Interns, and groups representing them, should give equal attention to how we can improve the quality of internships, such as establishing a code of best practice, to ensure that interns gain the most from their time.
"Undoubtedly Mr. Glatt and Mr. Footman received some benefits from their internships, such as résumé listings, job references and an understanding of how a production office works," Judge Pauley wrote.
If you are wanting to be in a program which would benefit from internships, such as a business major or a medicine program, you will want the school to be in a location which will offer you good real-world experiences.
When we approach the main banks for basic details of their internship programme, such as the number of interns and the start dates, some reply, but the reticence of others is noticeable.
New internship programs, such as those run by the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research ( AHFMR), WestLink Innovation Network ( TCIP, which you can read about on Next Wave through the eyes of the interns), and Atlantech Network ( NTAtlantic) offer valuable on-the-job training and the essential "foot in the door" for graduates.
Internship programs such as Hellfire illustrate how entrepreneurial scientists can be identified early and trained to grow companies.
Governments may therefore wish to consider supporting internship programs such as Hellfire which can train scientific entrepreneurs, or partnering with non-profits which can do the same.
Short pre-internship courses such as we have implemented and evaluated are effective in improving clinically-relevant, practical and immediately applicable capabilities that are useful for new graduates to negotiate the transition from student to junior doctor.
The specific needs of each industry make it impossible to create one-size-fits-all solutions, but successful university and business collaborations have included: Paid student internships in industry such as the Santander universities scheme which places students and graduates in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
