Study abroad and internship experiences are the best ways for students to globalize their education. The purpose of this study was to identify students' perceptions of international agriculture before and after they participated in an international agricultural study abroad and internship. The objectives were to identify the attitudes about both international agricultural study abroad programs and internships, compare and contrast perceptions of international agriculture based on study abroad experience or internship, and identify any motivations, barriers, and benefits of international agricultural experiences to student development. The results indicated the major motivations, barriers, and benefits, the role of agriculture in students' decisions to study or intern abroad, and the importance of the length of a trip abroad. Major motivations included travel/international experience, education, work experience/hands-on activities, culture, and agriculture/natural resources; barriers included cost, time off work/schedule, language, safety and health, and time away from home; finally, benefits included experience in international agriculture and natural resources, culture, international travel, global perspective, and education. This study found that international agriculture was a major motivator, even with the students who had no agricultural background. It also indicated that short-term study abroad trips and internship programs during break times from school are increasingly popular. Universities can use this case to understand better and improve international learning opportunities for students and increase interest and knowledge in agriculture.

A formal evaluation of BYU's Basic Training in TESOL course shows the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum of this course. Interns take this course in preparation for international internships where they may be asked to teach English. However, the interns are generally not seeking majors or even minors in TESOL. Furthermore, most interns are not seeking any teaching major. Internship locations vary throughout the world and include, but are not limited to the following regions: Central and South America, Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. This MA curriculum evaluation project reports findings of a formal evaluation of BYU's Linguistics 377, Basic Training in TESOL, a course designed to provide interns with minimal teacher training in preparation for international internships. It specifically looks at how effectively the basic training course prepares the interns and to what extent it helps increase the confidence of the interns. This report presents quantitative and qualitative data collected from the interns enrolled during the Winter 2008 semester course, via interviews and questionnaires. The evaluation also offers recommendations for the course and other volunteer programs, as well as future research recommendations.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka hur väl informerade och förberedda svenska gymnasieelever blir när det gäller internationella studier, jobb eller praktik. Resultatet visar att 85 procent av de elever som svarat på enkäten inte anser att de får tillräcklig information när det gäller utlandsstudier, jobb eller praktik. Detta kan sättas i perspektiv till att 79 procent av eleverna själva är intresserade av internationell erfarenhet. Alltså finns det ett behov av information som inte är tillfredsställt. / The purpose of this study is to investigate how well informed and prepared Swedish students are for international studies, work or internship. The result shows that 85 percent of the responding students do not think that they receive sufficient information regarding studies, work or internship abroad. In comparison to the 79 percent of the students who are interested in international experience, the unsatisfied need for information is clear.

