Developing an Internship Program
Before starting an internship program, it is helpful to check whether your organization is geared to take up interns. By considering the following points, you will get a good idea of whether hosting internships in your company is feasible.
Organizational Factors
- Long-term commitment toward working with a university.
- The organizational culture of your company — whether it supports internships.
Internship Work and Goals
- Availability of meaningful work for interns.
- Need for skills that exist in interns.
- The possibility of recruiting interns as potential new employees.
- The contributions of interns -- whether interns can benefit or impair your organization in different ways.
Human Resources
- Availability of human resources with sufficient time and supervisory skills to work with interns.
- Departments and facilities for hosting interns.
Internship Time
- The time of year for hosting interns and the duration of individual internships.
Internship Support
- Accessible workspace, access to computers and the internet and other communication resources.
- Access to people who would be colleagues, resources, or internal clients.
Financial Resources
- The budget for creating internships.
- Methods of remuneration — salary, bonus, commission or other kinds of non-monetary reward.