Scheduling courses around co-op or internship experiences is difficult. Industry is enthusiastic. Students acquire a better understanding of the workplace, return to their studies more motivated. It is not always easy to involve companies in supervising students. There are opportunities for faculty development through contact with industry.
Programs add an extra year to the students' studies.
Internships and cooperative education, the subgroup said, are for all practical purposes the same thing. There are many variations, but it is useful to consider them together. Participants discussed the issues raised by this presentation. They can even result in additional research funding. Some faculty members may discourage internships as an unwarranted interruption of students' studies.