INTERNSHIPS PROGRAM
The Center for Experiential Learning’s internships program works to create meaningful learning experiences by facilitating interactions among students, faculty, alumni, and organizations.
The ideal internship is a carefully monitored experience in which a student has intentional learning goals and spends time before, during and after the experience considering its vocational implications. Any internship has the potential to impact a student's educational program and career track.
Internships allow students to:
- Enhance their academic program through hands-on learning
- Apply skills learned in courses and co-curriculars in an off-campus setting
- Learn how organizations operate
- Explore and evaluate career options
- Gain professional work experience and develop transferable skillls
- Network with professionals in a field of interest
- Assess strengths and interests
Academic Internships
At St. Olaf, students have the opportunity to complete an internship for academic credit.
Academic Credit Internships require a specific time commitment, completion of a Learning Agreement and Plan, and coordination with a faculty supervisor.
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Current Internship Guidelines, Academic Catalog 2006-2008
Faculty supervisors of academic internships play a crucial role in assigning and supervising the completion of academic activities that are thoughtfully determined and encourage reflection. Click on the link at the top right to learn more about supervising academic internships.
The National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE) serves as a national resource center for the development and improvement of experiential education programs nationwide. Research and information obtained from the NSEE has been important to the review of the CEL's Internships Program. Learn more about NSEE's resources »
LINKS
Mayo Scholars 2007-08
Cullen O'Neill '09, Hannah Clark '09, Kristina Stoermer '08, and Erik Brekke '08
The Mayo Scholars Program is a unique experiential learning opportunity for selected science and economics majors, piloted during the 2006-07 academic year. Through the program, student teams evaluate projects submitted to Mayo Medical Ventures, the arm of Mayo responsible for evaluating potential business opportunities for discoveries and inventions created by Mayo Clinic physicians and researchers.
The program was developed by John Meslow ’60, retired VP of Medtronic, with input from David Van Wylen and CEL staff. Medtronic underwrote the pilot program.
The program is structured as an interdisciplinary academic internship during Interim. St. Olaf is allotted two separate projects from Mayo Medical Ventures and, accordingly, selects two teams of four students each. Team members are selected on the basis of the academic background necessary for the specific project assigned.
Here's how the students describe their internship project:
Our group is looking at mallet finger injuries, and we're evaluating new splints for the injury. We're trying to asses all of the different splints on the market and eventually we'll make a recommendation as to which device Mayo should endorse and use. At the end of interim, we're giving a formal presentation to the board of representatives at Mayo Medical Center, along with the 6 or 7 other groups who've been doing similar research at other schools.
This project not only involves scientific research, but is also teaching us the entrepreneurial aspects of inventing new products. It has been important to see how a new idea generates support and finds its niche in the marketplace. Mayo gets at least one new patent per day, but these new ideas can't be looked at because of a lack of time and resources to make accurate assessments about the products.