Assessment of internship effectiveness in South Italy Universities

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss the way internships are currently evaluated in Campania Universities by host institutions. Design/methodology/approach The author collected and described questionnaires used by the universities of the Regional Observatory of Campania University System. These questionnaires are given by the host institutions to interns to fill out, and they evaluate skills growth in terms of initial and final assessment. Data related to these questionnaires are not publicly available, therefore the main data source comes from 732 post-internship questionnaires collected by the University of Suor Orsola Benincasa in 2013-2014. Findings Out of the 732 participants considered, 65 per cent rated excellent for motivation and interest, 55 per cent were rated excellent for the responsibility demonstrated, but only 37 per cent were rated excellent for the level of work autonomy achieved: a signal of the need to better prepare students for internships. Cross-technical and professional skills, which increase of +37 and +32 per cent, suggest that the experience has a very positive value. Regarding the experience outcome, the author detected a positive indicator: in 6 per cent of cases, an early employment occurred. Research limitations/implications It has only been possible to analyze the questionnaires from one of the Campania universities. The results encourage us to explore further, extending instruments and research methods at a national level, too. Originality/value The author built a research database form to compare current questionnaires in Campania. The author collected internship evaluation data from Suor Orsola University to propose a common questionnaire among Campania Universities. By sharing the findings, other universities, national and international, could benefit from the results.

The linkages between antecedents, processes and outcomes of internship

“…The content of "skills" is also something that can vary. Many studies mention cross-skills or general skills like critical thinking; problem solving; teamwork; IT or computer skills; or language and communication skills (Knouse and Fontenot, 2008;Dommeyer et al, 2016;della Volpe, 2017;Chen et al, 2018;Marks et al, 2018;Kapareliotis et al, 2019). Some studies have highlighted professional skills (della Volpe, 2017; Chen et al, 2018;Nghia and Duyen, 2018;Anjum, 2020), referring to skills that are specific to a certain profession.…”

“…(2019) found that classroom preparation does not affect the perceived value of an internship. Some studies have revealed that there are different perceptions about the preparation or characteristics of internship students; companies expect more autonomous students (della Volpe, 2017). The study by Jackling and Natoli (2015) about international student internships in Australia demonstrated that communication skills and awareness of relevant business culture were not up to the level expected by companies.…”

“…Many studies mention cross-skills or general skills like critical thinking; problem solving; teamwork; IT or computer skills; or language and communication skills (Knouse and Fontenot, 2008; Dommeyer et al. , 2016; della Volpe, 2017; Chen et al. , 2018; Marks et al.…”

“…, 2014; Kroon and Franco, 2022). For students, an internship is a transition from academic studies to a work environment (della Volpe, 2017), improving skills and competencies (Sanahuja Véléz and Ribes Giner, 2015) or future job performance (Gault et al. , 2010), ensuring better employability (Knouse and Fontenot, 2008) and, due to their trial and error nature, internships contribute to more conscientious career choices (Maertz et al.…”

“…Although there are some studies that analyse the skills obtained via an internship (e.g. della Volpe, 2017; Chen et al. , 2018; Nghia and Duyen, 2018; Teng et al.…”