Since May 2021, due to the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Da Nang-based universities have already switched to online classrooms. Students who do internships conducted at businesses are also affected by the pandemic-triggered inconvenience. Therefore, the tertiary establishments are flexible in creating favourable conditions for their students to get through their mandatory internships and graduate on schedule.

A student from the Da Nang University of Technical Education practices his professional skills at a construction site with the COVID-19 prevention and control measure put in place (Photo courtesy of the university)

Manage to pass the internship

Due to the long-lasting impacts of COVID-19, Pham Ngoc Tin, a fourth-year student whose major is civil engineering from the Da Nang University of Architecture, decided to return to his hometown Tuy Hoa in the south-central province of Phu Yen to find an internship opportunity.

In reality, the internship usually requires a lot of practical experience. However, the continuous social distancing period which lasted from May to September 2021 caused a pause in the construction industry. Therefore, Tin found it hard to find internship chances.

“The internship period lasted only a month and a half, but due to the pandemic, students were not allowed to the company and the construction site on many occasions. Therefore, I mostly practiced the internship in the virtual form. Fortunately, the experience gained during my internship working as a construction worker when I was a freshman helped me somewhat in completing the internship report”, said Tin.

Meanwhile, Thai Thi Thu Loan, a fourth-year student from the Faculty of Information Technology at the Da Nang University of Science and Technology, has just completed an internship at the Open Web Technology Da Nang Company. Her internship period at the company just lasted about a month, and she then worked from home due to the social distancing madate.

According to Loan, the short internship experience hindered students like her from learning many soft skills in life. Moreover, the exchange and work sessions with her instructors in the online form faced certain difficulties, and the work performance was lowered than expected.

More fortunate than other students, Nguyen Van Thang, another fourth-year student in the Faculty of Information Technology at the Da Nang University of Technical Education has just entered the internship period at the Smart Digital Technology Joint Stock Company since the beginning of November, 2021.

Thanks to the city’s proactive adaptation to the coronavirus resurgence in the new normal, the male student had a lot of time to professionally practice at the company. But difficulties are not absent during his internship.

“My hometown is in the northern central province of Quang Binh, so my parents were quite reluctant in allowing me to come back to Da Nang for internship amidst the COVID-19 developments were still complicated. However, I strived to take care of my health to successfully complete the corporate semester and ensure the progress of my studies as well”, said Thang.

Creating favourable conditions for students

Up to now, many universities operating in the city have made great efforts to connect with businesses, extend the internship registration deadline and even flexibly combine internships with graduation projects for the sake of their would-be graduates.

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Hong Hai, the Vice Rector of the Da Nang University of Science and Technology said that the school há adjusted a number of organisational plans for graduate students in light of complicated COVID-19 developments.

Accordingly, some faculties switched to internship model combined with graduation projects. Internships are now longer than usual but do not affect graduation progress.

Depending on the faculty, major and locality where students are residing, the school has made appropriate adjustments in order to provide maximum support for students during their internship durations.

Students majoring in Information Technology and Automation can mainly switch to online internships. Meanwhile, those from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering are guided by businesses in the online form. The actual contact time at the enterprise will therefore be shortened to ensure the strict practice of pandemic prevention and control rules.

Meanwhile, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phan Cao Tho, the Rector of the Da Nang University of Technical Education, said: “In addition to allowing students to extend their registration deadline for the corporate semester, the university's lecturers have also made efforts to connect with partners to increase practical access opportunities for students.

The school's decision to permit students to return to school for in-person learning in December 2021 also aims to facilitate practical internships at businesses.

Reporting by NGOC HA – Translating by A. THU