Understanding the Role of Internship as an Activity Based Learning: A Case Study

Abstract

Activity based learning is a successful educational model in various disciplines and recently it has been proved very effective in business institutes also. This paper was intended to explore the effects of internship in the university students of Pakistan as an activity based learning in order to boost their skills and abilities. Qualitative research as research design was adopted for the study following interpretivist paradigm. For the purpose of data collection, 30 students from business institutes were interviewed. Only those candidates were chosen who had recently completed their internship in well-known organizations of Pakistan. Data analyses were done through NVivo software version 11, suggested for qualitative data analyses. Findings proposed that industrial internship is a viable activity for the learning and growth of university students. Practical experience, teamwork, understanding strengths and weaknesses, financial support for further studies and exposure to real world problems were found chief outcomes of internship in terms of professional development. Likewise, goal setting, internal motivation, confidence, punctuality, regularity and understanding responsibility in terms of personality development were found as key outcomes of internship for business students. Keywords: activity based learning, business students, internships, professional development.