26600 Business Internship

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Business
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level:

Undergraduate

Result type: Grade and marks

Requisite(s): 48 credit points of completed study in 48 cp Business Faculty Bachelor's Degree OR 72 credit points of completed study in 72 cp Business Faculty Bachelor's Combined Degree OR 72 credit points of completed study in 72 cp Bachelor's Combined Degree with Business Faculty OR 72 credit points of completed study in 72 cp Bachelor's Combined Honours with Business Faculty
Anti-requisite(s): 21651 Professional Internship AND 21999 Business Internship AND 22999 Business Internship AND 23999 Business Internship AND 24999 Business Internship AND 25999 Business Internship AND 94680 Entering Professional Life (6cp) AND 94681 Entering Professional Life (8cp)

Note

Enrolment in the business internship subject requires meeting the subject's prerequisites and completing compulsory Preparation tasks. For more information, please visit the UTS Business School’s Internship website.

Students may not enrol in the business internship subject during the final session of study to ensure that completion of practical and academic components will not impact on graduation and/or international students' visa conditions.

Description

This subject builds students’ professional, business, technical and ethical decision-making skills as part of the internship experience to foster their career development.

To undertake this subject, students must first secure an internship of 100-180 hours duration with an organisation and then refer to the UTS Business School’s Internship website for additional information and requirements to enrol in the subject. Students must not commence the internship until they have officially enrolled in this subject and their internship has been formally approved.

The?terms and time frame of the internship experience?are negotiated between the student and?host?organisation. The internship must be based on an agreed and approved program of work which aims to achieve pre-determined learning objectives.

Recognition of prior learning (exemption) is not granted for this subject.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1.	Demonstrate professional practice skills in a workplace setting, e.g., collaboration, negotiation, communication, cultural awareness
2.	Apply relevant business knowledge and technical skills in a workplace setting
3.	Discuss the importance of individuals applying ethical and socially responsible decision-making in Business practices
4.	Critically reflect on the learning and development outcomes of the workplace experience

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

This subject provides undergraduate Business students with an opportunity to develop and apply their academic knowledge and skills in the context of a real workplace. It will enhance the students’ employability by increasing their awareness of employers’ expectations of performance and conduct, and building valuable work-readiness skills, such as communication, collaboration, and reflective practice. Students will develop their communication and collaboration skills through their workplace experience. Students will develop social responsibility by reflecting on business and personal decisions using principles of ethical decision making.

This subject contributes to the development of the following graduate attributes:

Communication and collaboration
Social responsibility and cultural awareness

Teaching and learning strategies

The majority of students' time is spent in the workplace environment. This experience is supplemented by compulsory preparatory materials provided online, and synchronous workshops which involve interactive activities and opportunities for students to collaborate. On-site guidance is provided by the external host organisation, which must assign a workplace supervisor to the student. Students receive ongoing feedback from their host organisation supervisor, and formative feedback through synchronous workshops. Students should check their Canvas sites and announcements for details of workshops and mentoring available through the subject.

Content (topics)

Goal setting and self-awareness
Workplace communication
Ethics in the workplace
Reflective learning

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Professional Identity Development (Individual)

Objective(s):	This addresses subject learning objective(s): 2, 3 and 4
Weight:	50%
Criteria:	Demonstrating effective communication skills Evaluation of social and ethical decision making in business Thoroughness of critical reflection of personal growth and impact Connections between internship experience and future career objectives

Assessment task 2: Workplace Evaluation

Objective(s):	This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1 and 2
Weight:	10%
Criteria:	This is a pass/fail assessment. Students will receive either Satisfactory, or Unsatisfactory

Assessment task 3: Mock Interview (Individual)

Objective(s):	This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1 and 3
Weight:	40%
Criteria:	Communication and presentation skills Discussion of social and ethical decision making in business Demonstrate understanding of professional skills required in a business environment Use of evidence and examples from internship experience

Minimum requirements

Students must achieve at least 50% of the subject’s total marks and complete a minimum of 100 hours in an internship experience.

References

Bennett, R., Eagle, L., Mousley, W. & Ali-Choudhury, R. (2008) Re-assessing the value of work-experience placements in the context of widening participation in higher education. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 60(2), 105-122.

Billett, S. (2010). The practices of learning through occupations. In Learning through practice (pp. 59-81). Springer, Dordrecht.

Boud, D. & Garrick, J. (eds) (1999) Understanding Learning at Work, Routledge, London.

Boud, D. & Middleton, H. (2003) Learning from others at work: communities of practice and informal learning. Journal of Workplace Learning, 15(5), 194-202.

Carson, L. & Fisher, K. (2006) Raising the bar on criticality: students’ critical reflection in an internship program. Journal of Management Education, 30(5), 700-723.

Clark, S.C. (2003) Enhancing the educational value of business internships. Journal of Management Education, 27(4), 472-484.

Fanthome, C (2004) Work Placements: a Survival Guide for Students. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.

Gault, J., Leach, E. & Duey, M. (2010) Effects of business internships on job marketability: the employer’s perspective. Education + Training, 52(1), 76-88.

Knouse, S.B. & Fontenot, G. (2008) Benefits of the business college internship: a research review. Journal of Employment Counseling, 45, June, 61-66.

Trede, F. (2012). Role of work-integrated learning in developing professionalism and professional identity. Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 13(3), pp.159-167.

Trede, F. and McEwen, C. (2012). Developing a critical professional identity. In Practice-based education (pp. 27-40). SensePublishers, Rotterdam.

Walmsley, A., Thomas, R. & Jameson, S. (2012) Internships in SMEs and career intentions. Journal of Education and Work, 25(2), 185-204.

All the above references are in the UTS library and all of the journal articles are available online via the UTS Library catalogue.

Other resources

UTS Careers
?https://www.uts.edu.au/current-students/opportunities/careers

UTS Business School
https://www.uts.edu.au/about/uts-business-school