Internship

Introduction

Bachelor of Science or Arts curricula in applied universities’ programs require internship (industry placement) after the successful completion of the required course. The semester of the internship is different across different Departments depending upon their respective program or curricula. At the end of their internship period, the student submits a comprehensive report to the mentor assigned by the University, to duly endorse by the student’s host company. The required format and assessment of the report is different as detailed in the guideline of internship. The report is assessed by an assigned internship evaluator. During the internship, daily and monthly work schedule of the student follow the systems practiced in the respective industries, where the students are placed.

Internships in Ethiopian Applied Sciences Universities are highly significant. Since laboratories in most Ethiopian UAS aren’t as such adequate, the only way students can relate their theoretical knowledge to practice is through internship programs. It helps students to convert their academic knowledge into real-world scenarios. Moreover, internships can provide students with the opportunity to develop their professional skills, such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. This can help them to become more competitive in the job market. Furthermore, internships can provide students with the opportunity to network with professionals in their field. This can help them to learn about job opportunities, and to build relationships that can be beneficial in their future careers. It also helps students to gain confidence in their abilities, exposure to different industries and career paths, and to explore their interests and to make informed decisions about their future careers. In general, arguably, internships are highly relevant for the development of a skilled workforce to support the industry.

Internship requirements can vary among universities in Ethiopia, especially in the field of applied sciences. However, some general requirements for internships in applied science programs might include:

Requirements of Internship

Program Enrolment: Typically, internships are part of a formal educational program, such as a degree or certification. Students are needed to be enrolled in a related program to participate.

Academic Standing: Typically, students need to be in good academic standing, often with a minimum GPA requirement to be eligible for internships.

Specific Skills: Certain internships might require students to possess particular skills related to the applied sciences.

Academic Prerequisites: Certain courses or specific academic achievements might be necessary before starting an internship.

Application Process: There might be an application procedure that includes submitting a resume or CV, a cover letter, and possibly letters of recommendation.

Program Approval: The internship might need to be approved or endorsed by the university’s department or faculty overseeing the applied science program.

Duration and Hours: The duration and number of hours required for the internship might vary. Some programs might specify a minimum number of hours or a specific duration for the internship. An internship often has a required number of hours or a specified duration that needs to be completed for academic credit or certification.

Language Proficiency: Depending on the nature of the internship and the institution, proficiency in certain languages might be necessary.

Clearances or Background Checks: Especially in fields involving direct work with individuals (e.g., counselling, healthcare), you might need to undergo background checks, fingerprinting, or specific clearances.

Health Requirements: Some internships, particularly in healthcare settings, might require up-to-date vaccinations, health screenings, or immunizations.

Training or Orientation: Before starting an internship, students might need to undergo specific training or orientations related to the field, safety protocols, or the institution’s policies.

Supervision: Internship often involves direct supervision by experienced professionals or mentors within the field to guide and assess the students’ learning.

Documentation: Students are needed to keep records of the internship experience, such as journals, reports, or reflections, as part of your academic requirements.

 The list of requirements could be used as a checklist for the implementation of an internship system.

Challenges of Internship

There have been obstacles and challenges in the
successful implementation of internship programs in the Ethiopian applied
science universities. These challenges emanate at different phases in the
implementation process of internship both on the part of universities
themselves and industries. Designing internships, there should be an awareness
of these challenges. Soma of the challenges include the following: 

·        Lack of
preparation of the host industries before the start of the internship
program.  Even after the companies have
had experiences with students who have completed an internship program, these
companies often have no system in place to track the students’ progress;

·        Lack of
available internship opportunities. Industries are few in number; even the capacity
of those available to host internship students is low. Nevertheless, this does
not apply for universities/colleges of education as their “industries” are the
schools.

·        After students
are placed the industries, there is hardly any exchange between the companies
and the university.

·        Most of the
time, industries lack information about the university student internship
schedule, e.g. when it starts and when it ends.

·        Students spend
their internship period only in one company, which prevents them to know the
working culture and system of different companies, at least two.

