How much do you know about internship at SMU? As we know, SMU provides various intern programs as well as other universities. From internships in university, to abroad internships and to company internships, there are a lot of internships SMU provides. However, Sookmyungians don’t know very well, except some intern programs.
Various Internships in SMU
Almost every part of school offers a chance to intern in different facilities and administration offices. Most of the internships in school are to deal with the administrative works about school, so they are called the administration internships. These internships are basically required to some qualifications like computer skills, foreign language skills, and some experiences. However, the requirements for internship could be a little different because there are various jobs even in the same department. In case of Office of Admissions, there is a job of admission counselor. There interns have to answer the applicant’s questions about SMU’s admission, and it is crucial for them to be interest in the admission system of SMU. Also, some offices related foreign or international affairs are essentially needed to foreign language skills. So, there are some exchange students who work in the offices. Kim Bo Gung, an interviewer of Global Lounge said, “Around 20~30 applicants come to interview. Because our main job is about language, language skill is crucial. However, we also check experience, character, and ability of handling crisis through conversation.” At the Museum, student interns not only administer the museum, but support museum events. They work about museum entirely. At the Sookmyung Visual Media Center, there is a job of IPTV producer intern. That’s why applicants for this job must have skills about computer like making programs or about design like Photoshop. Also, at the Library there are a variety of works about the library services. Jong Ho Han, an intern in reading room of Main Library, said, “Our main job is a making a studying environment, so we take care from temperature of room to locker luggage. In addition to these internships, there are lots of opportunities to be intern in different areas. As a self-improvement scholarship, the intern student is paid 4,500 won per hour. For the interns who work two hundred hours per semester, there is a book support fund of 20,000 won. The interns who work more than 80 hours can receive certificates. Although all of these internships recruit some applicants mainly at the beginning or end of semester, the time for accepting applications and the number of students to be admitted are different depending on the situation. So students who have interest in internships have to check the school board often.
Internship Program at Abroad
The office of International Affairs offers various internships abroad. They offer an internship program with an exchange student program. After passing the application phase and the interview, including the TOEFL IBT, the applicant can study at Florida State University, which has partnered with our university. It is located in the U.S.A. and students can work at Walt Disney World as interns for six months or one year. Applicants will work thirty hours per week at least, and will work at theme parks, merchandising, the Animal Kingdom and the Hotel in Disney World. The main job of intern is concierge or life guard, and they will receive eight dollars or nine dollars per hour. Also, there is a global internship program hosted by APEX Communication. Anyone who meets requirements that her average school grade is 3.0 or above, and her TOEIC score is 750 and over, or IBT score is 76 or above can apply, including students on a leave of absence. If an applicant is selected for that internship, after education for about four weeks, around sixty hours about practical writing, business communication, and job interviews, they can work abroad, including America, Europe, Oceania, India, Central Asia, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and China. Also, they can get a maximum scholarship of 1,500,000 won and get three credits. However, there are some people who have been disappointed as overseas interns, because their job falls short of their expectations. Therefore, student must be reminded that it is not everything to go abroad, and they must be sure about their aims.
Real Internship Program in a Company
Although internships in university are also important, intern actually means a person who works at a company. Actually, SMU provides Sookmyungians with various chances to intern at companies. First, students can get information through the Career Development Center. It provides intern programs in various companies steadily. Second, there is a recommended intern by university. When companies require a student as an intern from a university, SMU selects the student, and recommends that student to the company. Third, there is a company business internship course in SMU. Sookmyungians who finish five semesters and get seventy credits can take this course. Course I and Course II is open at a seasonal term and Course III and Course IV is opened in the first and second semester. Students will be evaluated by pass or fail and must work at least twenty hours per week. This course gets credit from two to five depending on the working hours.
Internships for Student
The intern who performs administration internship in school was indicated as a self-improvement
scholar from 2009. One of the most attractive things for internship is the opportunity for students to improve themselves. Student interns could develop their ability by themselves through internships and freely arrange their time to work when they have no classes. This flexibility of using the time is a benefit for them. “I could get money on school and effectively use time that I have,” said Kim Ji Hye, Department of Education 08. However, many students don’t know what an intern exactly does, and they could even make mistakes in their work. In fact, the internship in school comes up with very realistic and specific works about SMU. “When I performed work as an intern, at that time, I felt like I was an officer, not a student. In fact, before becoming an intern, I had no idea about my university. Since I have worked as an intern, however, my mind for SMU has grown. Thanks to this opportunity, I also make an opportunity to make more personal connections with fellows, officers, and professors,” said Yoon Hae In, Department of Public Relations & Advertising. In this way, it encourages students not to only develop a practical capability through real performance, but to feel attached to the school. Although many students want to be intern, however, it isn’t easy because there is a limited opportunity for them. One student who has tried to apply to it more than ten times, said, “I don’t know the standard of being choosing an intern.” But about the standard of intern, some intern in Global Lounge answered, “I think the examiner selected me because I already have experience somewhat, I wrote a letter of self introduction concretely related with work, and I have some skills with Excel of course. I think an applicant should have a heart for service and a positive attitude because, even though an intern gets money, unlike other part time jobs, it’s our university’s work.” However, one of the sensitive things about internships is ‘pay,’ because some interns point out the amount of pay they receive compared to other university. “I think a pay of our internship is less than that of internship in other universities,” some intern said. SMU pays 4,500 won per hour as self-improvement scholarship to interns. In the case of national labor scholarship that is hosted by Korea Student Aid Foundation (KOSAF), the interns receive 6,000 won for oncampus work and 8,000 won for offcampus work. In fact, the intern program in other univiersities is mostly operated as KOSAF, not university. So, they normally pay 5,000~6,000 won per hour or by one year or semester unit to the intern. For example, Konkuk University pays 6,000 won per hour, Yonsei University gives 5,500 won per hour to interns and Soongsil University pays by one year units. Also, it could be a problem when the scholarship is not given on time. “Even though it could be a small amount, I think many interns have waited for it to come in,” Park Soo Jin, an intern student, stated. Actually, it is no longer just money for student interns because the money they earn plays a significant role in campus life.
It is the time when it is more important for university students to develop competitive power. SMU has strived to offer Sookmyungians various opportunities to experience internships in school. When the work of internship is also well considered depending on different performances at different times, however, it could be more helpful for students to manage their time, improve self-development, and they would be another face of Sookmyung.
