The internship program was recently announced during an extended homeroom session for the tenth and eleventh graders. This lead to a lot of ambitious students signing up and additionally created many confused students. What is an internship? What do you do in an internship? What are the benefits of an internship? These are the questions I have heard in the hallways and classrooms after this announcement was given. Hearing all these questions, it even made the students in the lower grades curious. To answer these pressing questions from our student community, I decided to write a compact summary of an internship.

An internship is defined by the National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE) as “a carefully monitored work or volunteer experience in which an individual has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what he or she is learning throughout the experience”. To put it more simply, an internship is an opportunity offered by an employer or company to potential employees, called interns, who are often high school or college students. Interns work at the firm for a fixed period of time, which can last from two weeks to two months. It can be either paid or voluntary.

Other than the fact that internships are a great asset in college applications, they also provide you with insight into a professional workplace. You usually choose an industry in which you are interested in and have an internship in a firm within that industry. Although this is recommended, many students also try to have internships in fields, where they aren’t very experienced in. This allows them to find their passions and experience something new. Having an internship in the firm, lets you get to know the professionals in the field and their everyday work. This can be done by shadowing a professional there and doing small tasks for them. If you become very close to them, you might even get to eat lunch with them and hear how they achieved this career. In conclusion, it gives you practical skills, workplace experience and greater knowledge of that industry.

This is where FIS internship program comes into play. When you take part in the internship programme at the school, you need to attend meetings in preparation. The meetings take part on Saturdays early in the morning. There are many guests from Accenture, a global management consulting and professional services firm, who help prepare you for your internship. The guests teach the students about internship applications, business etiquette. and digital navigation in the workplace. During the internship programme around December and January, Ms. Wood then sends you suggested firms based on the industry you are interested in. Most applications should be sent around January or February (sometimes the companies specify an exact date, but even if they do, it is usually within this time interval).

Having done this internship programme last year with my peers, I thought it was very rewarding and helpful. The guests from Accenture gave advice that was useful before and during my internship. While preparing for my internship was interesting, I also believe that it felt exciting to come to school and see all your friends in formal wear. Year after year, this programme allows students to experience a professional workplace and find their passions. It is clear that FIS really is a World of Opportunities.