The sweeping goal of education at the tertiary level is to sufficiently prepare students to achieve success in their future careers. In achieving this overarching goal, students are exposed to a degree of academic rigor while gaining important life skills considered crucial aspects of career preparedness. More than ever, emphasis is being placed on the value of experiential learning. This is where things like internships play an important role. Many higher institutions of learning in Cameroon prioritize this type of learning, requiring all students to partake in some sort of internship experience. With all of these variables present, how should students approach the internship conversation? In hopes of making the student internship experience worthwhile while providing a bit of clarity, we scoured several different research studies and spoke with a panel of experienced professionals to learn the true value of internships for college students and employers alike. Take a look at what we found.

Importance of internship

The most important element of internships is the integration of classroom knowledge and theory with practical application and skills. Student interns gain this experience in either professional or community settings. Internships also have the added benefit of professional recommendations, resume-worthy experience, and networking opportunities.

Internships are a great chance to assess talents, career fit, and opportunity to encounter real and challenging work assignments. We put in the time to make sure our students learn and do well as interns at their respective organizations.

Benefits of Internships for Students

• Students can apply their classroom learning in professional environments
• Students can gain exposure to their chosen field
• Students can establish critical networking connections
• Students can gain coveted work experience
• Allow students to acquire qualities of rationality, professional aptitude, and behaviors
• Allow students to gain a sense of responsibility by gradually adapting to the requirements of the job
• Helps students to build their resume
• Helps students figure out what they like and don’t like.

Develop internship projects

Interns are not just to do menial work during internships, as this doesn’t add professional value to them or for the company they practice as interns. We hope that our interns aren’t just to run errands for the entire period as interns as this is not the objective or description of the internship.

We help our students craft internship proposals that cover different areas of the intended enterprise. These are transformed into internship projects to complete throughout the course of the internship. These projects are intended to expose students to hands-on activities, curiosity, problem-solving, and research.

Designing Internships

• We integrate internships into formal learning experience
• Give interns a voice in sitting up the internships
• Engage parties responsible for internship effectiveness

Selecting and structuring internships

• We engage employers and enterprises and build pipeline of internship opportunities for our students
• We encourage potential enterprises to structure formal internship opportunities that allow students to do meaningful work
• We provide a high-level overview of industries and internship opportunities, together with possible job descriptions of internship opportunities and other requirements that apply.

Note: students can check on this page regularly for internships opportunities, description of the cities/towns concerned, and housing options available.

Acquire skills not taught in schools

Internships are often an introduction to the world of work (the professional world), so interns must acquire skills that are not taught in schools. We orient our students to communicate with all levels of the organization, integrate and maneuver within the organization, sit in meetings, give presentations about their work. A proper development of these skills sets our students apart as future successes in the workplace.

Feedback and Evaluation

• We evaluate students work frequently in comparison with stated project goals
• We provide feedback throughout the internships
• At the end of the internships we conduct reviews with students to learn if their expectations were met and what went well and what did not.
• We provide feedback to the employer, when appropriate
• Students are expected to provide detailed reports upon completion of internships, such copies are often shared with the company.