Is internship better than research-based program in equipping life science graduates with employability skills and attributes?

Wednesday 3 July: 5:30pm – 7:00pm, poster session

Presenters

Dr Siew Hong Lam
National University of Singapore, Singapore
dbslsh@nus.edu.sg

Dr Cynthia He
National University of Singapore, Singapore
dbshyc@nus.edu.sg

Overview

Graduates equipped with employability skills and attributes are perceived by potential employers as being able to adapt, perform and progress better in the modern workplace. National University of Singapore (NUS) life science curriculum employs a traditional research-based program, and recently incorporated an internship program, as part of our efforts in preparing future-ready graduates for the workforce. The present ongoing study determines the perception of soon-to-be-graduating students on their employability skills and attributes. These students had either undergone the new internship program or the traditional research-based program as part of their graduation requirements. An online survey questionnaire consisting of a list of items including 14 employability skills and attributes was administered to the students at the end of the programs. A total of 116 student interns (SI) and 147 student researcher (SR) participated in this study. Approximately 37.1% SI and 25.9% SR rated themselves as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ in each of the four thinking skills i.e. ‘quantitative thinking’, ‘critical thinking’, ‘problem solving’ and ‘practical creativity’. Additionally, 49.1% SI and 32% SR rated themselves as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ in all three interpersonal skills i.e. ‘written communication’, ‘verbal communication’ and ‘collaboration’. As for the six employability attributes, 40.5% SI and 26.5% SR rated themselves as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ in terms of ‘time management’, ‘adaptability’, ‘independence’, ‘initiative’, ‘resourcefulness’, and ‘resilience’.  About 65.5% SI and 42.2% SR rated themselves as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ in ‘computer, information and communication technology’. Moreover, 90.5% SI and 64.8% SR perceived that their respective programs were ‘useful’ or ‘very useful’ in preparing them for future employment. Supervisors’ input were solicited and implications are discussed. At the present state of the two programs, the findings suggest that internship may be better than research-based program in equipping NUS life science graduates with employability skills and attributes.

Presentation topic

Poster session