Arts Work Experience Internship program seeing increased interest
Just like students in any faculty, arts students are concerned about getting work experience before they graduate.
Internships offer a way for university students to get a valuable immersion in the workforce and build contacts.
Now, when you hear the word “internship” you might think about high-profile programs in engineering or business.
Perhaps not as well known, but increasingly generating interest is the arts faculty’s Arts Work Experience Internship (AWEI).
What is AWEI?
AWEI is a part-time, unpaid internship that is exclusive to students in the faculty of arts.*
Students enrolled in this program pay the regular tuition fees and upon completion receive three credit hours toward their degree. The internship lasts 13 weeks and students can work up to eight hours per week.
The Carillon spoke with Fardeen Zayan Ahmed, a third-year philosophy, politics and economics major who says he has been enjoying the experience.
“I was really hooked with the idea that, you know, you can work, you can get credit, and you can use that experience and make that connection,” said Ahmed.
Ahmed secured a placement with a non-profit organization called Data for Good Saskatchewan.
“I was really hooked with the idea that, you know, you can work, you can get credit, and you can use that experience and make that connection.” – Fardeen Zayan Ahmed, third-year faculty of arts student
Application process and requirements
Students need at least a 70 per cent GPA and a minimum of 54 credit hours to be eligible.
Ahmed described the process of applying to the program as quick – around 20 to 30 minutes. Applicants are asked what makes them a good fit, as well as their academic areas of interest and personal and educational passions.
Even though the internship is unpaid, there are non-monetary benefits of the program that make it worthwhile.
For one thing, says Michelle LeMoal, who helps oversee AWEI placement and completion for the faculty, AWEI can lead to future opportunities.
“I know currently there’s a student who did an internship last year who got a permanent position working full time after graduating,” said LeMoal.
She says she works with a number of non-profit organizations to secure job placement for the program. Some of the places include the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Regina Flying Club and the Regina Legion Museum.
Valuable connections to be formed
Another selling point of the program is the opportunity for students to build their professional network.
“My supervisor at the job is pretty fantastic,” Ahmed said. “He’s an awesome guy. He makes me feel really welcomed and he gives me more opportunities to learn. I’m really glad about it.”
Flexibility also a plus
According to LeMoal, typically, the supervisor is flexible and will work around the student’s class schedule so that the student can get their eight weekly hours in.
That flexibility is one of the things Ahmed has appreciated most from the program.
His internship job is a remote position which lets him work at his own leisure and switch, when he needs to, to his day job and school.
“I wanted to make the best out of my free time or non-academic time,” he said. “In the fall, I’m just really busy. I’m doing like five course loads.”
Fardeen’s future ambitions
Ahmed is hoping his internship will help him achieve his goal of becoming a public servant.
“I was really looking forward to … getting some good experience,” Ahmed said. “Work somewhere where I can use that knowledge and use it in my future ambitions.”
*It is important to note that even though journalism, human justice and health studies fall under the faculty of arts, those students are not eligible for AWEI as these departments have their own internships.
