Reimagining Internships in the Digital Age: Virtual Communication Practices for Smarter Student Engagement

Abstract

This study examines the influence of communication practices on internship experiences in virtual, physical, and hybrid formats. The study employed a qualitative interpretive design, utilizing three focus group discussions comprising 15 final-year communication students at Sunway University, with five participants in each modality group. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to look at the discussions and find patterns in how students felt about onboarding, mentoring, feedback, social presence, and work-related fatigue. The results indicate that virtual internships were frequently perceived as adaptable and effective for task coordination; however, participants also reported delayed clarification, diminished spontaneous interaction, and limited opportunities for informal learning and networking. People generally thought that physical internships offered more interpersonal cues, faster feedback, and better day-to-day support for relationships. However, the quality of mentoring still varied from supervisor to supervisor. Some people said that hybrid internships offered a partial balance between flexibility and access to relationships, but how well they worked depended on how communication was set up in both online and inperson settings. The findings do not imply that one modality is inherently superior. Due to being an exploratory study with a small, context-specific sample, these findings should be regarded as interpretive insights rather than universally applicable conclusions.

Keywords: virtual internship; digital communication; internship innovation; student engagement; distance collaboration.

Introduction

Internships are widely recognized as a significant link between academic education and professional application (Jackson & Tomlinson, 2022). Internships are more than just a way for students to learn new technical skills. They are also places where students can learn how to understand what is expected of them at work, build relationships with their bosses and coworkers, and figure out who they are as professionals (Musa et al., 2025). In traditional in-person environments, these processes are frequently facilitated by direct interaction, casual observation, and prompt access to feedback But the growth of virtual and hybrid internships has changed how students learn on the job, moving a l proportion of workplace interactions into digital environments, a trend that accelerated following the widespread adoption of remote work practices during and after the COVID19 pandemic (Leonardi, 2021). Previous research has demonstrated that virtual internships can enhance accessibility, improve digital skills, and offer adaptable opportunities for experiential learning (Reid et al., 2023). The rapid expansion of virtual internships during the COVID19 pandemic also demonstrated that remote placements could provide meaningful workintegrated learning opportunities despite disruptions to traditional workplace settings (Feldman, 2021). Internships also serve as experiential learning environments that enable students to apply theoretical knowledge in practical contexts while developing professional competencies (Casas-Puente & Gutierrez-Leyton, 2025). Simultaneously, previous studies indicate persistent challenges, such as restricted spontaneous interaction, diminished integration into workplace culture, and fewer opportunities for

mentorship and networking (Park & Jones, 2021). A lot of this writing is still focused on satisfaction, access, or employability outcomes (Jeske, 2022; Reid et al., 2023), and not enough on the communication processes that interns use to get guidance, deal with uncertainty, and feel like they belong. In other words, the issue is not solely whether virtual or hybrid internships are effective, but rather how various communication structures influence the relational dynamics of internship learning. This study fills that gap by looking at internship experiences from the point of view of organizational communication. Instead of seeing internship modality as just a logistical difference, the study sees modality as a way of communicating that affects how people can get mentoring, feedback, and professional interaction. Communication is the key element of internship experiences in various modalities, with a focus on meaningful learning as a process of interaction and participation rather than technology (Anderson & Dron, 2014). The study's contribution extends beyond the mere application of communication theory to internships; it seeks to establish a comparative framework: various modalities structure communication in distinct manners, and these communicative configurations influence how interns mitigate uncertainty, perceive social connectivity, and assess the quality of the guidance received. This study employs Media Richness Theory to analyze the differences in communication channels' effectiveness in facilitating clear and nuanced mentoring and feedback (Daft & Lengel, 1986), The continued relevance of media richness and social presence in digital learning environments has also been supported by more recent research on online communication and learning platforms (Wang, 2022).;Social Presence Theory to elucidate variations in perceived interpersonal closeness, support, and team belonging (Huang et al., 2023; Short et al., 1976); and Uncertainty Reduction Theory to investigate how interns pursue clarity regarding roles, expectations, and workplace norms, particularly during onboarding and initial adjustment (Berger & Calabrese, 1975). These theories function as sensitizing concepts within an interpretive, constructivist framework, rather than serving as instruments for causal testing. The research concentrates on final-year communication students at Sunway University who have recently finished internships in virtual, physical, or hybrid environments. The research aims to clarify the varying experiences of communication practices across three internship formats within a singular educational context, maintaining a consistent institutional setting. The study is directed by three research inquiries: (1) In what ways do communication practices vary among virtual, physical, and hybrid internship modalities? (2) How does the mode of communication affect mentoring, feedback, and professional networking? and (3) How do students view hybrid internships in terms of balancing flexibility and interpersonal engagement? Instead of making broad claims about how the research applies to all situations, it gives specific examples of how communication design affects internship learning in workplaces that are changing with technology. The study is guided by the following research questions: 1. How do communication practices differ across virtual, physical, and hybrid internship modalities? 2. How does communication modality influence mentoring, feedback, and professional networking experiences? 3. How do students perceive hybrid internships in balancing flexibility and relational engagement?

