Most high-performing teachers follow a starkly similar path. They graduate from school impassioned by a desire to change the world and make an impact on young lives. Then they enter university driven by a curiosity to equip themselves with the toolkit they need to make this goal a reality. However, as most great educators will know, everything we learn in lectures and seminars can only be effective once we are called to action – during our first teaching internship.
At Misk Schools, we have reflected on these practical experiences and asked the question – what if our students can gain high level, real-world experiences in whatever field that interests them early, before they graduate school? We have taken this idea and made it a reality by offering students aged 14 to 18, two, week-long internship experiences tailored to their career interests.
Shaping the Misk Schools Internship Program
The internship journey commences in Grade 8 when we start surveying students to discover preferred university destinations and explore early career ideas. These surveys are then repeated annually. Interview data is used to design personalized curriculum pathways, ensuring aspirational engineers are equipped with math and physics, young medics study the right combination of sciences, future economists build their knowledge of business and management, etc.
To ensure their portfolios are robust, the personalization process ensures each student pursues appropriate co-curricular activities as well. It also provides opportunities for them to travel the world, engaging in international competitions. Olympiads can further their passion, grow their experience, and develop their confidence.
Connecting Enterprise with Education
The next step is for our internship team to turn their attention to Saudi Arabia’s bustling corporate world and, based on specific student interests, canvass suitable businesses.
For this inaugural year of the program, our partners have included: the Saudi Esports Federation; CEER, the Kingdom’s first electric vehicle company; civil and mining engineering firms Jacobs and Ma’aden; high-level investment corporations SAB Invest and Hassana, and successful aviation firm The Helicopter Company – all of whom were eager to support the program by providing student interns with a one-week, structured dive into the real world of work. The partnership selection process was meaningful and deliberate. In fact, only one student desired to study law, so we partnered with global legal firm Latham and Watkins to ensure that he gained the experience that was right for him.
During their week-long practicum, students had the opportunity to delve deeper into their chosen sector and see first-hand the operational and strategic management of that industry. As part of our agreement, partner firms also introduced interns to C-suite executives, including the CEO, to learn not only about how the business operates successfully, but also how to manage people successfully.
Importantly, students were visited by school mentors during the course of the week, to check in on their engagement with their placement, as well as on their safety and wellbeing. All of our students and their supervisors shared the same sentiment – that this experience was highly valuable.
Life Skills, Confidence, and Connections
By participating in their internship, students developed and enhanced important skills such as communication, teamwork, problem solving and time management – all essential for success in life, as well as in academia and the world of work. They shadowed executives, attended cross-departmental briefings, and were actively encouraged to ask questions as well as contribute ideas. Additionally, most were tasked with conducting research, analysis, and delivering presentations. Their supervisors completed pre- and post-internship surveys reflecting on each student’s journey.
Once back at school, the program’s positive impact on students became even more evident. Without exception, they displayed a keener interest in securing academic success as a steppingstone to their future as a professional, and ultimately, as a leader. We also observed newfound levels of maturity and self-confidence resulting from the real-world insights, experiences and associated skills they had developed. And finally, there has been a realization that the connections and networks made within their placement will support them (and in turn, the Saudi Arabian economy) in the future.
The Importance of Reflection
Again, as all great teachers know, whilst the internship experience itself is highly valuable, true wisdom and knowledge can only be gained through reflection. To ensure the deepest possible benefit from their internship experience, students are required to complete a thesis, evaluating outcomes and conducting an in-depth analysis of the essential skills needed for success within the host organization.
This thesis forms their submission for an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), ensuring that their participation in the internship, along with their reflections, have been internally and externally assessed and qualified. The importance of internships at Misk Schools goes beyond typical work placement opportunities.
Internship participation and the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) that is associated with it form part of the eligibility criteria for the Misk Schools Diploma, our unique graduate qualification which has been designed to provide the kind of learning experiences students need to distinguish themselves and excel.
This diploma has been endorsed by Cambridge University Press and Assessment and is set to be awarded to our first graduates at the conclusion of 2024/25.
To learn more, watch these supporting videos:
First interns talking about their experience (in Arabic with subtitles)
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Shen Megalaa is Vice Principal of Assessment and Data at Misk Schools, Riyadh. He is a driven and passionate educator and leader with experience across Sydney, Australia, Dubai, UAE, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is at Misk Schools in Riyadh where Shen has found his calling in curriculum and assessment design and education reform, having played an integral role in supporting the development of the KS4 and KS5 curricula, and the development of the Misk Schools Diploma, alongside Cambridge University Assessment and Press.
In his role as Vice Principal of Assessment, Data and Reporting at Misk Schools, Shen is working to ensure that students are equipped with the professional and academic recognition they need to gain access to the best education at higher education institutions globally. Shen’s core belief is that students of the next generation will inevitably be the best leaders the world has ever seen, and his drive is to ensure that they lead in the right direction for the right reasons.
LinkedIn: Shen Megalaa
