Part 5 – Internship Experiences – Student and Industry Experiences

Internships are wonderful and endorsed by both education institutions and industry. However, not all internships work. Indeed, while a good internship experience can entice students to enter industry, a poor experience can drive them away. This final part of the book lets the voices of students and industry practitioners be heard. Five chapters are presented based on research conducted after the internship experience.

Chapter 18, by Hu and McKercher asks and answers the question, “do internships work?” based on a pre-post survey of students in China. Gibson, Sharma and Ellis discuss some of the unique challenges in offering internships in Fiji in Chapter 19. Chapters 20 by Burns and 21 by Tung explore both industry and students’ perceptions of internships and the skills desired based on his experiences in Ireland and Taiwan, respectively. Chapter 22 by Lara and 23 by Doudna take a different perspective and present highly personal stories by students discussing how they either took advantage of opportunities presented to them or overcame obstacles that helped them grow.