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Abstract
Internship programs have been one of the primary vehicles to provide students with opportunities to apply what they have learned in their IE programs to the "real world". Previous studies have identified the determinants of internship effectiveness with exploratory models by studying the relationship among students, university and host company, and their effect on outcomes such as student satisfaction and likelihood of project implementation. It is also known that this tripartite interaction is significantly affected by the project (awareness, selection, feedback and scope), the faculty advisor (selection and role), and university studies (helpfulness and student learning). However, internship program schemes appear to ignore a balanced interaction among these factors, limiting the experimental learning experience of students and benefits grasped by companies. In this paper, we propose an innovative scheme for internship programs in which the aforementioned critical factors are improved by integrating continuous education programs, such as Lean Six Sigma certification programs-typically offered by universities, to the IE curriculum. Our proposed model is expected to increase student satisfaction and likelihood of project implementation. In this way, we expect to maximize synergies between universities and companies, while enhancing experimental learning for students.
Keywords
Internship program, Internship model, Project-Based Learning, Learning effectiveness
1. Introduction
It is more than ever important for employers to hire graduates with previous professional experience. Likewise, students with previous internship experience, compared to students without experience, possess a better idea about professional work environments, and are more likely to get more and earlier job offers [1].
In this context, internship programs offer opportunities for undergraduate students to apply what they have learned in class to real world settings and enhance communication and problem-solving skills before graduation. These communication skills can be further developed while interacting with personnel from different organizational levels and working in multidisciplinary teams. Working in a company before graduating also promotes opportunities for students to learn about corporate cultures as well as techniques and methodologies that may not be taught in the classroom.
In addition, internship programs give students the possibility of becoming employed in the future by the companies where these programs are developed. Moreover, internships offer opportunities for students to network with professionals in their field of interest for references and future job opportunities. By participating...