Thought Leadership

Internships Should Mirror Today’s New Hybrid Workplace

Daniel Nivern

CEO & Co-Founder, Virtual Internships

Virtual opportunities broaden access to more diverse interns and allow different ways of working

The world of work has changed dramatically in the past few years. Today’s reality is a hybrid of virtual and in-person experiences, which gives companies new options for providing meaningful work-learn experiences to college students and recent graduates, in the modality of how we're increasingly working. Plus, being less constrained by geography, employers can open internship opportunities to a much larger and more diverse pool of candidates.

Daniel Nivern, who co-founded and runs Virtual Internships, explains:

Rural students in particular stand to gain from geographic flexibility. Virtual internships have seen immense innovation and increased buy-in from rural campuses seeking to provide their students with increased access to professional experiences, despite the lack of regional or local industry.

For example, SUNY Potsdam leveraged funding to provide 20 full-semester remote internships, resulting in students gaining 12 credits toward their degree and an enhanced résumé with great real-world work experience.

The same opening up of opportunity applies to international students—sometimes in surprising directions. Those studying abroad but looking to return home postgraduation need to grow their domestic professional networks to compete professionally against those who stayed close to home to study. Conversely, students around the world who plan to study in their home country may face limited employment opportunities and have a strong interest in gaining global work experience.

Read Daniel's entire article, "Maximizing Internship Opportunities for All," in Inside Higher Ed.