The key to having a successful internship is good planning . Planning for the internship can and should take place both in advance of your actual start date, and equally important, on a continuing basis after your arrival.
Internships are work in two important senses.
First, you will have responsibilities and duties to perform within an organization as a collaborator. Just as there are daily expectations for your performance on the job, you must also continue to plan, assess, modify, and evaluate your internship on an on-going basis, even as you are involved in it every day. Your internship sponsor may be eager to engage in this planning process with you, both before and during the internship experience. Or, you may have a sponsor who is not as able or willing to do so. Or, you sponsor may fall somewhere in between.