An Internship Program at a Computer Science Department –Theoretical Foundation and Overall Coordination

Abstract

Internship courses, unlike others, are multi-pronged because they require coordination at different levels. Typically, a faculty member coordinates the communication and implementation at each level to achieve the desired outcomes. We call the position that this faculty holds the "internship coordinator". For the work of the internship coordinator to be successful, he/she may need to synchronize the work of the internship with all parties involved. Failure to coordinate at one level or another may affect the work of other parties involved in completing the internship for the students. This paper explains the experience of an internship program at the computer science department (COSC) at Indiana University Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). We focus on the work of the internship coordinator for this program and his work to communicate and coordinate to successfully implement the internship experience for the students. We first discuss the theoretical foundation that led to the development of internship programs in academia and then elaborate on the multiple levels of the role of the internship coordinator in completing the internship experience for the students.

A welcomed reversal in computer science enrollments: Analysis of contributing factors and recommendations to sustain the growth

“…For this purpose, we offer an internship course providing experiential leaning at companies both large and small in the western Pennsylvania region and across the US. Ali and Smith (2015) explained the benefits of bringing internships for students and the benefits in keeping up with the demand on the new technologies. Students present their work after their completion of their internship with other students providing further interest by others.…”