Abstract

This study looks at the contribution of internships toward the enhancement of the educational and professional readiness of students by filling the gap between theory and practice. The article discusses the advice of interns and field supervisors within the program of Interior Design Engineering at the Gulf University in the Kingdom of Bahrain and how workplaces bridge the gap between the learning process and its application. Various techniques were used for data collection, including both quantitative and qualitative methods; therefore, online questionnaires, which were statistically analyzed and qualitatively coded, were used. The study results reveal the level of satisfaction among the interns regarding the relevance of the academic courses taken with the internship activities, although some aspects of the theory are still hard to put into practice. The article asserts that internships play an essential role in the enhancement of practice and provision of the necessary response but calls for the revision of curricula to foster better adaptation of students to the requirements of practice. Suggestions are made to the effect that there is a need to restructure the curricula and bring them more in line with practice and practical situations, as well as enhance feedback mechanisms and collaborations between the practitioners and the academia to expose the students to the requisite competencies and readiness for the industry of interior design.