Work-based learning models in engineering curricula: insight from the French experience

Abstract

To favour an early exposure of students to professional practice, several engineering higher education institutions have implemented integrated curricula, as proposed in the international CDIO educational framework. In the 1990s, the French engineering education accreditation body introduced in its quality standards a compulsory internship period. Based on this national experience, this article sets out the various models of internships and apprenticeships in French engineering education and presents two curriculum integrations: one in a highly selective public graduate Grande Ecole and another in a private multisite engineering institution strongly linked to professional branches and national qualification framework. To provide some inputs and rationales to educational programme designers in other national contexts, this article proposes to extend the CDIO framework to systematically include work-based learning as integrated activities, to better match industry requirements and student competency expectations as future engineers.

Internship Programs for Undergraduate Health Informatics Students in Saudi Arabia

“…To support the recognition of health informatics profession, there is a need for a robust collaboration between health informatics departments in academic institutions and health organisations [1,34]. The internship programs should provide interns with relevant experience to improve their understanding of the applications of health informatics and how these applications are managed within healthcare settings [18]. This can be achieved by exposing interns to health information systems (e.g., EHR and CDSSs) and enabling them to practice data quality and management principles by using anonymous health data [4,37].…”

“…• real-world experience [6] • improving the awareness of professional values and ethical issues [6,10] • increasing employment opportunities [6,17] • empowering them to create a professional network [6,18] • increasing their employment probability after graduation [6,17].…”

“…• developing high competencies [6] • improving communication with the organisations in the industry [6,9,10] • gaining opportunities to identify curriculum issues, and thus enabling them to improve their programs [6,11,18,19] • enhancing student recruitment [6,9] • achieving a notable reputation [6].…”

“…• accessing students with high competencies for temporary employment [6,9] • accessing students with recent academic knowledge in the industry field [6,9] • obtaining the perspective of a younger generation [6] • improving the employees' retention rate [9,10] • offering an opportunity to select skilled and knowledgeable employees with a fresh perspective [6,9,18] • providing an opportunity to contribute to the community and improve social responsibility [10,18] • enabling professional staff to develop creative and advanced projects [10] • strengthening organisations partnership with academic institutions [9] • supporting organisations to implement the latest strategies and techniques [10].…”

“…Students, therefore, expect an internship program to be experiential learning and to support their professional development through hands-on experience and exposing them to a variety of areas in the field. Despite these benefits, many concerns arise about the learning quality in internship programs, legal and ethical issues and timing of internship programs [6,11,18]. In conclusion, internship programs affect interns' knowledge and skills and provide them with non-monetary incentives and necessary experiences that help them in future employment.…”