·        There is a low
performance of the industry-linkage-office from the university side, such as
lack of monitoring the internship progress, the internship content, etc; etc.

·        The industry
linkage office from a university, which is supposed to arrange oversee internships, do have experience in
connecting to different industries. However, they face serious problems in
connecting  the university to industries.

·        Some companies
give interns too much work and take advantage of students by giving them many
hours of boring and repetitive work. This leads to student exhaustion, which in
turn has a negative impact on the student’s internship experience.

·        There have been
difficulties matching students with appropriate and relevant internships
practice. It can be difficult to match students with internships that are
aligned with required skills and interest.

·        Most internship
students’ work goes unnoticed or unappreciated and the company (organization)
does not give any feedback. This gives students the feeling that their work is
worthless.

·        The lack of
funding is a serious challenge. The internship payment doesn’t cover basic
human needs This leads students to
find a company in their hometown which might not be relevant to the objectives
the internship.

·        Internships
require qualified supervisors on the part of the industries who can provide
students with guidance. However, there is a lack of such qualified supervisors.

·        The assigned
mentor by the universities, in most cases, does not travel to the company to
check the student’s progress in the company.

·        These days,
there are security concerns to travel to the companies which are far from the
university, but which are highly relevant.

Do and Don’t” list for successful implementation

Do List

  ·       Intern student must prepare a cover letter to justify the decision for a specific company and describe their expectation for a successful completion of their internship period.

  ·       Internships should be within a given period of time.

  ·       Interns need to submit a report to the respective company and to their assigned mentor from the university on a weekly basis. These reports must have the following content:

1.      Task name

2.     Brief description of task

3.     List of safety measures procured to perform the task

4.     Reason for the case/ problem; a motivation why the task(s) is/are important for the company.

5.     Strategy plan to overcome the solution; a plan how to intern will handle the tasks(s)

6.     Set specific goals the interns want to achieve within one week for next task.

  ·       Prepare mock presentation for respective adviser who is assigned by the university once in a month.

  ·       Finding friendly supervisor from the company, in addition to the supervisor assigned by the company.

  ·       Intern students need to leave their internship with new skills, accomplishments, and a better understanding of their field.

  ·       Students need to create a network with people who have a major role in the respective company and who may be helpful for their future career.

  ·       The university should train faculty and staff on how to support students in their internship experiences. This training can help to ensure that students have a positive and productive experience.

  ·       The current payment is as high as it was ten years ago. It should be revised.

  ·       The internship project should be harmonised with the university’s research strategies and guidelines.

 ·       Provide opportunities for students to present their work at conferences. This will help students to gain experience in communicating their research to others and to build their professional networks.

  ·       The government could establish a national UAS authority to oversee the development and regulation of the UAS industry. That can share best practices and promote the safe and responsible use of UAS internships.

  ·       Allow different programmes or related departments to work together to prepare realistic works for the community; this can be considered as community service by students.

  ·       Internships should provide for the students a real work experience in their field of study.

   ·       Intern students should network with people in the industry, who are likely their future employers.

  ·       Internships offer opportunities to learn and improve skills, which can be beneficial for career growth.

Don’t do list

   ·       Skipping opportunity to get new experiences which may open job opportunity for future life.

  ·       Afraid to ask any questions if they don’t understand.

  ·       Forget to take all advantages and opportunities that the university and hosting company could offer.

  ·       Never give up accomplishing a successful internship period. Even if the internship experience wasn’t what the intern imagined previously. There is an option to ask peacefully the manager to release the students and he or should find another company.

·       Overstep the boundaries with the mentor. The ultimate goal must be to learn and get a successful work experience, if possible.

  Suggestions for effective
implementation

For successful
implementation of internships, the following steps are suggested:

  ·       In general, it is important to do preliminary
research, establishing a baseline, integrating findings into planning, as well
as monitoring and adjusting strategies.