Methods

The research paradigm of this study is a constructivist

interpretive paradigm. This research paradigm is based on the assumption that social reality is co constructed through interaction and shared meaning making processes (Craig, 1999). The internship experiences are considered communicative events in which the students interpret roles and relationships through interaction. The research is based on the sociopsychological approach to communication, but the selected theories of communication are media richness theory, social presence theory, and uncertainty reduction theory are considered sensitizing concepts for interpreting the research participants' experiences rather than testing causal relationships between variables. Qualitative research design is considered an appropriate research design for this study to examine the research problem of how communication is experienced in different forms of internship experiences virtual, physical, and hybrid internships (Atieno, 2009). Focus group discussions are considered an appropriate method of data collection for this study because participants are allowed to discuss and interpret shared experiences and generate interactional insights that may not be possible in individual interviews (Macqueen et al., 2025). Internships are considered social learning experiences in which relationships are developed. The research design was based on a qualitative approach, where 15 final communication studies students who had undertaken their internship programs recently were recruited to participate in a focus group interview. The research participants were purposefully grouped into three different groups based on their internship modality, virtual, physical, and hybrid, each consisting of five people. The researcher conducted each of these focus groups, where a trained researcher moderated a semi structured interview with a set of questions on various topics, such as onboarding, mentorship, feedback, networking, and communication challenges. The researcher recorded each of these interviews, where informed consent was obtained, and analyzed them through reflexive thematic analysis, as suggested by Braun & Clarke (2006). The researcher analyzed the data through a series of stages, such as familiarization, where the researcher kept on reading the transcripts to gain a deeper understanding of them, open coding, where communication experiences were identified, and finally, themes were generated through a combination of codes, where the researcher applied three different theories to interpret them. To increase the level of analytical credibility, a transparent coding process and refinement of themes were implemented. The researchers engaged in reflexive discussion to reduce individual biases and ensure consistency in analysis. Considering the exploratory nature and small sample size, this study does not seek statistical generalization but offers transferable understanding on how communication influences internship experiences in different modalities.

Result and Discussion

The focus group discussion (virtual, physical, and hybrid internship modalities) generated five themes, namely, onboarding and uncertainty negotiation, mentoring accessibility and relationship closeness, social presence and team dynamics, feedback specificity and uncertainty management, and modality-related patterns of fatigue. This was accomplished by the use of reflexive thematic coding of three focus groups of transcripts of 15 final-year communication students (five per modality). Every theme reports on a unique aspect of the internship experience as mediated by the communication. A comparative summary of these themes with sample quotes by the participants is shown in Table 1. Internship Onboarding and Communication Processes

Internship Onboarding and Communication Processes

The results show that the experiences of interns during onboarding facilitated significantly across the different internship modality specifically regarding the communication practices involved, as well as the degree of organizational structure available to interns in the first stages of the internship. In the transcripts, several participants thought that onboarding was relatively informal, and most of the time it included the usage of messaging communications instead of well-organized orientation programs. This was particularly noticeable in virtual and hybrid internships, where the main form of communication was digital not face-to-face, which took place via such platforms as WhatsApp or internal messaging system. According to one of the participants, the process of communication with the offer letter signed soon became based on instant messaging rather than formal email messages: “I didn't receive any emails after I signed my offer letter… it was all WhatsApp messages.” (Participant M) Equally, another respondent mentioned that onboarding was short and mostly unorganized: “My first project wasn’t really much of a project… I did a lot of

