BSIT Corporate Internship Process

I. The Internship Program

An internship is a learning opportunity for students to develop professional skills in a hands-on environment. The program complements the formal learning that you get in the University with the practical knowledge and skills, including the essential soft skills, under actual workplace conditions in recognized companies or institutions.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Guidelines underline the importance of internship, which is “meant to provide students with an opportunity to complement their formal learning with practical knowledge, skills and desirable attitudes and to gain hands on experience in recognized Host Training Establishments” or HTE (cf. CMO No. 104, Series of 2017, Article I, Section 1).

II. Internship Requirements

1. Completion of Courses

The Corporate Internship courses (1 and 2) are offered during the second semester for fourth year BSIT students. Students should enroll in both courses during the term in order to access the Canvas course pages and resources and start their internship.

Part of the requirement to enlist is that the BSIT student should have passed all major IT courses or at least have an incomplete (INC) standing in some of these courses.

As stated in section 12 of the CHED memorandum on student internship guidelines, a student intern "has taken all his/her major (professional) subjects before taking the internship subject to the requirement of the HTE. He or she is allowed to take other subjects with a maximum of six units during the internship period and/or subject to the institution's policy." (cf. CMO 104:2017)

2. Age & Health Requirement

The CHED guidelines indicate that the student intern should "be at least eighteen (18) years of age from the start of the internship period." Likewise, a medical certificate has to be presented "indicating that he or she is in good health and emotionally fit."

3. Internship hours

The number of internship hours required for BSIT students is four-hundred eighty-six (486). This figure is mandated by CHED under Section 8.3 of the CHED Memorandum Order 25:2015 (REVISED POLICIES, STANDARDS, AND GUIDELINES FOR BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE (BSCS), BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS (BSIS), AND BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (BSIT) PROGRAMS), which stipulates:

"The minimum number of internship hours (preferably in a full time capacity) for the BSIS and BSIT programs is 486 hours..."

III. Program Deliverables

1. Orientation Attendance

Students who plan to do internship should "undergo the required orientation program" conducted by the University (cf. CMO 104:2017, 16.2.4). The orientation is a pre-internship seminar, which discusses the expectations, guidelines, course requirements, and rules and regulations. The orientation is also a venue for an open forum for interns to raise their queries or concerns.

An orientation is scheduled on the first week of the second term. A video recording is also made available on the Canvas pages for student interns to refer to.

2. Consent Forms

Student interns need a notarized written consent from their parents or legal guardian before they can start working as a student intern in any company or institution. The parent (or legal guardian) issues and signs the written consent as a manifestation of their approval for the student to undergo internship. This requirement is indicated in the CHED CMO 104:2017, section 16.1.6.

A parental consent template is provided as reference.

3. Memorandum of Agreement

The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is a written agreement between the University and the company or institution that offers internship training. The legal document specifies the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved, and as well as the terms and details of the partnership agreement.

The official UA&P MOA template is provided.

To process the MOA between UA&P and the company, create a copy of UA&P's Internship MOA template (see link above) and edit the content to reflect the company's profile. You can then forward the edited copy to the company's contact person, informing them that they can make adjustments, particularly in Section A of the document. If they prefer, the company can also provide their own MOA according to their corporate criteria.

Once you have a copy of the MOA signed by the company representative, submit a clean PDF copy to the Internship Program Coordinator, who will have the document signed by the Dean of the School of Sciences & Engineering. The signed document will be returned to you so that you can give the fully signed copy to the company representative for their records.

4. Internship Plan & Contract

The internship plan is a document provided by the company or institution hosting the internship that outlines the goals, objectives, skills and competencies that the student intern should acquire. The plan aims to ensure that the student will acquire the skills and competencies that are relevant to their field. The document is approved by both the University and the partner institution and duly signed by the representatives of both parties to protect the interests of the student.

Part of the internship plan is the internship contract, which the student intern enter into with the company or training institution. The contract can be suspended or terminated by the company due to the student intern's misconduct or breach of contract. Likewise, the company is not allowed to change the provisions of the signed internship contract without the consent of the student intern and the University.

A sample internship plan and contract is provided as reference.

5. Internship Journal

While doing your internship, you are required to maintain a journal with the daily recording on the following information:

• Your internship activities or log. The log is a daily, systematic record of activities, incidents, and observations; written communication has to be clear and simple. 

• Problems or issues you encountered and how they were managed.

• Reflections on your experiences. This will include insights on your actions and considerations on how to improve yourself and your work environment.

The journal of internship is a requirement specified in CHED CMO 104:2017, section 16.2.9. You may view this sample journal for ideas.

6. Certificate of Completion

After completing an internship with a company or an institution, request for a duly signed 'certificate of completion' from your supervisor or the company HR representative. The certificate should indicate the number of hours you have worked as a student intern. The figures that appear on the certificate will ascertain the actual number of hours you have rendered and will serve as the official count.

7. Database Update

Once you are done with your internship with a company, you will fill out the Official Online Internship Database form to update any information on your internship. You will be asked to fill out some pertinent information such as company name, contact and supervisor information, dates, etc. This is essential for us to track your internship status and as well as to establish any further communication with the company personnel, especially since we will be getting in touch directly with them to assess your performance.

8. Supervisor Evaluation

After you have updated the Online Internship Database, you will inform the BSIT Internship Coordinator via email so he will get in touch directly with your OJT supervisor—using the contact details you entered in the database—and request to submit an evaluation of your performance. Your grade for this requirement will be based on your supervisor's assessment.

9. Exit Presentation & Slides

The post-internship presentation is an exit assessment that is performed after the completion of your required internship hours. It is expected that you have at least completed the total number of hours required for the internship program before an exit assessment can be carried out.

The presentation is an obligation for all student interns as specified in the CMO 104:2017, section 16.2.11. The post-internship presentation involves three phases:

• Presentation proper (face-to-face or video recording)

• Q&A portion

• Submission of slides used in the presentation

Students have the option of making an asynchronous presentation by submitting a video recording (with or without editing) in lieu of a live presentation. The video should include at least one segment of the student speaking. Slides and visuals should be used to better communicate the ideas. Students may submit a link to the video file or upload the video via Canvas. The video should be no longer than thirty minutes and the audio quality must be clear.

Under time constraints, which is one week prior to the Registrar's deadline for graduate students to submit all requirements, students are asked to submit video recordings in lieu of an in-person presentation.

10. Written Report

After having given the exit presentation, submit a written report that includes the following:

1. List of significant personal issues and concerns you encountered in connection with the internship. Include some detail to provide appropriate context.

2. Solutions you employed to address the issues and concerns you listed in #1. If the issues were not addressed at all, indicate that as well.

3. Given the issues and concerns you encountered, what recommendations do you have to help future interns?

Save the report as a PDF file using the prescribed file naming scheme: LastNameFirstName_OJTReport.pdf. 

IV. INTERNSHIP RESOURCES

• Database of Companies

• CMO No. 104 Series of 2017: Revised Guidelines for Student Internship Program (SIPP) in the Philippines

• CMO No. 22 Series of 2013: Revised Policies, Standards and Guidelines (PSGs) on Student Internship Abroad Program (SIAP)

• Republic Act 7877: the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995

• Republic Act 11313: Safe Spaces Act