Assignment #1: Informational Interview (Canvas quiz, 20 points)
Due date: 5th week
Purpose: To get to know a colleague and learn from their experience and perspective
Instructions: Interview a professional at your internship (who is not your supervisor, lead/mentor, or another intern) and learn about his/her story. In a 30-minute interview, ask questions such as:
- How did you get to your current position? What has been your career path up until now?
- What do you like most about your job?
- What is the most valuable advice you have received?
- What advice would you give to those who are looking to break into this field?
- What skills do you look for when hiring employees?
On the Canvas page, provide the interviewee’s name, position and contact information, as well as two key takeaways from the interview.
#2: Final Reflection Report (uploaded file, 80 points)
Due date: 10th week
Purpose: To synthesize and concisely articulate your internship tasks/accomplishments in written format, as well as understand growth & build awareness about professional skills and development.
Instructions: Write a final report to document your growth during your internship and its application to your future career goals. The report should be approximately three pages in length (0.5" margins, 11pt Arial, doublespaced) and clearly written sentences. Please respond to the following sections to help guide your report.
- General Information Section
- Explain your role and how your work contributed to the company
- Technical Skills (maximum one quarter-page sized picture/diagram)
- Document the technical experiences you had during your work experience and discuss technical problems that you assisted in solving
- Give examples of the science and engineering principles learned through your coursework
- Indicate any courses or subject areas that might have enhanced your work performance
- Do NOT include confidential information from your employer. Contact the CC@E if you have questions about how to describe work experiences without violating confidentiality agreements
- Development of Professional Skills
- Describe team and leadership building opportunities on the job
- Address the ways in which you practiced oral and written communication on the job
- Share challenges you faced in the work environment and how you responded to those challenges
- List and describe skills you relied on to complete your work assignments
- Assessments
- Discuss whether or not you met goals set out by your supervisor or that you set for yourself
- Evaluate your performance of assigned projects, noting both areas of strength and improvement
- Conclusion
- Summarize by addressing the impact of the work experience on your education and career goals
- Provide two “lessons learned” to share with any student that is considering an internship