from the final year business students of 4-year degree programs who did internships of 2–4 months from 15 prestigious educational institutes of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, namely Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad; Bahria University, Islamabad, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad; Air University, Islamabad; Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad; University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore; UCP, Lahore; COMSAT, Lahore; Punjab University, Lahore; Lahore University of Management Sciences; Iqra University, Karachi; Karachi Institute of Economics and Technology; Aga Khan University, Karachi; Institute of Business Management, Karachi; and Hamdard University, Karachi. “ Appendix A ” further shows percentage and frequency analysis of these universities. The data were collected in May and June 2019. In total, 800 questionnaires were distributed comprising of Part I: Demographic information, Part II: Reasons for participation in internship, Part III–Part VI: Assessment of information regarding professional and personal growth and skills improvement with 35 close-ended questions. The questionnaires were distributed and collected both physically and electronically. “ Appendix B ” shows sample of questionnaire.

Population and sampling procedures

The fourth-year business students of Pakistani universities were considered as the population of the study. As a large number of students pass out (90,682 business students as per current report of Higher Education Commission of Pakistan), sample of the study consisted of 800 business students from 15 Pakistani universities.

Methodology

This study is a quantitative research, but in order to better comprehend strengths and weaknesses of internship programs in Pakistan, some qualitative research elements were also utilized. The study employed both descriptive and statistical analyses to evaluate the impact of internship programs on the professional and personal growth and skills of Pakistani business students. Descriptive technique of the study consisted of percentage and frequency analysis of demographic characteristics of the participants and central tendency measurement of their responses, whereas statistical technique comprised of scale analysis including normality and reliability tests. Reliability of the questionnaire was tested using Cronbach’s alpha, and normality was evaluated employing univariate and multivariate normality of skewness and kurtosis. Structured questionnaire technique was used, comprising of six parts, i.e., Part I: Demographic information, Part II: Reasons for participation in internship, Part III–Part VI: Assessment of information regarding professional and personal growth and skills improvement with 35 close-ended questions. Each variable of the questionnaire was assessed using 5-point Likert scale, where 1 is strongly disagree, 2 is disagree, 3 is neutral, 4 is agree and 5 is strongly agree.

This section consists of empirical findings and their estimations. This section is divided into two parts, i.e., descriptive analysis and scale analysis.

Descriptive analysis

This section highlights the demographic characteristics of the respondents and central tendency measurement of their responses.

Demographic characteristics

This section of the study elaborates the findings of two parts of the questionnaire, i.e., demographic information and reasons for participation in an internship program. Tables  1 and 2 indicate the findings.

The results show that among 800 respondents, 744 (93%) were 26 or less years of age and 56 (7%) were in between 27 and 30 years of age. 396 (49.5%) were males and 404 (50.5%) were females. 180 (22.5%) were students of accounting and finance program, 244 (30.5%) were from BBA (Hons) degree, 99 (12.4%) were from accounting (Hons) degree, and 277 (34.6%) were B.Com (Hons) students. 177 (22.1%) were working as an intern in finance departments, 189 (23.6%) in marketing departments, 80 (10%) in human resource departments, 144 (18%) in product departments, 190 (23.8%) in customer relationship departments, and 20 (2.5%) in other departments of different business organizations. 492 (61.5%) interns participated in an internship program for 6 or less weeks, 298 (37.3%) worked for 7–16 weeks, and 10 (1.2%) worked for 17–25 weeks.

These results depict that 10 (1.2%) respondents did internship in spring semester, 759 (94.9%) did in summer, 9 (1.1%) participated in an internship program in fall semester, 12 (1.5%) worked as an intern in spring/summer semester, and 10 (1.2%) did internship in summer/fall semester. 710 (88.7%) were interested to work in the field of business, and 90 (11.3%) were not interested at all in business field before their internship. 190 (23.7%) respondents participated in an internship program as it was a departmental course requirement, 44 (5.5%) did internship because advisor recommended it as an elective course, and 566 (70.8%) participated in an internship to gain practical experience. 177 (22.1%) considered that internship is important to complete academic credit, 289 (36.1%) thought that an internship is important as it links classroom concepts with real work environment, 258 (32.3%) believed that it provides direction toward independent life, and 76 (9.5%) considered its importance for purposes other than stated above. 639 (79.9%) participants agreed that their internships helped them in obtaining their current jobs, whereas 161 (20.1%) lacked this belief. 569 (71.1%) agreed that internship programs influence the future job promotion, whereas 231 (28.9%) did not agree. 610 (76.2%) received incentives from companies while being in internship, while 190 (23.7%) did not receive such incentives. 455 (56.9%) received award while being in internship, while 345 (43.1%) did not receive any award.

