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Internship Training Guide

Introduction

Traditionally, most engineering technology programs are centered on classroom activities with little or no involvement as to what actually takes place in industry. Resulting from this fact are students are not fully prepared to face the world of work.

This separation between industry and education has resulted in courses or programs not being in tune with where the "state-of-the-art" is.

This internship is an attempt to better-prepare our students for employment, and to strive to keep our program relevant and up to date. It is to this end that Ferris State University is striving.

Philosophy:

For any internship to be successful, combined efforts of the training site, University, and the student are essential. Each party has an important function to fulfill, and the combined efforts must be carefully coordinated. Furthermore, the training site must have a commitment and dedication to help educate the Welding Engineering professional of the future. This is the most critical factor that determines the success or failure of the internship program. This guide is provided to help the training site in fulfilling its essential function.

Definitions:

Internship Coordinator - A member of the Welding Engineering Technology program faculty who has the primary responsibility for development and supervision of the internship program.

Training Site - A manufacturing company that has agreed to provide a minimum of ten (10) weeks of training in welding engineering technology. (May, June, July, and August).

Internship Supervisor - A professional-level employee at the intern's training site who is responsible for the administrative and supervisory aspects of the intern's training at the site.

Intern's Responsibilities

In accordance with the University's policy statement for the operation of the internship program, each intern must be properly registered and must pay the scheduled rate of tuition. Room, board, and personal travel expenses are the responsibility of the interning student. Each intern must conduct his or her activities in accordance with regulations prescribed by Ferris State University and shall abide by the personnel requirements of the internship training site.

Intern Assignments:

The intern is required to complete various assignments during the internship. These assignments are to be completed on the student's own time.

  1. Each intern must submit a weekly report of his/her activities to the internship coordinator.
  2. The intern shall attend a one-day student-faculty-training supervisor seminar which will be held once during the term.
  3. Each intern shall undertake a special project that is mutually agreed upon by both the training site and the internship coordinator. At some point during the internship, the intern will make a presentation of the project to the internship coordinator.

Training Site Responsibility

As stated previously, the main function of the training site is to provide various opportunities for the intern to learn first-hand about the welding engineering profession. The training program will vary greatly from intern to intern, as well as from company to company. Each training site should, however, be able to provide appropriate training opportunities for the intern.

Orientation to the Training Site:

The intern should be oriented to the organization and operation of the training site. Organizational charts, program plans, personnel regulations, procedure manuals, and other pertinent material should be reviewed with the student during his/her first week.

Intern Assignments:

The intern should be given meaningful, challenging work assignments in welding engineering technology. The assignments should provide both a learning experience for the student and meaningful work that needs to be done at the site. As much as possible, the intern should have the opportunity to observe and participate in every aspect of engineering. Typical work assignments may include such areas as: process planning, plant layout, volume planning, equipment justification, automation, supervision, maintenance, tooling, design, NDT and DT testing, and parameter development. Ideally, the intern should be rotated at least once during his/her internship to allow him/her to be exposed to different phases of welding engineering technology.

Internship Supervision:

One of the most important contributions the training site brings to the internship program is the provision of effective supervision and guidance of interns. The intern should work directly under a professional-level supervisor to whom he or she is to report. The supervisor should be sensitive to the intern's abilities and make work assignments accordingly.

Special Project:

Each intern will undertake a special research or study project which will allow the intern to thoroughly investigate a problem or condition and develop meaningful recommendations. The special project will be chosen to be mutually beneficial to the training site and the student. Typical examples of such project would be:

  1. A cost study
  2. Reorganization of a department
  3. Introduction of a new product
  4. Feasibility of a new process
  5. Tool standardization program
  6. Safety program
  7. New automation, robotics
  8. Establish a welding procedure

Evaluation and Grading:

The internship supervisor will evaluate the student once during the internship after the completion of at least 90% of the internship. The special project will also be evaluated by the supervisor. The evaluations will result in the assigning of a Pass or Fail grade. The student must perform satisfactory on the job or he/she will not pass his/her internship and subsequently be unable to enter their senior year of study. The evaluation document must be discussed with the student prior to being submitted to the internship coordinator.

University And Internship Coordinator's Responsibilities

Preparation of Student for Training Site:

The interning student will have successfully completed all program requirements through his/her junior year. The student will be instructed prior to the end of the proceeding academic semester what is required and expected of him/her during his/her internship. During the student's preparation, he or she is required to provide a current résumé to the internship supervisor and the internship coordinator. The intern should also make themselves available for an interview at the training site.

Obtaining a Training Site:

The student is responsible for obtaining an internship training site. Positions are competitive and students must put forth the effort to obtain the internship. The welding engineering technology faculty members will assist in whatever ways possible.

Guidance and Support:

The internship coordinator has the responsibility to assure that the internship is productive and successful for both the intern as well as the training site. Any problems that arise that could cause difficulties in the internship should be immediately brought to the attention of the internship coordinator for further investigation.

WELD 393 will be graded on a Pass/Fail basis. All course work must be deemed satisfactory by both internship supervisor and the internship coordinator. The intern will be evaluated on the following:

  1. Ten (10) weekly reports submitted to the internship coordinator via Blackboard
  2. Internship supervisor evaluation performed after the completion of at least 90% of the internship duration.
    • This document must be discussed between the intern and supervisor prior to being submitted to the internship coordinator via Blackboard.
  3. Evaluation of special project by internship supervisor.
  4. Evaluation of special project by internship coordinator.
  5. Internship coordinator site visit (1).