IAESTE’s Post

This week, we had an insightful discussion with a panel of experts on the future of STEM internships, joined by 200 + attendees from all around the world. Here're some of the key takeaways ✍️ 🔎The panelists agreed that AI will play a significant role in STEM education and internships, accelerating exponentially and requiring institutions to adapt quickly. Matt mentioned several examples, including climate change and other societal issues, that could be addressed through AI collaboration. 🌎 Dr. Shareefa talked about the need for cultural integration, alongside technical learning. She explained the University of Sharjah's approach to creating an inclusive environment for international students including various activities to foster cultural understanding and socialisation. 🎓 Dr. Khagendra discussed the importance of soft skills in the workplace, citing a survey that found 92% of companies believe soft skills are as important as hard skills. He emphaised the need to acquire vital skills like communication, adaptability, and critical thinking, with internships being the crucial avenue for integrating these skills into technical disciplines. 💼 Together with Dr. Kinga, we also deep-dived into different modalities of internships and the various objectives they serve, along with students' expectations to fast-track their careers. 💫The conversation ended with a call for action to design ideal internships that meet the needs of the future, with a focus on making them meaningful, student-centric, mandatory, credit-bearing, culturally rich and addressing the key skills gaps. We're very grateful to have teamed-up with distinguished speakers for such a thought-provoking and forward-looking webinar 🙏🏼. 🎙️Matt Byrnes - Co-Founder & President, International Internship Network 🇨🇦 🎙️Dr. Shareefa Al-Marzooqi - Assistant Professor & Director of Media Center, College of Communication, University of Sharjah 🇦🇪 🎙️Dr. Khagendra Dhakal - Specialist Lecturer, King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok 🇹🇭 & National Secretary IAESTE Nepal 🇳🇵 🎙️Dr. Kinga Urbanek - Assistant Professor, Medical University of Lodz & Exchange Coordinator IAESTE Poland 🇵🇱 🎙️Olga Legacka - Head of Operations, IAESTE Global 🌍 🎙️Zuzana Hačková - Marketing Manager, IAESTE Global 🌍 Let’s not stop here! Let's lead, connect and inspire, and as such, shape the future of STEM internships! #STEM #internships #future #IAESTE #webinarrecap #learning #education #skills #employability #career #event