Virtual internships have the advantage that a student does not have to relocate to work for a firm. I believe that the number of such internships will increase rapidly as companies become more comfortable with communication technology. Some schools such as George Fox and Columbia have already started specializing in virtual internships. However, it does not appear as though they have put together a full work space, although they do offer some career counseling.
I recommend that we establish a center for virtual internships. Such a center would have state-of-the-art communication and computer technology, dedicated conferencing rooms, and also offer coursework on virtual teams and the virtual workplace. We would be able to quickly train our students in how to perform well on a virtual internship, giving us a competitive advantage over other schools. It may also help us attract small, innovative firms, or geographically remote firms that may not usually hire RIT interns. I also believe it would provide the school with positive publicity, as it does not seem as any other schools have made a large-scale commitment to the concept.
It builds on our strengths in innovation, technology, and the co-op program.
I believe this could be a fruitful collaboration between Saunders College of Business (to provide the business classes on how to best work in a virtual team) and either the Golisano College or the Gleason College (to provide training on the latest developments in communications technology, and the technical support needed to run the center).
Yes.
George Fox University and Columbia University have virtual internship programs and c enters, but it does not appear that they have dedicated campus space and/or significant resources.
If we are one of the first schools to premier such a program, companies that develop virtual tools (such as video conferencing) will want to partner with us to get feedback on tools and train next generation of workers on them. We may also be able to attract companies who wish to sponsor their own video-conferencing room on campus.
Media will be interested because virtual work and teams is an emerging trend that schools have not yet capitalized on. It may also enhance our ability to attract small, innovative firms that do not have office space for interns but would still like to use students in their workforce.
Our practical nature and co-op programs can sometimes be under-rated as merely expertise in finding jobs for students. However, this gives us a chance to prove that our co-op focus gives us the ability to place students in innovative jobs that represent where the industry is headed. I also think it raises our profile with companies by proving our dedication to innovation and providing a halo effect for our co-located co-ops and our programs as a whole. We could also consider providing contracting or temp work for students, where companies would place short-term virtual internships (e.g,, 5 weeks), knowing that our students are well-trained and can rapidly provide value to a firm. And as said before, we may be able to attract small, innovative firms, or perhaps remote firms who normally would not recruit students to move to their area for work.