Professional Internships

• 220 to 240 hours professional work experience (typically worked as 2.5 days per week, over 12 weeks)
• Work on a project or activity in a private or public sector organisation under the guidance of an industry mentor
• Interns are unpaid, earn credit towards their degrees and participate in online learning activities as part of the unit
• At conclusion of the internship, each student will be required to prepare a report and give a presentation at a workshop attended by fellow students and academic supervisors

• A dedicated internship consultant to guide you through the experience
• Work with you to find an internship opportunity and host company to match your goals
• An individual internship training plan
• Workers insurance coverage for the duration of the internship
• References and job opportunities – a large number of interns are offered employment after the internship
• Assistance with resume writing, interview preparation and professional development
• LinkedIn and professional social media profile development

Upon successful completion of this subject, students should:

• Be able to evaluate and reflect on personal approaches to work and how these can be developed in the future
• Be able to critically evaluate and apply conceptual and theoretical knowledge to a specific workplace environment
• Be able to appraise personal development across a range of work preparation skills
• Be able to appraise personal development across a range of professional practice skills
• Be able to develop proficiency in working independently and effectively as a team member

Here’s how Kait found the internship program:

You’re about three quarters of the way through your Master of Applied Digital Marketing – what gave you the impetus to take on an internship subject?

I’d started doing digital marketing out of interest – I was teaching in South Korea. While there I got involved with some local websites and found I enjoyed looking at the analytics and helping them achieve their goals. So, I started my masters remotely with ITM-CSU.

When I returned to Australia, I found it hard to get a job (despite a well-publicised talent shortage) as I was part way through my course and didn’t have formal local experience that I could point to. I saw the internship program starting out and thought it would be a help.

…and was it?

Yes! Definitely. Towards the end of my internship, I found a marketing role close to my home in western NSW and started there just after completing the program.

How was the internship program for you?

It turned out probably better than I’d expected. The combination of formal teaching (journal writing and other assessments) and one on one sessions with ITM mentor Brenton Burchmore was very useful. I also received active mentoring from my manager at the company I interned at – that was the icing on the cake.

Any advice for new internship students?

Make sure that you can find an organisation to intern at that is supportive. It makes an enormous difference to the outcome of the program. I felt well supported and valued during my internship. The ECA internship team did a great job in finding that place for me.