In an article for eCampusNews, Julia Freeland Fisher underscores the need to increase internship opportunities for postsecondary students, identifying evidence that suggests internships often positively correlate with employment rates after graduation. She demonstrates however, that scaling internships without tracking their quality and potential for innovation runs the risk of turning work placements into a tick-box exercise. To tackle gaps in internship opportunities, Freeland Fisher advises that leaders get a better sense of the desired outcomes of the internship–whether that be exposure to job networks, skills development, or work experience–and communicate these outcomes to third parties and students. She recommends too, that internship opportunities should not take a one-size-fits-all approach and reflect the diverse needs of students.
