Work in Progress: Examining the Literature on Virtual Internships for Insights Applicable to Engineers

Abstract

Internships are undertaken by roughly half of U.S. engineering students nationally and are widely thought to benefit students in a variety of ways, strengthening students' academic self-concept and increasing their persistence in engineering [1]-[3]. However, the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 caused an unprecedented shift in the structure of internships, with approximately 83% of employers moving internships into a virtual work space [4]. While literature exists on in-person co-ops and internships [5]-[7], relatively little exists on engineering internships held virtually [8]. This Work-in-Progress paper reviews the literature on virtual internships across disciplines to find effective practices that can be applied to virtual engineering internships. The review sets the stage by a brief summary of research on traditional engineering internships and management of virtual teams before delving into findings on the opportunities and limitations as well as program design recommendations for virtual internships.