Abstract:

The evolution and complexity of the industry and business world have compelled universities to respond to numerous challenges and reshape the way they prepare students to meet those needs. One of the most used ways to meet this new reality has been the introduction of internships in undergraduate, masters and even doctoral programs, allowing a better match between academic skills and business needs, and also helping to narrow the link between institutions of these two worlds, often isolated, but increasingly in need of working in partnership.

This paper aims to analyze how management undergraduate students who have experienced internships in companies consider that this is indeed a good way to improve their skills, interconnect academic content with practice and consider it as a form of improving their employability prospects upon the conclusion of the degree.

Using the results of questionnaires conducted to undergraduate students from the Degree in Retail Management, applied during the last five academic years to students in the three years of the program (the degree has an internship at the end of each academic year), and after the construction of the relevant indicators, an ordered probit and logit model was applied to capture the areas in which students most value the internships.

The results achieved show that internships are an instrument highly valued by students, and the consequences of their implementation translate into significant improvements in the skills achieved and enhanced employability after the program completion.

Through this study we demonstrated that the strategy followed by many higher education institutions has been correct and that this path should continue to further strengthen the relationship between universities and companies, with the internships being a key piece on this path, with clear gains for all parts involved, but particularly for students, the future workers in companies that need them to stronger, more competitive and more efficient.

Keywords:

Internships, Management, Higher Education.