International Internship Programs

Abstract

This chapter looks at international internship programs. First, the basic concept of internship and its position in university education are reviewed. The next section examines the characteristics and the expected learning outcomes of international internship programs as compared to domestic internship programs. Based on these reviews, this chapter examines the impacts of international internship programs on students' intercultural competence and awareness of the host country based on sampling data from 52 students collected for this study. A key finding is that although there was also an impact on the growth of intercultural competence, participants tended to look primarily at the differences in business environment between the host country and Japan that they were able to experience for themselves through the work they engaged in. Meanwhile, there was little evidence of the cultivation of empathy and goodwill toward the host country.