Student satisfaction and expectations from internships in Greece: A comparison between Greek and International students.

Abstract

The hospitality internship experience can be viewed as the critical turning point in which students decide whether to stay or leave the industry. The aim of this paper is to identify the factors that contribute to student satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) from this working and learning experience by comparing experiences between Greek and International students. A survey among 172 students was conducted. The findings suggest that overall students demonstrated a favourable perception towards their internship experience. There were no significant differences between Greek and International students on the internship expectations. The most important factors contributing to students’ satisfaction were the real working conditions and the learning experience. Greek students’ expectations were focused on learning in a professional environment, whereas international students on the career prospects. All participants acknowledged the long working hours, poor pay and lack of coordination as the key challenges. This study proposes that hospitality management undergraduate programmes should offer internships in order to increase their students’ awareness, industry exposure and employability, which should be carefully planned, organised and closely monitored. Students should be familiarised with the local working conditions and culture in the country where the internship takes place.