RETHINKING ENGINEERING INTERNSHIPS IN TIMES OF DISRUPTIONS

Internships represent an important opportunity for students. It is an opportunity to develop a feel of the engineering work and profession, to be engaged in learning that enables them to observe experts at work, apply and practice knowledge and skills gained in the classroom and for many, it subsequently informs their decisions on further education and/or career options. The internship therefore is a bridge between two different phases, namely, education and work. Aligned with the theme of the CDIO conference on thriving and surviving, the challenging situation brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic on a global scale affected the way work and learning were conducted. Students’ internships were canceled, postponed, or reduced to virtually participating in a company, hampering their professional development through handson experience. This paper aims to make sense of this disruption by using the work of Bourdieu on habitus and field to examine the transition process and the ways in which the interns develop an understanding of their internship experience and adapt to the changes amidst the disruptions brought about by the pandemic. Bourdieu’s work is significant here because it sees education and practice beyond the explicit transferal of knowledge by highlighting the importance of practical and embodied experience, something which was affected in internships during the pandemic. The research was conducted through digital focus group discussions with 22 students. Here, we present the story of 2 students that provide insights in how students experienced and managed disrupted internships. This is especially crucial as for most of these interns, the internship is an initial foray into the world of work, providing them with an insight into engineering in practice that guides their understanding and decisions relating to their future. Together, this paper contributes to advances in the theory and practice of CDIO by reinforcing the need for closer alignment between education and industry.