   ·       An active industry-linkage-office in the university is
mandatory, since every process runs through this office. Therefore, it has to
receive interest from the companies and convince the program/department, to
build partnerships with the industry. Generally, the industry-linkage-office
must develop a clear vision and mission for the internship program and the
institution has to create a performance evaluation method.

   ·       Universities of Applied Sciences should form
partnerships with industries by sharing their latest technological advancements
and identifying the skills and knowledge they require. In return, industries
can provide valuable feedback to help guide curriculum updates, ensuring that
academic programs remain relevant and aligned with current market demands.

   ·       The schedule for internship programs should be
carefully planned to consider not only the timelines of the companies and
universities but also the availability of students, advisors, mentors, and
other stakeholders involved.

   ·       It is better for internship students to work in
different companies (organizations). At least in two different companies, as
much as possible, by rotation for the development of versatile knowledge and
skills instead of solely depending in a single industry.

   ·       Internship students, with the guidance of supervisors,
should work on realistic topics and tasks in the company, which helps them to
prepare the challenges of the world of work.

   ·       It is good to always track the outcomes of the
internship program: This will help the university to assess the effectiveness
of the program and to make improvements over time. Hence, the internship report
should be submitted periodically. Furthermore,
feedback from interns, mentors, and supervisors should be gathered regularly to
identify areas for continuous improvement. It also contributes to the program’s
success and smooth implementation. 

   ·       UAS should sent
letters to industries including detailed contact information and guidelines for
the internship partnership and student relationships.

   ·       Instead of relying
solely on a final report, a midterm evaluation of the internship should be sent
to the university to help monitor and track the program’s progress more
effectively.  Internship students should analyse and reflect
on social problems to the department and at the end of the internship report their findings or solutions.

   ·       Along with the
attendance sheet, the main topics and content of the student’s internship work
should be documented and submitted to the university (see annex a.6 and annex
a.9).

   ·       Students should
select their area of internship, in collaboration with people in the industry
and at the university. In this case, the university should allocate enough
internship allowance, making sure that the area they are going to be placed is
safe and secure.

   ·       Interns should be
encouraged to network with employees and other interns to expand their
professional connections.

   ·       Every student should
have a mentor from their university, who guides the student through the
internship phase. To make sure the mentor is visiting the students at their
workplace, an “Internship Mentors’ Checklist” letter should be issued
by the department. Mentors must present this letter to the company and return
it to the department with the company’s official stamp as confirmation (see
annex a.8).

   ·       Universities should give assurance to the company
about discipline and some other issues for regarding interns from the
university. This creates trust and confidence for the company (organization)
and provides space for them, with knowing the internship program schedules of
the university. Hence, universities and organizations have to have a
partnership including a joint discussion on academic curriculum.

   ·       More importantly a welcoming culture has to be
developed at the respective company and students should be viewed as assets to
the industries rather than liabilities.

   ·       Industries are in high demand for current technology,
but much of the university curriculum is outdated. Therefore, curriculum
updates should occur at least every two years to ensure alignment with industry
needs.

   ·       Facilitate networking by organizing events where
industries are invited to the university to introduce themselves to students and
establish partnerships with the university.

     ·       Regularly gather feedback from interns, mentors, and
supervisors to identify areas for continuous improvement.

       Schematic representation

1.        Partner definition & identification

             3. Partner and students’ relationship

       4. Structure, duration & frequency

       5. Progress monitoring & evaluation

     6.  Internal structure of university

      8.  Funding and support

 Supporting documents

For easy use, the documents are
ordered based on the students’ journey for internships, which comprises of 3
steps: before, during and after the internship.

Before the internship

The university needs to decide
who is responsible for finding internship companies, the university or the
student. Once a company has been selected, it is necessary to determine whether
this company is suitable. Next, manage the expectations of the company. What
can they expect? What does an internship look like? What do they need to offer
and what can they expect in return? This includes not only the content of the
internship but also practicalities like housing, travel allowance, internship
compensation.

o  Supporting document: Manual company coach [see annex a.1] 

In case the company is suitable,
but has little experience with guiding interns, a training may be offered to
employees of the company.

