Introduction:
The internship type reviewed in the case of website review and RE learning can be assumed as an internship for credit. The varying types of internships include summer internships, service learning, non-profit internships, job shadowing as well and internships for credit. My role in the internship would be directed towards the review of various IT applications, especially in the context of websites and RE learning. The following report will outline the progress of the internship activity through a cognizable illustration of a selected organization, the core business activities, location, brand identity in national and international contexts, and the expanse of Interngateway which is the selected organization for this report (Allman, Degnan & Rhodes, 2013).
Thereafter, the report illustrates the work experience, training and development, and reflection based on the STAR framework. The report illustrates the training and development support facilitated by the organization for developing professional competencies and fulfilling specific roles assumed for the internship. Finally, the critical reflection on professional development could be largely inclined towards the inclusion of discipline or technical-specific competencies alongside personality development (Babu & Bhattacharyya, 2015). The use of the STAR method for a description of individual applications such as acquisition, application, communication, teamwork, responsibility, and leadership has also been illustrated comprehensively in the report to illustrate the notable highlights of placement experience.
Background:
The organization selected for this report is Interngateway which is an online platform for students from local and international jurisdictions to acquire flexible opportunities for accessing internship programs tailored to student requirements. Students could be able to accomplish viable targets for their careers alongside industry placements which imply the conversion of academic knowledge to tangible and functional results. The organization is renowned for working with international and local students alongside the support of an extensive network which results in outcomes of a comprehensive range of internship placements (Liu, et al., 2015).
The core business of Interngateway could be validated in the provision of internship opportunities to students in various industrial contexts comprising references to accounting, logistics, education, information technology, pharmaceutical, multimedia, medical & healthcare, and business. The organization is located in Australia and its spread could be validated on the grounds of numerous international students that access the services of Interngateway which is also accountable for a promising national as well as international image of the organization. Interngateway is profoundly associated with a comprehensive network of host organizations that could facilitate easy internship opportunities for interested students thereby assisting them in the accomplishment of career objectives and flexible results (Medeshova, Amanturlina & Sumyanova, 2016).
The role of my department structure i.e. information and technology is associated with the varying industrial professions about information technology (Shaheen, Ghayyur & Yasmeen, 2014). The primary activities of the department structure are directed toward the implementation of computers for storage, retrieval, transmission, and manipulation of data for accomplishing specific organizational approaches.
My role was to estimate the fallacies in the website design of Interngateway and derive plausible recommendations to improve the design and increase the strategic capabilities of the organization (Nikonova & Nikonov, 2014). The website developer served as supervisor for my internship helping me review the website effectively and identify the pitfalls of the design that are limiting the profitability of the industry. The reporting lines could be observed through an illustration of the organizational chart as follows.
| Interngateway CEO | |||||
| Information Technology Department | |||||
| Analyst programming | Software Development | IT management | Database management | Information security | Website Programming |
| Senior Managers | |||||
| Interns | |||||
Work experience:
The contractual duties which are assigned to me as an intern for website review and RE learning refer to the apprehensions of different factors of the website’s design. The website’s design has to be reviewed to determine any possible additions and recommendations for improving the website’s design (Padua, et al., 2015). The other assignments which are associated with the contract for me include the estimation of specific notes on other websites and their designs by reviewing the existing services of the website and the distinct facets associated with them such as revenue and present worth of the website and the number of subscribers. Some of the prolific challenges that could be faced during the internship program would include ambiguities about technical competencies required for the establishment of potential changes that could be implemented in the websites reviewed (Osorio & Cordero, 2014).
The internship is accompanied by challenges during the addition of new images with the different fields alongside understanding the IT industry details since disparities among contact details and IT information are profoundly observed and could potentially affect the outcomes of the tasks. The specific processes for addressing the challenges would be through the acquisition of specific website development competencies through the improvisation of skills in website designing platforms such as PHP, Python, etc. The improvements in the domain of online business organizations adapting their website designs to mobile formats have created the need for flexible designs of websites and online information as well as news platforms. Hence considerable skills in Android application development and mobile-friendly web pages should be acquired to depict professional competence and acquire feasible employment opportunities from the internship program.
The key learning outcomes that I was able to acquire from the work experience in my internship refer to the acquisition of promising skills in website development which contribute further to the proliferation of flexible prospects for employment in the IT industry. I was also able to apprehend the managerial tasks and behavioral approaches followed by senior managers while supervising my work which contributes to my competencies. The internship program with Interngateway was also helpful for determining plausible efforts to improve industry-level competencies that could help in acquiring viable employment alternatives.
Training and development:
The training provided in the context of improving professional competencies as a web developer could be noticed in the form of specific skills in the context of a discipline or technical competence. The different elements of the training were also inclusive of orientation in management functions and behavioral competencies which also reflect the development of professional capabilities to acquire placement in a particular industry (Liu, et al., 2015). The internship program was itself a unique approach to training and development which allowed me to explore a suitable internship program for catering to my career goals in the information technology industry.
