Virtual internships: challenges and solution

Abstract

Higher education curriculum usually has an internship component, and the value of applying learned concepts to real-life problems and gaining hands-on experience is widely recognized. This recognition is even more pronounced in business graduates, as internships form a crucial stepping-stone for first-year students. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has upended the conventional internship structure and has forced firms to offer virtual or online internships. Virtual internships strive to emulate the traditional internships through internet-based communication and file-sharing tools. In this paper, we have researched and analyzed virtual internships from a learner’s perspective, including the various difficulties faced and possible remedies to enhance the virtual learning experience. The analysis has been done along the four stages of experiential learning theory, and recommendations to improve the virtual internship experience have been made.