Internships – Department of Malay Studies

Malay Studies Internship MS3550

The Malay Studies Internship course offers students an array of opportunities to enhance learning beyond the classroom through attachments with selected community organisations and government bodies. The 4 unit course covering 120 hours over one semester is offered over three semesters throughout the academic year. It is applicable to all third year students majoring in Malay Studies. Started initially with the Malay Heritage Foundation (MHF) covering areas related to heritage programmes organised by MHF, the course has since expanded to include a wider range of opportunities for students interested in other fields of relevance to MS. Over the last two years, MS students have interned with ISEAS -Yusof Ishak Institute, Mendaki, National Library Board and MediaCorp apart from MHF. Each internship is customised to meet the needs of the organisation while ensuring that students are well mentored and able to acquire relevant hard and soft skills in the work environment. Student interns are strongly encouraged to network with staff within the organisations working on areas that interest them for future opportunities. It has always been a pleasure to read the interesting and substantive internship reports on the amazing lessons and skills students have learnt and acquired at the end of the internship. Mentors’ evaluation reports on our interns have also been highly positive. Looking ahead, continuous efforts are underway to find more opportunities for our students with other relevant government ministries and civic agencies.

MS major students who would like their participation in internships to count towards meeting graduation requirements may enrol in courses managed by the Department or FASS (see FASS’s internship website for more information about faculty managed internship module).

Course	MS3550 Malay Studies Internship
Units	4
Course Classification	Counted towards MS major requirements. Pre-requisite: Students should have completed a minimum of 24 Units in Malay Studies; and have declared Malay Studies as their Major. Preclusion: Any other XX3550 internship modules (Note: Students who change major may not do a second internship in their new major)
Internship Hours	Semester 1 or 2, Part-time: 12-16 weeks during regular semester, no more than 16 hours per week. A minimum of 120 hours of work. Special Term, Full-time: 8-12 weeks during special term, no more than 40 hours per week. A minimum of 120 hours of work.
Application Deadlines	Semester 1: 1st week of June Semester 2: 1st week of November Special Term: 1st week of March Module is strictly by pre-allocation. Apply for internship module by submitting the MS Internship Proposal Form to the Department administrator for approval.
Course Windows	Semester 1: August to December (16 weeks) Semester 2: January to May (16 weeks) Special Term: May to July (12 weeks) All work for the courses should be completed within the prescribed windows. The arrangement with the company or organisation may extend beyond the windows on a mutual arrangement between the student and the employer. Work done beyond the course window does not count towards the course.

Internship courses may not be used to delay honours.
Students may pursue the internship module concurrently with other courses only with approval from the company or organisation and the Department of Malay Studies.
The company or organisation will need to be vetted by the Internship Coordinator for suitability and relevance.
Start/end date for internships may vary but all work for the courses should be completed within the course window (see above).
Students will need a Workplace Supervisor (from the company or organisation) and Academic Advisor (from NUS).
If conducted in Singapore, internship will include one or two (beginning and ending) workplace visits by the supervisor. At least one face to face meeting between the supervisor and the workplace manager.
Students will submit written assignments to be reviewed by the Academic Advisor, and in some cases, by the Workplace Supervisor as well.
The final grade given by the Academic Advisor will be based on your written assignments and Workplace Supervisor feedback.

Applying for Internship Course

Secure an Internship

Students are encouraged to source for internships with organisations in the industries of their choice. The Department is also on the lookout for internship opportunities for our students and will inform students via e-mail when there are opportunities available.

Other resources:
NUS TalentConnect
Employers' websites
CFG website

Submit an Application

Apply for internship module by submitting the MS Internship Proposal Form to the Department administrator for approval.

The following information will be required:

Details of host organisation, including address, contact number, email and contact person.
Scope and description of duties
Intended learning outcomes from the internship
Planned work schedule

Once the internship is approved by the Department, please request the host organisation to issue an official acceptance letter with details of the agreed internship arrangements. A scanned copy of this letter must be submitted to the Department.

During the internship

Guidelines for Students

Please ensure you are clear about your work schedule and tasks early in the semester, after meeting and consulting with your host organisation. Please raise any doubts or concerns you have, and ask for clarification, as soon as possible.

The core tasks of your internship will be explained to you by your host organisation. In addition, you need to keep a written journal of your tasks and learning experiences, which you will use as the basis for your final report, which is to be submitted to the Department of Malay Studies when you finish the internship.

Assignments

Journal

The journal should be completed during the period of your internship. The Department of Malay Studies suggests recording weekly entries.

Each entry should be at least 300 words.
Journal entries should describe the work done, what you learned, and your immediate observations/reflections.

The journal can be in the form of a diary entry, blog etc.

Report

At the end of the internship, each student must submit a final report (and the journal) to the Department of Malay Studies.

The report should include the following components:

Description of the internship (its objectives, schedule and principal activities completed).
Reflection upon the internship experience (the learning outcomes, including social, personal and any technical skills acquired).
Closing remarks.

The report may be built upon your journal entries to draw some conclusions about what you have learnt as an intern, and how it does (or does not) relate to what you have learnt in Malay Studies but should not be copied verbatim from them. You may – if you want – include other items that are related to the issues you are covering: pictures, news clippings, or other materials, which you can use to illustrate the points you wish to develop. The report should be no longer than 3000 words.

Assessment

Evaluation is based on 100% Continuous Assessment.

Your final report and journal for the internship will be assessed by a Malay Studies faculty member with the following criteria in mind:

Making sense of your internship experience. This means relating what you encountered to your knowledge of the country and to questions raised in the field of Malay Studies. These could include one or more of the issues, debates or problems that you have been presented with in the course of your other modules. In general, this criterion relates to being able to put the particular experiences you had in the context of a bigger picture.

Reflection. This related to your originality and creativity in thinking about your experiences and in drawing connections, both among the experiences of the internship and with some of the larger issues to which they relate.

Analytical skills. This refers to your ability to develop a coherent argument or line of interpretation, to build your case in a logical manner and support it appropriately (and to acknowledge issues on which you are uncertain, or for which you do not have adequate evidence).

Clarity and organisation. This means expressing yourself clearly, using language precisely and accurately, and organising your material so that it forms an ordered, structured report that is easy to read.

Enquiries