Hybrid Interns Pre-start office visit + WhatsApp, structured yet flexible. "My supervisor texted me to tell me when to come in to introduce me to the office space and meet all my colleagues before starting." (Participant D) Both physical and virtual access, nonverbal cues are missing. "The support was extraordinary, but on the phone through WhatsApp, the relationship was available because you can't judge based on tone." (Participant B) Moderate social presence; different split teams has limited full-team connection. "We would work one week in the office, one week at home... I only got to meet the people who would work the same days as me, so I never got to meet the entire team." (Participant D) Structured evaluations, some saw suggestions implemented. "When my supervisor did the evaluation, she then called me and just explained to me why she had given me that rating and what can improve from that." (Participant B)

Task variety reduced monotony; coordination fatigue. "I feel that the roles were changing from week to week, I didn't have the same task from week one until week 14. So it didn't make me feel bored of my job." (Participant E)

observing mostly just to see how I’m supposed to work there.” (Participant P) These results indicate that informal information-seeking behaviors are usually adopted by the interns at initial levels of the internship as they strive to make sense of workplace expectations and duties. This finding can be partially interpreted with the Uncertainty Reduction Theory that suggests that a person in new environments vigorously aims at obtaining information to minimize the uncertainties and adjust to new social environments (Berger & Calabrese, 1975). Within the internship setting, lack of formal onboarding can make interns more dependent on peer interaction, on the job observation and informal communication to learn the norms of the workplace. However, the findings may also reflect organizational onboarding design, where limited formal orientation structures, rather than modality alone, can shape how interns access information. The current studies on virtual internships also emphasize the fact that online communication channels have come to the forefront to coordinate activities and establish workplace integration in the work environment that is distributed (Reid et al., 2023; Youngblood, 2020). Nevertheless, even though these platforms may allow efficient communication, they might

also reduce the likelihood of spontaneous communication and instant task explanation, further extending the period of the adjustment of the interns in the professional settings.

Mentorship and Supervisory Support

Mentorship was also another important factor that had an impact on the internship experience. The respondents in all the internship modalities indicated that they were assigned supervisors who played the role of the mentor, although the degree of engagement and support differed significantly. Facial face-to-face communication with supervisors and fellow workers was dominant in physical internships where participants are likely to be in the same work environment as supervisors and other employees. One of the participants told that due to the daily meetings and direct cooperation, it was possible to guide each other on a regular basis: “We met every day because we had to work together as a team… so we tried to build a good relationship with each other.” (Participant K) Such close contact and proximity appeared to support confidence, particularly during the early stages of adjustment. One of the participants said that it proved to be easier to meet her/his mentor regularly because it would give them a better idea of what they were supposed to do and how this would enhance their productivity. Conversely, virtual internship participants indicated lower interaction with their supervisors and this in some occasions led to confusion about what was expected to be done. According to some interns, the communication mostly happened as planned online sessions or through messaging systems, which might slow down the response and clarification. This can be explained by one of the participants as follows: “I definitely wish it was more… I was really awkward asking him questions over text.” (Participant H) While this may relate to reduced communication richness in digital settings, it may also be influenced by the supervisors’ availability, workload, or mentoring style, which suggests that modality alone does not fully determine mentorship quality. Other past researchers have also highlighted the importance of organized mentorship as a key element of effective internship experience, with remote working conditions potentially being the context in which informal learning is scarce (Jeske, 2022; Park & Jones, 2021). Research on remote internship supervision further suggests that intentional communication practices can help maintain social presence and support effective learning relationships in digitally mediated environments (Petit et al., 2023). Moreover, the findings also draw attention to the fact that the quality of mentorship can be achieved not only by the frequency of communication but the clarity of instructions and the quality of feedback given. With the help of consistent guidance at work, interns expressed more confidence and interest in the tasks to which they were assigned.

