Internship Policy for James P Grant School, BRAC University

1 The concept of internship

Internship is a process where a person from one institution is relocated to another institution offering responsibilities pertinent to the interest of the three parties: the Intern, the institution sending the intern and the institution accepting the intern and thereby enabling the intern to develop skills in preparation for subsequent employment or self-employment. There is however a difference between internship and few other activities such as Research. A table below is provided to show a few basic differences between a research and an internship:

Trait

Research

Internship

Objective

Usually to identify new knowledge of academic or program interest

Usually to attain professional skills in areas of interest of an individual.

Skills attained

Research skill with through exercising skills from research methods and relevant field

Professional skills for preparing oneself for the subsequent job opportunities

Working methods

Primarily data collection, analysis and reporting

Engages in activities assigned by a supervisor integrated in the ongoing task of a department

Beneficiaries

Usually the individual if not stated otherwise by the conditions to utilize the research findings by the assigning body

Usually all the individual as well as the assigning body where the internship program takes place and also to some extent the organization that sends the intern

2 The rationale

Internship is based on the justification that everyone is benefited from this process. In any given organization it’s always helpful to have some additional person share the responsibilities. This also benefits the organization receiving the interns through utilizing innovative ideas and fresh academic knowledge carried by the intern. As for the interns, it helps them get exposed to the practical professional situation. An intern in any organization learns in every step in different ways, from simple photo copying to writing ad hock reports. The institution sending an intern is benefited through either making new relationship with another organization through this intern or strengthens and reveals more avenues for relationship between the sending and accepting institution.

3 Structure of internship

3.1 Types
The internship scopes can be divided into two broad categories: 1) Interns accepted from different parts of the world to a given institution and 2) interns sent to different parts of the world.

3.1.1 Interns accepted from around the world
Interns accepted from around the world should typically be coming from academic institutions, research organizations, and health related developmental organization and alike. 
3.1.2 Interns sent from the MPH program

3.1.2.1 Within country
Interns sent from the JPGSPH should typically place themselves in organizations conducting research or health and development related programs and that is in line with the vision and mission of the JPGSPH. 
3.1.2.2 Outside the country
Interns sent from the JPGSPH will also have to be placed in the organizations that functions in line with the Mission and Vision of the School. This implies that the interns have to be placed in organization that is either conducting public health research, functioning as a health related developmental organization.

4 Criteria of candidates

4.1 Candidates being sent from the School: 
The interns sent from the JPGSPH have to fulfill the following criteria: The candidate has to

  • be a student of the MPH program of the JPGSPH

  • complete the core courses in Block one successfully and without any retake in any of the modules

  • select an organization to do the internship related to the area of interest that he or she should decide when applying for the admission, alternatively,

  • select and organization that is functioning in a way that has relevance to the independent study that she/he will have completed at the end of the MPH from JPGSPH.

  • apply to the Dean of JPGSPH rationalizing the requirement for internship in the area selected with required documents proving the pertinence of the selected organization and its nature of work

  • ensure the source of funds from appropriate source

  • submit a short essay stating the objectives of the internship and the contribution of her/his internship period to JPGSPH during and after returning from the internship.

  • has to sign a bond with JPGSPH stating that he/she shall return to complete the courses if the candidate opts for internship before completing the MPH Independent thesis.

  • Candidates are eligible to apply to JPGSPH for internship within the different programs of the SPH provided he/she has completed the independent study.

4.2 Candidates accepted from outside
Candidates applying for internship at JPGSPH from any other than MPH Program of JPGSPH should fulfill the following criteria: she/he has to - 

  • be a student of a recognized School of Public Health. If the candidate is from a SPH within Bangladesh then the University in which the SPH is situated must be recognized by the UGC

  • apply through proper channel and within the time period of the advertisement or vacancy

  • show the credentials of the academic achievements

  • place an essay with the application showing the objective, rational of the internship and how it may benefit JPGSPH during and after the period of internship.

  • show the reasons for selecting JPGSPH as the primary option for internship and state how this choice will affect the future work of the intern

  • have at least 2 years of work experience in the field of Public Health, Health related developmental organization

  • show evidence of proficiency in English either through standard testing system (TOEFL/IELTS) or a letter of recommendation from the supervisor of the organization she/he is coming from stating the level of satisfaction of functional English the candidate possesses.

