By Rachel Mina & Umie Syazwanie Mohd
KUCHING: During their internship, students are attached to companies and institutions in order to gain work experience or satisfy requirements for a qualification.
Several academicians polled by New Sarawak Tribune said the internship at these companies and institutions would make prepare future graduates for the job market as well as produce competent human capital.
Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities lecturer, Sitinurbayu Mohd Yusoff said the internship programme was to expose the undergraduates to real-world working experiences.
“It is aligned with the government’s determination of producing skilled and competent human capital.
“Undergraduates are given the opportunities to implement their theoretical knowledge in a practical setting,” she pointed out.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities lecturer Farah Zaini, advised students to make sure the jobs they were applying for fitted their respective courses.
“When working with an organisation, it is important that students are familiar with what they are doing or else they will face difficulties,” she said.
Unimas Faculty of Language and Communication lecturer, Zuraini Seruji explained students could apply all their theoretical knowledge as much as possible when their jobs were related to their courses.
“However, if they have no other option, the students should seize the opportunity to acquire new knowledge and experiences,” she said.
Meanwhile, Unimas Faculty of Language and Communication lecturer, Mohd Azhar Ali said, “It is up to the undergraduates to either pursue industrial training solely to meet the demands of the institutions or as small ambassadors who are willing to grow as individuals through the knowledge and experience gained.
“Experience is always the best teacher,” he added.
Several interns with the New Sarawak Tribune and Suara Sarawak agreed with the academicians’ viewpoints.
They agreed that their internship had benefitted them in many aspects, including interpersonal skills, self-development and work experience.
A Unimas final year student, Mohd Zahid Ahmad Zaki said,
“A month into this programme, I’ve learned a lot. It has helped me with my interpersonal skills.
“As a trainee reporter with Suara Sarawak, I am more confident in approaching people for news,” he said.
The 23-year-old added he was improving his linguistic skills through proofreading and writing of news reports.
A Unimas undergraduate student, Dayang Syaidatul Iqmal Abang Ali, said, “While undergoing my industrial training, I am aware that there are many more things I need to learn and improve on.
“I believe that organisations should regard trainees as real employees, in terms of giving them tasks and assignments, so that they can experience the real-world working experience.”
Another, Unimas undergraduate Aisyah Azzahra Suhiri, 24, said, “Industrial training has widened my connections and allowed me to improve on my soft skills.”
Another Unimas undergraduate, Muhd Nur Syafiq Abdul Hamid said, “I was given the opportunity to write stories, conduct interviews, and attend functions and press conferences under the supervision of senior reporters and editors.”
He added that universities should extend the programme to six months rather than just three months so that the students could gain a longer work experience.