Interpersonal Relationships and Social Presence

Another important theme that is salient in the data is the role of interpersonal relationships at the work place to their development. The respondents continued to emphasize the importance of social interaction in defining their internship experience. With physical internship contexts, closer day-to-day contact with other colleagues often led to the establishment of closer work relationships and practices. A number of respondents characterized their work-environment as accommodating with them saying that colleagues usually offered a helping hand and given the necessary advice. One of the participants also explained that open communication was encouraged, and that there was also a sense of collaboration in the team setting during the internship. The participants in the virtual internship, though, have

shown relatively less chances of informal interaction. In such situations, communication was more task based, and provided less room to chat casually or to build relationships. As a result, there was a certain lack of connectedness to their team members by some of the participants compared to those who were operating in physical surroundings. The differences align with Social Presence Theory, which suggests that the communication channels vary in their ability to convey interpersonal cues. However, the findings also indicate that team structure and interaction frequency play an important role in shaping relational experiences. Face-to-face communication is generally richer with social indicators and thus more interpersonal relationships and easier to collaborate. According to the recent study on remote work setting, the same authoritative hints that online communication could limit the possibilities of informal interaction, which can affect team building and workplace inclusion (Chue et al., 2024; Myers et al., 2025; Widaningsih & Rulandari, 2022). However, hybrid internship experience can provide a tradeoff between the freedom of working remotely and the social gains of face-to-face interactions (O’Leary et al., 2014).

Feedback Processes and Communication Clarity

The other common theme that has been identified in the data is about the modalities in which interns were provided with feedback and direction during their internship period. Respondents indicated that there were pronounced variations in the feedback mechanisms that depend on the channels of communication adopted in the organization. Similar findings have been reported in e-internship research, where communication quality between supervisors and interns was found to influence both learning outcomes and professional confidence (Jeske & Linehan, 2020). The virtual interns often reported receiving feedback through written communication like messages or comments on online platforms. Although this approach allows the leaders to deliver feedback in an asynchronous manner, some respondents noted that written feedback might sometimes be unclear or too broad. One example that arises is that all participants described corrections in the form of short messages, which sometimes made it difficult to have a complete picture of what was needed to be better. Conversely, interns based in the physical setting claimed that they received feedback through face-to-face interactions with managers or peers, where they could immediately clarify and talk about it. Face to face communication is said to be a richer medium as it allows immediate feedback and various communicative indicators. Previous studies on virtual internships have shown that communication conducted primarily through digital platforms may create challenges in feedback interpretation and clarification, particularly when interactions rely heavily on written messages (Park & Jones, 2021; Youngblood, 2020). Companies that use virtual internships can thus take advantage of introducing formal feedback arrangements to online communications to enhance learning and clarity. While these patterns are consistent with Media Richness Theory, they may also reflect organizational feedback culture and time constraints, rather than communication medium alone. In some virtual contexts, feedback may still be seen as when structured processes are in place (Ammar Haidar Ishak & Mohd Faris Nik Min, 2025)

Work Engagement and Internship Experience

The participants then looked back at the total experience and the difficulties involved in their modality of internship experience. Virtual interns commented most often about the ups and downs of boredom due to their remote work and less social contact. In fact, a number of participants pointed out that they were less engaged in their work due to the lack of physical