  • Show the evidence of financial security for the period of internship

5 Length of internship

5.1 Interns sent from JPGSPH 
The interns sent from JPGSPH will be limited to 4 months/ 16 working weeks. This may be only relaxed on the following conditions:

1. The internship program in the recruiting organization requires a period of more than 4 months to achieve a certificate/recognition of completion
2. The intern her/him self has to secure fund for the extended period
3. The intern falls ill and requires extra days of work required to fulfill any condition stated by the recruiting organization

5.2 Interns from outside
The internship program in JPGSPH could vary according to the need of the candidate applying for internship in anyone of its Program.

6 Responsibilities of interns

6.1 Sent from JPGSPH
Every intern sent from JPGSPH to any in-country or foreign land for internship should abide by the following rules and regulations:

1. The intern has to submit a monthly interim report to the Program Coordinator of JPGSPH approved by the supervisor/mentor of the institution where she/he is doing the intern. 
2. This follows that every intern has to submit at least 4 interim reports. These reports should reflect the objectives achieved 
3. The intern should also prepare a final report based on the interim report and be ready to present to the faculty members of the JPGSPH
4. The interns are strongly suggested to keep a log of their work in the form a personal diary to share the challenges of their intern period with others and for future reference to be utilized by other intern candidates

6.2 Coming from outside
Interns coming from outside would have to go through a number of steps before proceeding the internship in JPGSPH and completing it. They are:

6.2.1 Setting specific goals and objectives (TOR)
The intern will be selected a mentor/supervisor based on the area of interest mentioned in the application and would have to formally sit with the mentor to negotiate the specific goals and objectives (TOR). However, this may be done even before the intern arrives over email correspondence with the mentor provided the intern applies well ahead of time. These goals should ensure benefits of both all the parties involved.

6.2.2 Tracking process
A tracking process of the progress of the intern should be placed before the intern candidate. This will include reporting to the supervisor of the achievements of the goals in the TOR. The mentor may forward this report to the authorities that sent the intern to JPGSPH on demand. 

6.2.3 Feedback process
The intern has to submit a monthly interim report to the program coordinator JPGSPH reflecting on the achievements and also the experiences gained. 

6.2.4 Common responsibilities
There will be some common responsibilities in the department of JPGSPH shared by the interns; .e.g. ad hock report writing, being involved in arranging events by hosted JPGSPH etc. The involvement in such activities will be considered by the supervisor and upon the permission of the supervisor the intern can perform such tasks.

6.2.5 Special responsibilities
There may be special responsibilities that the interns will have to do and these will also be determined by the department and upon the permission of the supervisor. Such tasks may include taking part in grant proposal writing or bigger report writing.

6.2.6 Focused responsibilities 
These responsibilities include tasks based on the goals and objectives set by both the intern and the supervisor. The nature of the focus task will depend on the area of interest of the Intern. At the moment 3 categories of focused tasks can be identified and are as follows: 

6.2.6.1 Research work: 
There are multiple research programs in JPGSPH and also in different areas of interest. An intern coming in to join the research program will have to perform tasks related to research that may be as wide as going to the filed for data collection to administrative tasks related to that research. 

6.2.6.2 Administrative work: 
The School has a huge load of administrative work that significantly differs from administration of other disciplines in different ways. An intern interested to learn the administrative/management issues of an SPH will have to work with the administrative officer and the Program coordinator. 

6.2.6.3 Academic 
Interns interested in academic work may have to perform as Teaching Assistant provided her/his has a Masters in the relevant discipline. She/he may also be asked to take classless in the MPH program as well as relevant subjects offered to other departments of the University. The interns may also be responsible for preparing lecture materials and deal with relevant academic activities in the field.

7 Recruitment strategy

Advertisement through newspaper and internet will be circulated regularly invite interns with the scopes, terms and opportunities. An internship recruiting committee should sort the application and further invite selected applicant’s papers. However, a detailed guideline may be prepared through the Internship committee.

8 Payment strategy

Interns being sent from JPGSPH are eligible for fund from the School. The amount and justification of the fund will depend on the suggested budget asked from the Institute that the Intern will be sent to. However, this should follow a certain threshold.

9 Recognition and rewards/certification policy

Every interne upon successful completion of her/his internship period with JPGSPH will be conferred with a certificate. The intern has to show a recommendation letter from the mentor to the Internship Committee for obtaining the certificate.

An additional grading policy may be applied to evaluate an intern. The grading policies should follow specific criteria to make the grading objective; e.g. competition of all objectives specified with required deliverables in due time gets Excellent on the grading scale. 

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