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A New Engineering Educators Guide For Creating A Summer Engineering Internship Program
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Tufenkjian, Mark |
| Copyright Year | 1999 |
| Abstract | An internship experience can play a pivotal role during a student's educational journey. An internship provides a student with an outstanding opportunity to advance their qualifications both educationally and professionally. This paper presents an organizational framework for new engineering educators to plan, develop, and implement a simple yet effective internship program at their universities. The model for discussion is a summer internship program developed by a new engineering educator for the Civil Engineering Department at California State University, Los Angeles. A flowchart illustrating the sequencing of internship activities and a description of the program materials is presented. The paper also explores the benefits of developing such a program for a tenure-track professor. Introduction Most will agree that internships provide students with the opportunity to gain practical work experience, enhance their chances of academic success, advance their professional qualifications (including soft skills), and provide a competitive edge during their job search. The author's own personal experience as an intern was a defining moment as an undergraduate student. Exposure to tangible work experience and a glimpse of the relationship between theory and practice was an inspiration to work harder as a student and to pursue an advanced degree in Civil Engineering. Recognizing the potential importance of the internship experience to more fully complement a student's education, a priority as a new engineering educator was to establish a summer internship program in the Civil Engineering Department. However, since no such program existed, a simple yet effective program was created. The goal of the internship program was to Page 429.1 provide California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) Civil Engineering majors with an opportunity to gain practical summer work experience with a local engineering firm. This paper presents the organizational framework used to plan, develop, and implement the program. It is hoped that this paper will provide guidance for other new engineering educators interested in developing similar programs at their universities. An added benefit of developing such a program for a new engineering educator is the fulfillment of certain tenure criteria. Setup and Procedures In order to ensure the success of the internship program, a few important guidelines were adopted when organizing the conceptual framework for the program. First, the entire process was formalized as much as possible the first year in order to minimize the maintenance of the program during subsequent years. In this sense, program materials (e.g., application and evaluation forms, advertising flyers, internship logo, etc.) would have to be created for long-term use. Second, to minimize university administrative procedures, student participation in the program would be voluntary and would not earn credit toward a degree. Third, as an added benefit to the student and to reduce the need for outside resources, the internships would be paid positions compensated directly by the host companies. Fourth, to ensure quality control, the internship coordinator would have some knowledge of the host companies and intern supervisors. Fifth, the intern coordinator would match the student's interests and skills with the host companies. Sixth, the resources and expertise available at the University's Career Center would be used as much as possible. The flowchart shown as Exhibit 1 illustrates the sequencing of activities from beginning to end along two parallel tracks: (1) company track and, (2) student track. The activities are described below in more detail according to the numbering shown on the far right-hand side of the flow chart. Activity 1: Solicit/Select Companies This step involved soliciting and selecting the host companies to participate in the program. Background information (such as anticipated intern duties, compensation rate, start date, etc.) was collected from the companies. P ge 429.2 Activity 2: Application Review/Interview/Select Students At this point the student applications were distributed, collected, and the review process initiated. All eligible students were selected for an interview that was conducted by the faculty member and Career Center counselor. Based on the strength of the application and interview, the top ranked students were selected for an intern position. Activity 3: Match Students with Companies The faculty member utilizing a simple matrix matched the selected students with the host companies. Activity 4: Students and Companies Notified The students are notified of their selection as an intern and instructed to attend a workshop that will provide them with further assignment details. Host companies are also notified of selected student and receive student's resume. The student compensation rate and start date were confirmed by the faculty member. Activity 5: Workshop Students are required to attend a workshop conducted by the Career Center to prepare them for successful internship appointments. Topics covered included interviewing skills and techniques, the importance of professional behavior and etiquette. Students receive information about their host company, compensation rate, typical duties, and start date. Activity 6: Internships Begin –Start and end dates may vary depending upon student and company constraints. Activity 7: Student and Company Follow-up Students and host companies are contacted at least once during the summer to answer any questions or address any concerns. Activity 8: Student and Company Evaluation Forms Students and host companies are requested to complete an evaluation survey of the internship experience in order to provide feedback on how to improve the program. Companies also receive a letter of appreciation for participating in the program. Activity 9: Advertisement/Marketing An advertisement is placed in a local engineering publication acknowledging the host company participation among its peers. The advertisement also serves as a marketing tool for next year's program. Development of Program Materials Initially, a significant amount of effort was devoted to the development of program materials in order to give the program credibility and to reduce the maintenance required in the future. The table below identifies the program materials developed for this internship program and their purpose. P ge 429.3 Program Material Purpose Internship Name & Logo To be used on all internship program correspondence. Establishes identity and name recognition. Important for marketing. For instance, this program was named: GeoIntern. Summary Fact Sheet for Company Sponsors Fact sheet detailing the purpose of the program, program description, potential company benefits, eligibility criteria for students, program duration, and student and company expectations. Summary Fact Sheet for Student Interns Same as above but also includes selection criteria for students. Advertising Flyer Advertise the internship program to students on campus. Inform students of application procedures and deadline for submittal. Application Form Obtain student information (name, address, telephone number, etc.), develop student profile, determine eligibility and availability, and to identify student desire from student essay. See Exhibit 2. Company Sponsor Worksheet Obtain host company information, number of interns they can support, hourly compensation rate for intern, and anticipated duties for intern. Congratulatory or Rejection Letters to Students Notification to students of acceptance or rejection. Accepted students instructed on what to do next. Notification Letter to Sponsor Company Notification of the selected intern with a copy of resume, explanation of screening process, estimated start date and program duration, and agreed upon compensation rate. Sponsor Company Evaluation Form Evaluation form designed to provide feedback from sponsor company on intern performance and program satisfaction. Student Evaluation Form Evaluation form designed to provide feedback on intern program, satisfaction with sponsor company, development of hard and soft skills, how well CSULA prepared the student for the work experience, and how CSULA's Civil Engineering curriculum might be improved to better prepare students. Thank You Advertisement in Local Civil Engineering Newsletter Display of gratitude to sponsor companies among peer companies, and marketing strategy to solicit additional companies in next year's program. By making use of available resources at the Career Center, the expenses needed to operate the program were kept to a minimum. The majority of the cost incurred in developing the internship was the one-time expense associated with preparation of program materials. Since limited funding was available, a temporary part-time student was hired to assist the Career Center with these duties. However, this assistance is unnecessary. The only other operating cost of significance was postage for mailing. Recruitment and Selection of Host Companies There was apprehension at first about whether or not local Civil Engineering firms would embrace the idea of a summer internship program. The fear was that there would be too few company participants and too many qualified students. However, as it turned out company response was very favorable and soon more companies were available than interns. P ge 429.4 The primary criterion used to select the host companies was familiarity of the employees who would be supervising the interns. Since the companies were all Civil Engineering firms, the author's previous consulting experience and networking in the industry was invaluable. If considering unfamiliar companies, it is recommended to learn as much about the company as practical and if possible speak directly with company employees who will be supervising interns. Other factors considered were the company proximity to the campus, the benefi |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://peer.asee.org/7857.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
