Expanding a co-op program's offerings to include international placements can be both exciting and nerve-wracking. One can see from the earlier sections of this document that there are many issues to be considered and many ways for problems to occur. And if that is not enough, international co-op placements take much more time to manage than regular domestic ones. So, the question must be asked: ''Why offer international co-op placements?''
The Project Team asked itself just that question in the tenth year of operating its own three-way exchange scheme (called The ABC Scheme for Australia, Britain, and Canada). An extensive survey was conducted of the students who had gone through the ABC Scheme. Responses were sought to identify which factors attracted students to international work terms, what benefits they obtained from those terms, and how the experiences influenced them.
The students' responses indicated that the top three attractive factors were: living in a foreign country; working in a foreign country; and the personal challenge. The top three experiences gained were: increased self-confidence; broader cultural development; and more relevance to their general education. As to what was the largest influence the international experience had on them, gaining a greater international perspective was listed as important. Surprisingly, issues such as preparation for the global economy, enhanced employability, and different types of jobs offered internationally were not felt to be very significant by the students.
The students uniformly agreed that the international co-op experience was definitely worthwhile. The benefits of offering international placements can be gained by the other players in cooperative education as well:
| 1. Student benefits |
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| 2. Employer benefits |
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| 3. Program benefits |
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Co-op practitioners with experience in international placements will agree that the rewards of international co-op programs compensate for the extra effort required. It is truly inspiring to interview your own students upon their return from a year-long placement abroad and learn about the personal development, increased self-confidence and enhanced maturity gained from their experience.
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A Guide for Developing International Co-op Programs |  |