Student internships bridge research to real world problems

Purpose The aim of this paper is to report on student perceptions of 24 graduate student internships funded in 2007‐2008 by York University's Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) Unit. These internships provided opportunities for students to engage in research with community agencies around real world problems. Design/methodology/approach The principal sources of data were semi‐structured student interviews, conducted as part of an overall evaluation of the unit by an evaluation team, and student responses to surveys administered by KMb staff. Findings The significant findings were that students reported acquiring research and professional skills, plus a new understanding of theoretical knowledge, and that projects generated concrete outcomes for their community partners. Several students maintained ongoing relationships with their organizational partners beyond the terms of their internship, creating opportunities for ongoing benefits to both students and community partners. Students also identified areas of potential improvement, notably, there is an opportunity to strengthen the experience through integration into a formal curriculum. Research limitations/implications Limitations to this study are the relatively small sample size ( n =20) and reliance on self‐report measures. Practical implications As universities explore their relationships with their local communities, graduate student internships appear to have tremendous potential for supporting research and knowledge‐based needs of local communities, while providing valuable skills and training to a cohort of students in bridging academic research to real world solutions. Originality/value This article makes an original contribution by focusing on benefits to graduate students in scholarship of engagement programs that prioritize true partnership between students, universities and communities.