Within ESF+ project No. 4.2.2.11/1/25/I/001 Digitalisation of the Study Process, Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) continues to advance the improvement of student internship management, strengthening cooperation between Latvia’s higher education institutions and drawing on insights gained from international practice for the development of a unified student internship management system.
From 10 to 12 June 2026, representatives of the leading higher education institutions of work package DP4 Student Internship Management (RSU and the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies) took part in the CIEE Global Internship Conference in Tallinn, Estonia. The aim was to become acquainted with international experience in organising student internships, developing work-based learning and addressing issues related to the digitalisation of internships, as well as to establish cooperation contacts for the further implementation of the project and for the exchange of experience.
One of the key insights of the conference:
“Digital transformation is not merely the introduction of technology, but a new approach to organising learning and to the student experience.”
Discussions emphasised that higher education must be able to adapt to a rapidly changing labour market and to the changes brought about by artificial intelligence, while at the same time maintaining a focus on work-based learning, that is, on internships.
Among the most striking examples presented at the conference was Estonia’s AI Leap initiative, which promotes the integration of artificial intelligence into education and the development of digital skills. Discussions on the future of higher education, meanwhile, highlighted the need for universities to retain a clear identity in conditions of rapid change. It was stressed that the sustainable development of a university rests not on efforts to excel in every field, but on a clearly defined mission, on its strengths and on its direction of development.
Particular attention at the conference was also devoted to quality assurance in internships. The need was highlighted to develop common quality criteria and comparable indicators in order to assess the impact of internships on students’ learning outcomes and career development.
Knowledge transfer seminar
In order to ensure the transfer of international experience to the Latvian higher education environment, on 15 July 2026 RSU organised a knowledge transfer seminar entitled Student Internship Management in Latvia: International Experience and Development Opportunities. The seminar examined the main insights of the conference in greater depth, including the transformation of the labour market under the influence of artificial intelligence, the availability of high-quality internships, the development of career readiness competences and international trends in the field of internships.
The event placed particular emphasis on the central insight of the conference: that internships today are far more than a component of the study process. They are becoming a strategic instrument for students’ professional development and employability, while transversal skills such as critical thinking, the ability to adapt to change, collaboration, empathy and leadership are gaining ever greater importance.
International experience
In the second part of the seminar, international experience was shared by Leah Mason, Associate Director of the Lee Iacocca Institute for Global Leadership at Lehigh University (USA) and Director of its international internship programme. She presented the experience of the USA in designing international internship programmes, ensuring their quality and implementing work-based learning approaches.
The international experience and the insights discussed at the seminar will make a substantial contribution to the development of the student internship management system, creating a more effective, more transparent and more user-oriented approach to organising internships in Latvia.
A recording of the seminar is available on the RSU website.
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The initiative forms part of the project Digitalisation of the Study Process (No. 4.2.2.11/1/25/I/001), co-financed by the European Social Fund and the state. Its aim is to introduce modern shared solutions that will ensure a flexible study process and enhance the competitiveness of Latvia’s higher education institutions. The project is implemented by the association Higher Education and Science Information Technology Shared Services Centre in cooperation with the science universities: the University of Latvia, Riga Technical University, RSU and the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies.
