Abstract
In this globalization-focused era, the demand for globalized engineers in the creation of borderless societies is increasing. Despite the initiatives by the Japanese government to promote internalization through increasing the intake of foreign students, the exposures gained by the Japanese students from these programs are minimal. For years, internship has been used globally as a platform for training and educating future engineers, but only a few studies have examined the proactive transformation from domestic to international internship. International internships overseas offer a completely new dimension of experiences when carried out in multicultural environments. This article reports and offers evidence of a Japanese engineering university’s rapid global internship reform strategy toward the expansion of international internships in Malaysia. This paper provides insights into the process, from initial setup to implementation of the internship program covering all the necessary preparation and support. From the establishment of an overseas collaboration base and rapport building with hosting industries, the systematic steps taken are reported. Regarding the internship program, feedback from Japanese engineering students who completed their internships show improved satisfaction due to continuous improvement of the internship program with progressing years. It was also discovered that the low participation rate in overseas internship by Japanese students is not due to their inward-looking temperament, but due to the lack of internship program availability that is administered with sufficient preparation enabling them to challenge themselves in a new environment. The challenges encountered in the program, and the sustainable improvements made in alignment with sustainable development goals toward equitable quality education and promotion of lifelong learning are also stated. In this paper, the future perspectives and outlook of internships are also described considering today’s rapid technological advancements and the fast-changing needs of industries, which require future internship programs to have flexible approaches and ideologies.
Highlights
This study reports an international internship program undertaken by a technical Japanese university to train global engineers overseas
This study reports the dispatch of Japanese students with engineering backgrounds for internship in overseas education institutions as well as industries in Malaysia, a country with a culturally diverse environment [16]
In a curriculum based on technical and engineering education, international internship is executed via an education framework that is embedded with a two-month compulsory internship program required for the completion of an undergraduate degree
Summary
Role in society is being redefined because of rapid globalization, technological advancement, and demographics evolution. Engineers of the 21st century face with new challenges and a professional environment that differs from that of their predecessors. The increasing globalization of corporate economies has shifted the face of engineering practice toward innovations that meet the demand of society in multiple ways, such as connectivity and behavioral patterns through internet of things (IoT) [2,3,4,5,6]. As defined by Parkinson, the global competence for engineering graduates should include attributes such as multicultural diversity appreciation, cross-cultural communication, engineering practice in the global context, and proficiency in handling multicultural differences that are essential for achieving the desired outcomes and goals [8]. One of the most effective ways of cultivating these characteristics is through vigorous internship programs that can stimulate global sensitivity and awareness in mutual multicultural understanding [9]
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