The primary benefit of a virtual internship at this point is that they can provide students with a safe, work-based learning experience that is grounded in an authentic task or project for a firm or organization. Depending on the nature of the project, students can also develop skills – either technical, inter-personal, or intra-personal – by successfully completing one or more professional assignments on behalf of a professional organization. Additionally, an online internship can provide students with experience engaging in online project management and communications, which are common modes of project-and task-performance in many organizations. Last, an online internship includes no travel or housing costs and thus may be a solution for those who cannot afford to relocate to expensive cities for extended periods.
Depending on the quality and character of the experience, an online internship may also provide some of the benefits outlined above, including new professional contacts, introduction to professional norms, and so on. But for these benefits to be experienced in an online setting, either third-party organizations, employers, or faculty instructors need to carefully design an experience that is more than a mere short-term project out-sourced to college students.