workplace dynamics. These experiences are consistent with previous studies of virtual internships, which found that although remote placements offered continuity of learning, interns also experienced communication barriers, reduced task variety, and fewer opportunities for informal workplace learning (Wong et al., 2021). In contrast, respondents who had their internships in a physical environment tended to say the work was more dynamic with teamwork and direct interaction with other colleagues being part of a more interesting experience. Nevertheless, these respondents also mentioned the problems of workload severity and the urgency to adjust quickly to the demands at the workplace. Hybrid internships appeared to offer a middle ground between flexibility and engagement. Participants noted that alternating between tasks and work arrangements helped maintain motivation. As one hybrid intern explained: “The roles were changing from week to week… I didn’t have the same task from week one until week fourteen, so it didn’t make me feel bored of my job” (Participant E) These findings suggest that engagement is influenced not only by modality but also by task design, workload distribution, and opportunities for interaction (Bond et al., 2021; Kahn, 1990). On the whole, the findings indicate that internship modality has no impact on communication practices only, but on wider experiential dimensions of workplace learning. Although virtual internships enable us to become more accessible and flexible, physical and hybrid ones can offer more promising chances in interpersonal communication and informal learning (Reid et al., 2023). The combined results highlight the critical role of communication practices in the experiences of interns with mentorship, feedback provision, and workplace relational processes within different internship modalities. However, the findings also indicate that internship experiences cannot be attributed solely to modality. Instead, communication structure or form that is mediated by supervisory accessibility, feedback, and interpersonal engagement opportunities has a considerable influence on how interns interpret their educational contexts Communication practices in this investigation belonged to the thematic component under scrutiny, since they served as a central point through which the interns could manage their uncertainty, enhance their professional relationships, and evaluate their internship experiences. As an example, timely feedback and the availability of a supervisor were more likely to relate to enhanced conceptual clarity and confidence in interns, and limited connection and feedback delayed success were sometimes associated with greater uncertainty and lower commitment. As a result, these patterns suggest that the kind of experience that internships are fundamentally about is not only shaped by the physical or procedural space of the employed setting and activities but also through the established communicative infrastructures of interaction between the intern and the constituents of the organisation. In effective internship programmes, however, fewer internship modalities may be expected, and intentional design of communication practices that look to create clarity, interaction, and relationship. This is in line with the perspective that purposeful internship experiences will enhance best practices in workplace communication through interaction, reflection and guided participation in authentic workplace settings (Chan, 2021). The design of successful internship programmes could therefore be based much less on the choice of a particular modality, and more the intentional construction of communication practices to promote clarity, interaction, and relational engagement.

Conclusion

This research examined the experience of communication practices in virtual, physical, and hybrid internship modalities through an organizational communication perspective. The findings, based on focus group discussions with communication students, indicate that these students see communication quality, in terms of clarity, responsiveness, and relational interaction, as a key factor in their internship experiences and professional relationship building. Rather than reflecting the modality of internship itself, the results seem to suggest that the communication practices in each modality have more significant implications for the interns understanding of their internship experiences. The interns in the virtual internship modality discussed the benefits of flexibility in communication, as well as the challenges of delayed feedback, lack of spontaneity, and limited informality in communication. While most virtual internships provided learning experiences comparable to in-person placements, virtual interns were more likely to be assigned to underresourced or lower-quality internship programs (Lee, 2025). In contrast, the physical modality of internship was found to facilitate more effective interpersonal communication, timely feedback, and mentoring. The hybrid modality of internship was found to have offered a balance of flexibility and interpersonal communication, depending on the design of the communication structures. The results of this study support the theoretical views on media richness, social presence, uncertainty reduction theory, while also implying that organizational factors such as mentoring structures, feedback mechanisms, and accessibility of the supervisor have implications for the interns understanding of the internship modality. Thus, the present study suggests that communication has a significant role in facilitating interns learning. In light of the exploratory and interpretative nature of this research, the implications of the results should be considered context specific insights rather than generalizable knowledge. The small sample size and the singular organizational context of this research may also have an effect on the overall perspectives elicited. Future research may seek to extend the implications of these results by increasing the sample size and exploring different organizational contexts. Practically, this research implies that organizations and educational contexts may benefit from the development of a structured communication process for internship programs, such as mentoring and feedback mechanisms and a combination of different communication mediums. This may help strengthen relational engagement and improve the effectiveness of a virtual internship experience.

Author Contributions

The initial draft and idea of the manuscript came from Indri Alya Himawan’s Bachelor Degree final year project, and the three authors expanded on it together, researching for further improvements to be made to have it reach journal worthy. With that, Indri worked on the Results and Discussion section of the manuscript. Nabila Fenelia worked on the Method and Conclusion of the manuscript. Lastly, Siti Mahari Nadira worked on developing the Abstract, the journal title and the Introduction. All three authors researched for sources in their own devices and worked on the journal together in Google Docs, in order for each contributing author to be able to see the others progress.

Acknowledgements

This paper extends findings from the undergraduate

project, “Virtual Versus Physical Internships: Valid Opportunities for Sunway University Students.” We gratefully acknowledge and would like to thank all participants who contributed to this study. In addition, we would also like to

acknowledge Areeba Jawaid Chaudhry for her contribution to the undergraduate project. Without her involvement, we would not be able to extend and expand upon this project.

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