Vi è un ampio e diffuso consenso che suggerisce che il tirocinio (internship), come forma di apprendimento esperienziale, può essere uno strumento efficace per lo sviluppo delle competenze tecniche e trasferibili degli studenti e quindi come strumento di rafforzamento dell'occupabilità (employabiltiy) dei laureati. Numerosi studi hanno anche scoperto che le esperienze internazionali possono sviluppare le competenze più apprezzate dai datori di lavoro. Questa ricerca affronta una lacuna all'intersezione di questi due campi di studio. La maggior parte degli studi analizza le esperienze internazionali con un focus distintivo sull'aspetto internazionale e non sui diversi tipi di esperienze, ad es. studiare all’estero rispetto a fare un tirocinio (internship) all’estero. La domanda a cui questo studio si propone di rispondere è se il tirocinio (internship) e il contesto internazionale abbinati estendono l'esperienza di apprendimento oltre a quella sviluppata attraverso un tirocinio domestico da solo. Quando la progettazione di questo studio è stata inizialmente pianificata, è stato fatto un grande sforzo per identificare uno strumento per misurare l'occupabilità (employability) nel modo più obiettivo possibile. Le misurazioni basate sull’utilizzo di giochi digitali (digital game-based assessments) sono state identificate come lo strumento più appropriato per farlo in modo obiettivo. In questo studio i comportamenti che definiscono l’occupabilita’ (employability) degli studenti risultato in oltre 30 indicatori quantitativi. Questi indicatori convergono con le competenze trasferibili che sono state identificate come quelle richieste dal mercato del lavoro e ampiamente analizzate nella letteratura sull'occupabilità (employability). I dati per questo studio sono stati raccolti nel triennio 2017-19 e sono stati coinvolti un totale di 1315 studenti italiani. L'analisi fattoriale esplorativa ha esaminato la struttura alla base degli indicatori di occupabilità (employability) generati dalle valutazioni basate sul gioco digitale (digital game-based assessments). I risultati rivelano diversi temi significativi che contribuiscono ulteriormente alla conoscenza e comprensione di ciò che influenza l'occupabilità (employability) dei laureati. Il primo risultato che emerge dalle analisi di questo studio risponde alla domanda di ricerca. Quando un tirocinio (internship) si svolge all’estero, c'è un apprendimento esperienziale aggiuntivo dato dal contesto internazionale, che contribuisce ulteriormente all'apprendimento esperienziale e trasformativo già sviluppato attraverso un tirocinio (internship) domestico. Inoltre, risulta anche che questo elemento aggiuntivo sia associato a comportamenti di occupabilità (employability) legati a fattori cognitivi e non sociali. Ciò contrasta con gli studi precedenti sull'impatto delle esperienze internazionali, che generalmente associano questo tipo di esperienze allo sviluppo di competenze di tipo sociale e interpersonale. Questo studio rileva infine che quando sembra esserci una superiorità degli studenti maschi nei comportamenti di occupabilità (employability) legati dalle capacità cognitive, questa superiorità scompare quando associata a stage internazionali. / There is a large and widespread consensus suggesting that internships, as one form of experiential learning, can be an effective instrument for the development of students’ technical and transferable skills and therefore as enhancing graduate employability. Separately, studies have found that international experiences can develop the skills most valued by employers. This research addresses a gap at the intersection of these two fields of study. Most studies analyze international experiences with a distinctive focus on the international and not on the different types of experiences, e.g. study abroad versus internships. The question this study aims to answer is whether an internship and an international context combine to extend the learning experience beyond that developed through a domestic internship alone. When the design of this study was initially planned, much effort was put into identifying a tool to measure employability in the most objective way possible. Digital game-based assessments were identified as the most appropriate tool to do this objectively. Insights into behaviors in this study result in over 30 quantitative descriptors of employability, which converge with the lists of transferable skills that have been identified as those demanded by the labor market and extensively analyzed in the employability literature. The data for this study was collected over three years 2017-19, and a total of 1315 Italian students were involved. Exploratory factor analysis examined the structure underlying the employability descriptors generated by the digital game-based assessments. The findings reveal several significant themes that further contribute to our current knowledge and understanding of what influences graduates’ employability. The first finding answers the research question. When an internship takes place in a country different from that of the student’s home, there is additional experiential learning from the international context, which contributes further to the experiential and transformative learning already developed through the internship. It also appears that this additional element is associated with employability behaviors predicted by Cognitive and not Social factors. This contrasts with earlier studies on the impact of international experiences, which generally find that social and interpersonal skills are developed. This study also finds that when there appears to be a gender bias toward male students in employability behaviors predicted by cognitive abilities, this bias disappears when associated with international internships.

This exploratory study examines the impact of intercultural training as part of an international corporate internship program in the United States for college graduates from Rwanda. This is a mixed-method study using quantitative and qualitative data collected before, at completion, and one year after the 3-month internship program. The report explores the design, methods, content, tools, assessments and experiential activities used during the intercultural training, which focused on educating both the Rwandan interns and their U.S. managers on some of the differences in culture and communication styles that impact effectiveness in the workplace. The purpose of this research is to discern which aspects of the intercultural training intervention the participants perceived as the most beneficial. In addition to providing a better understanding of challenges for African interns adapting to the U.S. corporate environment, this study hopes to provide insights and contribute to a framework of best practices for intercultural training for U.S. international corporate internships, which as part of the J-1 visa program created by the U.S. State Department to build international understanding and cultural exchange, as well as work opportunities.