When the university determines
what companies are suitable, and selects the student then you need to consider:

o  what kind of information would
you need from the student in order to match students and companies?

o  what does the selection process
look like? At Saxion we do not have such forms as the student searches for an
internship him/herself

When the student selects the company
him/herself, the student also needs to know how to approach companies. This can
be achieved by providing a number of lessons on how to approach companies and
the procedure to be followed.

Companies should be provided with
an agreement to express their interest in hosting interns from a University of
Applied Sciences. It collects basic company information (name, contact
details), specifies the number of interns the company can take, and asks
whether the company will provide an allowance. It also allows companies to
indicate any interest in hosting students from additional fields.

o  See the supporting template from Jigjiga University: Hosting Form [see annex a.2]

During internship

·       Firstly, you need a written agreement between student, company and university,
which states the content, duration and dates of the internship.

o  Supporting document: example Internship agreement [see annex a.3]

·       Students need a document that tells them the ins and outs of an internship.

o  Supporting documents: Semester guide operational internship (Hospitality Business School) [see annex a.5],
Internship guide Civil Engineering [see annex a.4]

·       There needs to be a procedure regarding the number of contact moments between university, company
and student. Also, how does the university monitor students’ performance and
how can the company document students’ performance?

o  Supporting documents: Semester guide operational internship(Hospitality Business School) [see annex a.5],
Internship guide Civil Engineering [see annexa.4] and Manual company coach [see annex a.1]

·       One of the necessary forms lets the company keep track of the number of days worked.\Supporting document: day sheet [see annex a.6]

·       The intern’s attendance should be tracked over four months. The company supervisor
evaluation and monitoring form ensures that both attendance and absences are
formally documented during the internship period. Furthermore, there is a
monthly performance evaluation, which is designed to assess the performance of
third-year interns over their first month at the company. The evaluation is
divided into three main categories, with specific percentage values for each:

o  General Performance (25%) – Evaluates punctuality,
discipline, reliability, independence, communication skills, and adaptation to
the work environment.

o  Personal Skills (35%) – Assesses speed, accuracy,
engagement, readiness to take on tasks, and professionalism in applying
engineering or scientific knowledge.

o  Technical Skills (40%) – Measures the intern’s
technical and organizational skills, support in project tasks, responsibility,
and ability to work effectively in a team.

The supervisor is asked to assign a percentage score for each criterion,
with the total adding up to 100%.

o  Supporting Document: Company supervisor evaluation and monitoring form [see annex a.7]

·       To collect detailed feedback from a company about an intern’s performance, a
checklist should be used.  The company is
asked to provide insights on the following: responsibilities assigned to the
intern, the intern’s strengths as a future professional, the intern’s
weaknesses or areas for improvement, whether the intern was academically
prepared and how, and finally, whether the company would consider hiring
another intern from the same institution, with reasons. Additionally, the form
collects company details. It serves as both a performance review and a feedback
tool for the university to assess the intern’s professional preparedness.

o  Supporting document: Internship mentor’s checklist [see annex a.8]

After the internship

·       The university needs to evaluate the quality of the internship and the
company that offered the internship. This includes evaluation by the student
regarding guidance.

·       These evaluations need to be collected in a database, so the university
keeps track of internship companies. How any students, what tasks, and
evaluation of the quality of content and guidance.

·       Internship
report guidelines for the students: The report must detail the intern’s
experience, the host company’s background, and the intern’s personal and
professional growth, including practical skills, theoretical knowledge, and
interpersonal development. It concludes with recommendations, references, and
appendices.

o Internship report guidelines for the students [see annex a.9]

Name: Biniyam Hailu

Nationality: Ethiopian

Institution: Jigjiga University

Email: haylbiniam@gmail.com 

     Name: Dawit Gezahegn

     Nationality: Ethiopian

    Institution: Jigjiga University

Email address: dawit.gezahegn@jju.edu.et