ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Higher Education
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1563361
This article is part of the Research TopicInstitutional Impact Measurement in Higher EducationView all 13 articles
The Contribution of Professional Internships to the Academic Development of Engineering and Science Students: A Case Study
Provisionally accepted
- Mathematics Department, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico
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This study explores the contribution of professional internships to the academic and professional development of science and engineering students at a public university in Mexico. A validated 28item questionnaire covering satisfaction, practical experience, technical skills, and soft skills was administered to 589 students. The instrument showed strong internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.92). Results indicate high workplace support (96%) and strong alignment between academic training and tasks performed (93%). Qualitative feedback emphasized the need for more practical training and stronger industry collaboration. These findings support the value of structured internships in strengthening employability and aligning curricula with labor market needs.
Keywords: employability, academic development, Technical skills, Soft skills, professional skills, Questionnaire Development
Received: 19 Jan 2025; Accepted: 13 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gutiérrez-Pulido and Orozco-Rodríguez. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Claudia Orozco-Rodríguez, Mathematics Department, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico
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