Abstract:

The transition from the university to the professional world is a pressing concerns in the career planning of university students in their final years (Amenduni & Ligorio, 2017), and also is a challenge for the universities, interested in providing students with the necessary skills linked to boosting the employability of their graduates (Nisha and Rajasekaran, 2018; Sokhanvar., Salehi and Sokhanvar, 2021). One possibility to easy this transition is the promotion of internships or similar exercises such as practicums and curricular practices (Perusso & Baaken, 2020).

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the adoption of digital distance solutions to aid work-based learning, but there is little research on the reverse process: how distance universities can bridge the gap between their non-face-to-face character and the usual on-site nature at the workplace.

This paper delves into the lessons learned at one of the biggest European distance learning universities on the incorporation of face-to-face internships as an enabler for a regulated transition from distance studies to on-site jobs in the workplace.

Methodologically, a questionnaire was designed by using the Likert scale format of 5 points to understand students’ satisfaction with the internship experience. The results indicate that learners become more actively involved in the learning process and socialise in the professional environment through the internship. Differences can be observed in the perceptions of students with or without previous experiences in the job market. In any case, internships provide them with a richer and more diverse learning experience, offering more opportunities than a mere distance learning environment.

References:
[1] Amenduni, F., & Ligorio, M. B. (2017). Becoming at the borders: the role of positioning in boundary-crossing between university and workplaces. Cultural-Historical Psychology, 13(1).
[2] Nisha, S. M., & Rajasekaran, V. (2018). Employability skills: A review. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 12(1), 29–37.
[3] Perusso, A., & Baaken, T. (2020). Assessing the authenticity of cases, internships and problem-based learning as managerial learning experiences: Concepts, methods and lessons for practice. The International Journal of Management Education, 18(3), 100425.
[4] Sokhanvar, Z., Salehi, K., & Sokhanvar, F. (2021). Advantages of authentic assessment for improving the learning experience and employability skills of higher education students: A systematic literature review. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 70, 101030.

Keywords:

Distance education, tertiary education, internships, student employability, blended learning.