I aimed to accomplish the real learning opportunities that were provided by the trainers at Interngateway through their association with distinct host businesses. The host business network enabled students to access real-time, professional interaction with industry activities thereby realizing a viable impression of the job-specific requirements and determination of pitfalls that could be improvised. The training and development involves the provision of adequate support for the work-integrated learning experience by assignment of a student mentor who provides dedicated guidance services for interns thereby depicting the compliance of interns with the learning outcomes of the program. The training program was inclusive of the partnership of Interngateway with university partners which contributed to the formulation of distinct career and professional objectives through the provision of unique work environments (Singh, et al., 2016).
The varying tasks of websites and changes in design such as relocation of title page or specific web pages as well as the addition of images could be implemented in the case of training and development which are supervised by the mentors and placement coordinators. The simplified training and development process involves the scrutiny of interns by mentors and the determination of suitable compatibility between the host business and student competencies. The services are managed through an online portal which enables the flexibility for interns to monitor their progress consistently. The training and development were also inclusive of rewarding experiences and communicating the requirements demanded from them by the labor market.
These outcomes could be derived through facilitating tools that could ensure that interns are eligible for industrial placement the tools include real workspace, relevant supervision and monitoring mechanisms as well as personnel, credible equipment, and the opportunities for the acquisition of skills required for establishing compliance with professional requisites in a specific industry i.e. IT in this case. I participated in the training and development programs alongside acquiring insights from the theoretical paradigms associated with website development and programming. I also engaged in consistent interactions with supervisors and mentors to acquire feedback about my performance which was also helpful in realizing my potential to assume the role of professional website programmer in the IT industry (Xu, et al., 2016).
This placement related to the university learning in information technology in my case and I was able to leverage the unit contents about professional competence development through internship. Accomplishing internship credits would be helpful for my personal career goals and I was able to capitalize on the outcomes of university learning to find viable reviews of the websites assigned to me.
The essential facets of the content that contributed to the website review referred to an understanding of basic website layout and design alongside vector graphics design to modify graphics. I was able to draw prominent inferences from the unit contents as well as the supervision of mentors to understand the limitations in the website design of Interngateway.
Reflection:
I have illustrated the implementation of STAR as a viable approach to reflect critically on my professional development in the context of elements such as application, acquisition, teamwork, communication, flexibility, and leadership.
Acquisition:
Situation: I had to review the website designs and find pitfalls in the designs
Task: Acquisition of industry-level competence in website programming
Action: I enrolled in specific courses such as PHP development and MySQL development to apprehend limitations in website design. I also preferred methods for engagement in seminars and conferences about website review approaches and RE learning.
Results: The outcomes that could be derived from the actions and I was able to interpret viable skills in website programming which strengthened my position for industrial placement.
Application:
Situation: I had to implement the skills from training and development to find the potential issues in basic design
Task: Step-by-step review of the website to determine required actions for improvement
Action: I implemented the skills and competencies in Information technology obtained in acquisition to review the different pitfalls as well as reform them.
Results: I was able to identify the outcomes such as the need for additional details on specific pages of the website and color changes as well as the appearance of text displayed on the website.
Communication:
Situation: I had to enquire about the necessity for changes in color schemes in the website design with my mentor.
Task: I had to engage in a communicative interaction with my mentor and identify the reason for introducing lighter color schemes.
Action: I communicated with my mentor by fixing an appointment with him on a specific day when he could be able to allocate time from his busy schedule.
Results: I was able to acquire the definitive competence of communicating flexibly with my seniors and this outcome could prove to be specifically assistive in my future career aspirations.
Team Work:
Situation: I faced the situation of providing orientation for new interns admitted to an internship program
Task: I was required to inform the new interns about the basic requirements of the program and the approaches required to follow for acquiring industrial placement.
Action: I consulted with other interns to frame a viable lesson plan that could enable me to communicate the necessary details of the internship program
Results: I was able to observe the outcomes in the form of feedback from the new interns which was mostly positive. Furthermore, I was able to develop a credible connection with the other interns and ensure prospects for working in a team in an industrial placement
Responsibility:
Situation: I faced a situation of responsibility when I was required to report to my mentor regarding the reviews of a website
Task: I had to prepare a report comprising the essential highlights of the website design alongside depicting my observations of the negative implications of the website layout.
Action: I organized the various findings of the website review in the form of a report that illustrated recommended notes for each page of the website and the profound negative aspects noted in the design.
Results: The outcome that I was able to obtain from this aspect of professional development was to recognize the importance of organization in realizing my responsibilities.
Flexibility:
Situation: I was facing the deadline for reviewing three different websites within a limited period
Task: I interacted with my mentor to obtain relaxation for the deadline
Action: I proposed the completion of three website reviews according to a revised deadline and communicated the potential for the origin of issues due to the pressure of work.
Result: I was able to understand the significance of flexibility in professional practices to provide desired outcomes
Leadership:
Situation: I was assigned the task of leading a project with four team members
Task: The task assigned was reflective of the identification of potential changes that are required in a website
Action: I communicated with team members to acquire their opinions on the resolution of the issue alongside an estimation of the professional competencies of each member
Result: I was able to complete the project with credible outcomes as well as develop a participative leadership style that contributed to my professional development.
Conclusion:
The report essayed the importance of professional development and the necessity for engagement in internship programs to acquire superior career goals. The report assumed the case of a company, Interngateway, and reviewed an internship program in the context of the IT industry. Estimation of a critical reflection of various aspects of professional development was also highlighted in the report.
References
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