Measurement of central tendencies

This part deals with the findings of mean and standard deviation for the items of Part III to Part VI of the questionnaire. Table  3 shows the results.

These results show central tendencies of the responses for all the items of Part III to Part VI of the questionnaire by 800 participants of the study. The highest mean and highest standard deviation (SD) for professional development (PD) are 3.3451 and 0.3217, respectively. The lowest mean and lowest SD for PD are 2.9261 and 0.0235, respectively. The range of mean 2.9261–3.3451 depicts that responses of business students are moving from “disagree” to “agree” for all the items of PD. The lowest and highest means for professional skills (PS) are 3.7129 and 4.3127, while the lowest SD and highest SD are 0.0217 and 0.6133, respectively. The mean range 3.7129–4.3127 shows positive responses of business students for all the items of PS. The lowest mean and lowest SD for personal growth (PG) are 4.1209 and 0.4259, whereas the highest mean and highest SD are 4.5129 and 0.7521, respectively. The mean range 4.1209–4.5129 indicates that business students “agreed” with all the items of PG. The lowest and highest means for personal capabilities (PC) are 3.7121 and 4.6713, the while lowest SD and highest SD are 0.2960 and 0.7511, respectively. The mean range 3.7121–4.6713 shows positive responses of business students for all the items of PC.

Scale measurement

This section elaborates normality and reliability tests results, evaluated to check the normality of distribution of the data of the study and reliability of the questionnaire.

Multivariate normality test

The acceptable skewness range is ± 3 with acceptable kurtosis range of ± 10 [ 35 ]. The data of the study will be normally distributed if values of kurtosis and skewness fall within this range. Table  4 shows the results.

These results show that critical values of kurtosis range from − 1.6231 (PD6) to 1.6337 (PS6), whereas critical values of skewness range from − 0.7176 (PG5) to 0.7621 (PC5). The results indicate that all the values of kurtosis and skewness fall in the acceptable range; therefore, the data of the study are normally distributed.

Reliability test

The reliability of the questionnaire is checked using Cronbach’s coefficient alpha. Nunnally and Bernstein [ 48 ] described that if Cronbach’s coefficient alpha is above 0.70, then questionnaire becomes reliable. Table  5 shows the results.

The results represent that values of Cronbach’s coefficient alpha range from 0.7113 to 0.8239. As critical values fall in acceptable range, the questionnaire of the study is reliable.

Strengths and weaknesses of internship programs in Pakistan

Comments of the business respondents suggest the following key points about the strengths of the internship programs in Pakistan: (1) Almost all business schools are focusing to encourage their students to gain practical experience through internships; (2) viva voce of students is conducted after the completion of their internship period in order to evaluate their practical experience; (3) government of Pakistan is offering different internship programs at provincial level to fill the vacant job positions with right job applicants; and (4) as companies prefer their interns as their future employees, this encourages students to participate in internship programs.

The following weaknesses are suggested by the comments of the respondents: (1) There is a lack of coordination between company and academic supervisors; (2) only selected assignments are given to the students by the companies with not much encouraging environment to ask what students want; and (3) proper feedback is not provided by the firms to their interns and their academic supervisors.

Policy implications

Internship programs link classroom knowledge with the workplace realities and provide an experimental experience to the students and enable them to make their place in the dynamic job market of this modern era. The present study will help and encourage the business students of Pakistan to focus more on gaining experimental knowledge from real world of the work so that they can easily get their first job and future job promotions. It will also assist business schools to develop proper strategies and curriculum for the promotion of internship programs so that besides theoretical knowledge, practical knowledge can also be provided to the business students during the graduation. It will also help to the companies to offer effective internship programs, training and learning environment to their interns. In this way, they can reduce their recruitment and training costs to the new employees.

Future recommendations

Future research can be conducted gathering firms and business schools perceptions about the internship programs. Future studies can also be conducted by comparing internship programs of different countries.

The study aimed to evaluate the impact of internship programs on the professional and personal development and skills of the business students of Pakistan. The data of the study comprised of 800 undergraduating business students of 4-year degree programs from 15 Pakistani universities. The study got responses from the participants using structured questionnaire technique consisting of six parts, i.e., Part I: Demographic information; Part II: Reasons for participation in internship; Part III–Part VI: Assessment of information regarding professional and personal growth and skills improvement of the business students. Each item of the questionnaire (35 close-ended questions) was assessed using 5-point Likert scale. The study employed descriptive analysis to evaluate demographic information and measured central tendencies using mean and standard deviation to evaluate the nature of the responses of the participants. Furthermore, scale measurement analysis was made to check the normality of distribution of the study data and reliability of the questionnaire.

