Internships often fit the same general description.
Internships may or may not provide a salary. In other words, Co-op students often return to the workplace up to three times while interns may only go once. Therefore work performance, training, and productivity are key elements to student work periods. Interns may perform duties irrelevant to their major field, and may or may not receive substantial supervision. It gives meaning to everything you've learned in the classroom, and an opportunity to apply that knowledge.