Have you ever heard about virtual internships? What about e-internships?

Virtual internships have been around for more than ten years.

But what are virtual internships? Computer-mediated internships include, on the one hand, those that are based on simulated experiences – these are literally virtual environments and task settings. On the other hand, you have e-internships. These are internships you complete remotely with an employer.

In 2020, e-internships have quickly come to replace many traditional – onsite – internship formats. Today, this means you can work with an employer in a different city, county, country, and yes, in a different time zone. And many employers are open to hiring interns once they know that you can offer them a great skill set and project-related expertise.

As you are starting at UCC, you may wish to consider internship opportunities locally, nationally and even internationally.

To learn more about virtual internships, consider the following blog posts for more information.

Introductory blog posts about virtual internships

Jeske, D. (2020). Exploring virtual internships: Key tips for students. Published by the Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions (CCWT) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (posted 18 August 2020).

Crowley, L. (2020). Exploring Remote Internships: Part 2: Learning Outcomes and Duration. Published by Intuition Inc. blog post (posted 31 July 2020).

Jeske, D. (2019). Virtual internships: Learning opportunities and recommendations. Book chapter published in Shindell, R. (ed.) Total Internship Management - The Employer’s Guide to Building and Sustaining the Ultimate Internship Program (3rd Edition). Cedar Park, TX: Intern Bridge, Inc. (link leads to internal UCC resource, so make sure you are logged on)

 Research website

The following sites provides you with more details about: internship platforms in the USA and India, general press coverage and research on virtual internships

https://einterns.wordpress.com/

 For further queries

Feel free to contact Dr. Debora Jeske via email for more information (d.jeske@ucc.ie). Dr. Jeske is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork.