Repositioning the Faculty Internship Experience in Construction Management

Previous studies have confirmed that industry internships help young faculty sharpen their teaching portfolios. Few studies, however, have explored the potential of research enhancement and the benefit that industry sponsors gain from the internship experience. This paper discusses how industry internships impact: (1) junior faculty's scholarship, and (2) industry sponsors' work. The paper presents an analysis of the authors' internship experiences through case studies with supporting data obtained from interviews involving industry personnel. The analysis suggests that an industry internship can, besides improve teaching methods, enhance the richness, quality, and scope of scholarly research and support industry sponsors. The paper also discusses a successful internship strategy and how the internship experience can be tailored to different faculty research areas. In the end, recommendations to guide future faculty internship programs are presented.