INTERNATIONAL INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMERGING DESIGN PROFESSIONALS

This paper will delineate the methods the author has employed in placing students in international work settings for the purpose of skills development and internship training in the field of architecture. The process applies broadly to all design disciplines taking in assignments to engineering, interior design, landscape architecture and in some cases construction management. Both foreign and domestic firms offer practice settings in other countries and the processes and procedures for documentation can respond to the regulatory climate of the country within which the internship takes place.

Legal requirements for the professional practice of architecture and design may vary between countries; however, a fundamental issue that faces students and interns in design settings is the experience necessary to put skills to use and education into practice. Moreover, the point at which an emerging professional has established the legitimacy and accumulated knowledge necessary to practice and lead a design project, without threat to human life safety must be tested comprehensively.

This paper deals with broadening the development of an international network of cooperative work experiences for students in an architecture program. By utilizing a professional practice standard required for licensure in the United States, opportunities in international settings can be recognized for the unique opportunity they provide as a non-academic option for study abroad. Conversely, the categories and definitions of the selected system work in reverse to describe opportunities available to those coming from other countries. Those settings are described and explanations are given on how a student should work to optimize his/her own experience and personal professional development.

In this paper, I relate the Intern Development Program adopted by all states and territories of the USA to the procedures of countries all over the world drawing parallels between similar core requirements and highlighting the differences and therein lie the opportunities for unique experiences and an expanded view of learning potential. The process, which is so often seamless in the transitions from education to experience to independent professional practice, then begins to also emerge as borderless in the international community.

This approach to counseling and mentoring has been used successfully by the author at different levels of student internship and has significantly expanded the knowledge and creativity of the individuals.