Why internships are so important in recruiting students?

1. Employers are not content with the education only

The university has always been considered as an indispensable part of our education, often as a springboard to promising future careers. A few decades ago, Russian students used to pin their hopes on the education received in universities more than today, basically, it was quite enough to launch the career. However, the time flows and the world changes. Nowadays, no employer is bound to be impressed with the graduate who has every degree but no experience at all.  That is the question to reflect on: What ought to be done to provide students with proper theoretical background and fruitful practical skills during their studying? The answer may lie in the close interaction between university and business that quite often takes the form of what is commonly called “internship”.

2. Internship = the most accessible work experience

What is an internship? It can be defined as a job training that employers offer to students interested in gaining work experience. Apparently, the internship is the most accessible way to student to get acquainted with the work environment and, in particularly, with domain where the graduate would like to evolve. However, the student is not always able to manage both things, studying and internship, successfully because of the lack of time, especially if the internship is not a part of  the educational process. In this case, providing internships within the university course will be extremely beneficial to students in terms of acquiring work experience and looking much more attractive to potential employer after the graduation. Indeed, the universities that give their students the internship opportunity together with other practical experience are highly likely to be distinguished among other educational institutions and, consequently, chosen to study at.

3. Internships in Russia are often far from ideal  

As far as Russian universities are concerned, more often than not the students does not have internship opportunities provided by the institution where they are studying. Even though the internship is provided, it is usually a kind of necessary formality rather than a practically valuable activity, which can be converted in the real work experience that counts. Eventually, the student has to make a choice whether to focus on his studying or on working if he wants to accomplish at least one thing properly. The choice that can never be perfect. In fact, this choice should not even exist if the university strives not only to look attractively but also to be a genuine place that brings up future specialists with various up-to-date competences.

4. Internships abroad are quite attractive to Russians

In the light of the above, foreign universities just cannot pass over the opportunity of the internship implementation within the educational process, if it has not been done yet. It is quite important to bear in mind or to have even approximate notion of how an average student imagines himself in the moment of graduation after years of studying. For instance, the following image appears to be quite enticing to the majority of students, especially to the Russian ones: a student of a prestigious foreign university who has already had work experience in the developing international company or well-known international institution by the time of his graduation. This is a naturally attractive image for every ambitious Russian student who is searching for a springboard to the heights of the professional prospects. If the PR-department manages to deliver the message to the target audience (young people or their parents), where its university student is closely associated with the aforementioned alluring image of university graduate, in that case the chances are the students will be recruited.

5. Types of foreign internships and the ways to promote them

There is a range of internship types proposed to students. The most popular are:

1. Cooperative education ( the partnership between student, employer and college/university with earning college credits)
2. Practicum (college course that gives practical application of a previously studied theory)
3. Externship (enables student to investigate a career field in a short time, usually unpaid)
4. Apprenticeship (on-the-job training often accompanied with studying in the classroom)

The variety of possible internships allows Russian students to find something special that suits their own purposes. Therefore, university’s promotion channels (social medias, education shows, ATL and BTL promotion etc.) or advertising campaigns should reflect the following idea expressed as clearly as possible: the student of their university will certainly get access to the possibilities like an internship. The announcement of the official university internship programs in collaboration with well-known international companies will only confirm applicant’s decision. After all, everything may become the closing argument that determines student’s choice and internship is certainly the one.

More on the topic: learn what Russian students expect from education abroad.

These useful tips will help you to engage with your students. If you would rather have someone does this for you, we’d be happy to help you. StudyQA team has been working with students from Russia and CIS for the last 10 years and will help you run a successful campaign in this region. Contact us here!