Abstract:

This paper continues our research efforts within work integrated learning and internships at University West, Sweden. In previous papers we have focused on the students learning outcomes from internships and course design to establish work integrated learning as a central theme and facilitator. In this paper we shift focus towards the workplace where the internship was carried out – did they learn anything from the students? We know that our students learned and grew from the internship courses. One question we have considered is whether the student's knowledge is contagious and thereby affects the company. We investigated, through interviews, the research question “Did the workplace learn anything from our student in connection with the internship period?”

Students who study Digital Media or 3D-Animation and Visualization at University West for three years have the opportunity to apply for an internship during the fifth semester. Some of the companies that accepted interns were contacted and to collect data and we used semi-structured interviews with three simple questions as a start. A total of ten interviews were carried out with the student´s workplace supervisor or the company manager.

All interviews were executed online using a video conference software due to restrictions from the Swedish Government regarding the Covid-19 pandemic situation. The interviews were later transcribed/summarized and finally returned to respondents for approval in order to verify statements.

After approval from respondents a thematic content analysis was performed which shows the adopted trainees to take part in new technology and the knowledge that is current and imparted at the university. The findings indicated in this paper is that workplaces do learn from our students but in different ways. Some of the workplaces clearly states that learning from the internship was a deliberate and calculated action – they were expecting to learn. Others did not have a clear intention why they offer an internship but note that the student's knowledge has contributed to change and development. In some cases, the company intended to recruit staff shortly and, through the internship, had the opportunity to create a clearer picture of competencies that needed to be recruited.

Our conclusion is that knowledge and skills that the student acquires at the university and brings to the internship period are contagious and contribute to change in the companies.

Keywords:

Work Integrated Learning, WIL, internship, knowledge transfer.