The results of central tendency measurement indicate “disagree to agree,” “positive” and “agreed” responses of the participants for all the items of the questionnaire. Normality test results show that critical values of kurtosis range from − 1.6231 to 1.6337, whereas critical values of skewness range from − 0.7176 to 0.7621. As critical values of kurtosis and skewness fall within the acceptable range, the data of the study are normally distributed. Moreover, reliability test results using Cronbach’s coefficient alpha indicate that all critical values of Cronbach’s alpha exceed 0.70, so the questionnaire of the study is reliable. The overall results depict that internship programs have an impact on the professional growth and skills of the business students of Pakistan, affecting their personal development, skills and capabilities. The results are consistent with English and Koeppen [ 17 ], Hall et al. [ 26 ], Gault et al. [ 24 ], Weible [ 64 ], McDonald et al. [ 42 ].

Availability of data and materials

The data will be provided on request.

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Frequency and percentage of demographic characteristic: universities

• Source : developed for the study

Part III: professional development

Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements about internship impact. Please check the suitable response.

Part IV: professional skills

Do you believe internship program contributed to your professional skills development? Please check the suitable response.

Part V: personal growth

Questions in this section deal with personal growth related to internship experiences. Please check the suitable response.

Part VI: personal capabilities

Do you believe the following characteristics are positively influenced by internship program? Please check the suitable response.

Thank You Very Much!!!

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Anjum, S. Impact of internship programs on professional and personal development of business students: a case study from Pakistan. Futur Bus J 6 , 2 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-019-0007-3

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Internship Essay: Example & Complete Writing Guide [2024]

Writing an internship essay is a challenging task that plenty of people have to endure. It is essential for gaining useful experience and learning the ins and outs of a given industry. You have probably heard about the “Why do you want this internship?” essay. However, it’s not the only question that you might have to answer.

There are two situations in which you might need internship paper examples and tips:

• if you are applying for an internship program;
• if you have already completed one.

In the first case, you will be asked what you expect from this internship. For this, you should write an application essay. In the second, an internship report or a reflection paper.

Our experts will present helpful tips for both cases. Find them and illustrative internship essay examples in the article.

✔️ If You Have Already Completed an Internship Program

Congratulations! This was an essential step towards your career. Now you have a chance to get the job of your dreams. However, right now, you have to write an essay on your internship and talk about yours.

Internship Report Points

Such an end-of-internship essay will include the following points:

• Place of your internship.
• Responsibilities you had.
• Difficulties you faced during your internship.
• An overall impression of this experience.
• Self-evaluation of your performance.
• Appendix with deliverables you created during your internship.

Internship Report Sample

Check out this short internship essay example:

• As a business administration student at the University of Collegetown, I participated in a three-month summer internship at Internet & More, an IT company based in Collegetown.
• I was interning at the company’s marketing department, and I primarily interacted with the Internet & More’s content creation and social media marketing specialists.
• The main task of my internship was to create a LinkedIn marketing strategy for the company, basing my recommendations on extensive market research and using LinkedIn as a promotional tool for both customers and potential employees.

This brief introduction achieves three goals:

• establishes that this report is an internship experience essay;
• it introduces the company and department where the internship took place;
• it describes the intern’s primary task.

Internship Report: Your Impression

The essay continues like this:

• Overall, the experience proved to be both enjoyable and rewarding. I found the marketing concepts and frameworks that I learned in class to be relevant and useful when working on my practical, real-world assignments.
• I did, however, encounter some difficulties working on the task. Namely, as an undergraduate student , I was used to receiving very detailed, step-by-step instructions, whereas I was given more flexibility and autonomy during my internship.
• Secondly, I needed to take some time to familiarize myself with the world of LinkedIn marketing because we never dealt with it in my university classes.

Internship Report Conclusion

This is great:

This part of the internship essay example accomplishes two things. It gives the writer’s overall impression of the internship and discusses its advantages and challenges.

• During my internship, I was able to generate a 5,000-follower base for the company’s LinkedIn page, which allowed the Internet & More to expand their list of prospects significantly.
• Moreover, the company was able to fill two vacant positions within a matter of two days, having received over 400 resumes from highly qualified applicants.
• Thus, I was able to successfully achieve the goals set for me at the beginning of my internship. Attached, you can find the strategy development and implementation report I have created for the Internet & More.

This is the perfect internship essay conclusion!

