During An Internship

Students at a table discussing and interacting. A whiteboard with notes in the background.The Science Internship Program allows companies, both small and large, to hire students for 4, 8, 12 or 16 months to support their operations. SIP students possess a strong technical skill set from their academic courses with many students having additional research and volunteer experience in scientific fields. These students are looking for opportunities to apply their academic knowledge into real world applications. 

The Science Internship Program is a risk-free way for companies to evaluate prospective employees. In addition, student interns can be a valuable resource for periods of time when the workload for a company has increased. Often students are eager to prove their worth and secure a full-time position. This results in students who are willing to go above and beyond for their employer.

Internship Timeline

While SIP students are out on an internship they will remain in contact with the University. It is important to us that the SIP student as well as the employer is having a great internship experience. Throughout the internship there will be a number of touch points, such as:

PROBATIONARY REVIEW
Following a 3-month probation period, a probationary evaluation form will be emailed to both the student and the student's supervisor to ensure the internship is mutually productive. If both parties are satisfied, the internship continues to completion. If either the employer or the student is dissatisfied, the internship may be terminated and the student will return to continue his/ her studies during the next school term.
FINAL EVALUATION

To assist with the student's professional growth and development, an electronic evaluation of the student as an employee will be sent to their supervisor towards the end of the internship placement. These evaluations count towards the student's academic standing.

SITE VISIT

3 to 4 months into the student's work term, a coordinator will arrange to visit either in person, or online to meet with the student and the student's supervisor. The purpose of the visit is to "check in" on how the placement is progressing. Topics of conversation will include a description of your student's work, their progress and quality of work, and any concern.

STUDENT'S WORK ASSIGNMENTS

During a student's internship, they are enrolled in an e-Class course for which they complete assignments related to their professional development. Supervisors may have to sign off on some of these assignments. The e-Class for each work term allows students to keep their full-time student status, health & dental plan and U-pass throughout the whole internship period.

ENCOUNTERING ISSUES

Please be in touch with the SIP Team (sciiip@ualberta.ca). We want your experience as an internship employer to be positive and we are here to address any issues that arise.