Fast networks allowing students to undertake remote internships
Fast networks allowing students to undertake remote internships
Fast internet connection, using technology like MPLS, could be increasingly important to students looking to make the most of the new trend for remote internships.
Internships and work experience placements are fast becoming a requirement, rather than a bonus, in the world of further education. Students are quickly realising that without having proved themselves in a trial position, employers are likely to overlook their CV when the real jobs become available.
“My work space was essentially my dorm room and if I had a computer and Internet connection, I was essentially at work,” commented Kenneth Durrell, who as a junior at Columbia University completed a virtual internship for the Business Council for Peace.
Speaking to Bloomberg, he added that he enjoyed the fact that he could complete the work experience without having to leave campus and shell out for a room in New York. He communicated with the staff at Business Council for Peace via Skype, email and conference calling. Industry experts claim that these kinds of skills will be increasingly important in the future and that remote internships actually help to better prepare students for the future of work where managed networks, leased lines and IP communications are commonplace.
The rise of the virtual internship is proving increasingly popular stateside, with both students and employers. For employers, it opens up a far larger pool of talent for them to choose from. Smaller firms are also starting to offer placements to students as they no longer feel they have to provide office space for them. Meanwhile, students who may not have the funds to undertake a physical internship can do so from their dorm rooms with a simple broadband connection.
The trend is quickly spreading overseas and is allowing students to undertake internships with foreign companies without paying for flights or expensive rents. The US State Department is even getting in on the act with its Virtual Student Foreign Service, which is a service allowing college students to become ‘e-interns’ with overseas State Department offices.
Geni Harclerode of the University of Michigan’s career centre, commented: “I think there is an appeal with some of these virtual internships because they can still contribute to an organisation while living at home for the summer and saving money.”