The student provides a self-evaluation most appropriately: not merely saying that he did a great job, but by demonstrating and even quantifying how he contributed to its goals and development.

Equally crucial, the student offers an opportunity for the reader to examine his work.

Not sure whether you can write such an impressive internship reflection essay? Our writers have mastered the art of internship report writing and will be happy to assist you.

🗺️ If You Are Trying to Get an Internship

If you are applying to an internship program, we also have to congratulate you!

You are on the right path to the career of your dreams. An internship will help you gain additional knowledge and skills , and you will also get to know a lot about your future job’s specifics.

But many students feel lost because they don’t know how to write an essay for an internship.

Internship Application: Main Purpose

Writing internship essays is very similar to writing any other application essay. Your primary purpose is to demonstrate your outstanding talents and prove that you deserve this opportunity. Besides, you should state, “Why do you want this internship”? in an essay.

Before you get down to work, find and look through some samples . You can also read our internship essay example below to learn some specific strategies.

Tips for a Succesful Internship Application

Here are more tips on how to write a successful internship essay:

• You may start with a bit of information about yourself , but make sure it relates to the internship.
• Talk about your previous education and experiences. What college did you attend? What was your major? What particular courses did you like the most?
• Describe your future goals and explain how this internship will benefit you in your essay.
• Finally, give reasons why you are the perfect candidate for this program. In this part of the internship essay, you can tell about your talents and positive characteristics.

Essentially, the two most critical questions you need to answer in your internship essay are “Why do you want this internship?” and “What do you hope to gain from this internship experience?”

Internship Application Sample

Let’s check out the internship essay example that helped our example student land his internship at Internet & More:

• I am writing to you regarding the marketing internship opportunity at your company Internet & More. I learned of this opening from your company representatives who attended the job fair at the University of Collegetown.
• I am a third-year student at the University of Collegetown, majoring in Business Administration with a specialization in Marketing and Digital Communications.
• My professional interests include content creation and social media marketing and optimization, so this opportunity naturally attracted my attention. I believe that the knowledge I gained from my Marketing Strategy and Social Media Marketing classes will be particularly beneficial for this internship.

This is fantastic:

In a very concise and modest manner , this student explains his interest in the training. He confidently establishes why he makes a great candidate for this position.

What’s next?

Internship Application: Your Career Goals

• My professional goal is to become a social media marketing specialist so I can help businesses grow their online presence. I believe that this internship is the perfect opportunity for me to apply my skills and knowledge to help a company achieve its strategic goals.
• I am also particularly excited to immerse myself in the business world and work alongside leading industry experts.
• My past qualifications and experiences make me a suitable candidate for this position, and I am looking forward to helping the Internet & More grow their LinkedIn presence and visibility.

Don’t you just want to hire this student right away?

He managed to combine professionalism and just the right amount of flattery in his internship application letter. He also did not forget to mention his career goals and objectives. You should say how this internship will benefit you in your essay.

Don’t you feel more confident about your application now that you know how to write an internship essay?

That’s it! Follow these tips, and who knows? Maybe your next internship will be with Google !

Good luck with your internship essay writing! Be sure to check out our blog for more writing wisdom and share the page with your peers.

Further reading:

• How to Make a Resume: Secrets Your Employer Won’t Tell You
• College Grad Job Market: 50+ Employment Statistics
• Top Free Online Courses from the Best Universities
• Tips for Public Speaking: Overcome Public Speaking Anxiety
• The New York Times Guide to Article Writing and Useful Tips
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SPTHB THESIS Program

What Is THESIS?

The Tribal Health Experiential Student Internship Seminar program (THESIS) is a virtual 8-week paid internship for undergrad and recently graduated college students interested in Native American health. THESIS lets you experience tribal public health alongside mentors as you move your career forward and make a life-long impact.

Internship Program

Internship dates.

May 20-July 12, 2024

Internship Hours

20 hours/wk, Mon-Fri (paid)

Application Deadline

EXTENDED: January 31, 2024

Eligibility

To be eligible for the internship, you must meet these criteria:

How To Apply

You will need these documents for the application:

It is critical to meet these deadlines:

Questions About the Progam?

Quick Links

The Southern Plains Tribal Health Board’s THESIS program is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s John R. Lewis Undergraduate Public Health Scholars Program (Lewis Scholars Program).

The Lewis Scholars Program, formerly known as the CDC Undergraduate Public Health Scholars (CUPS) program, is supported by the CDC’s Office of Minority Health and Health Equity (OMHHE), which also supports the Dr. James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases program. These programs provide internship and fellowship opportunities for qualified undergraduate and graduate students to gain meaningful experiences in public health settings.