A Conceptual Design of Virtual Internship System to Benchmark Software Development Skills in a Blended Learning Environment

Problem-based learning (PBL) design with the incorporation of educational institution/software industry and technology education has long been accepted as an important step in the developmental process of future learning designers. A virtual internship platform in a blended learning environment to design a preferred virtual program that will overcome many limitations of professional skill development among final year computer science (CS) students or fresh graduates. In this research, we have designed a Virtual Internship System (VIS) that will solve the major problems of virtual workplace management and interconnect our young generation with the industry regardless of their physical location and other obstacles. We have segmented and designed possible program tracks and assessment methods to ensure the best outcome of virtual transformation in the field of internship. Our previous research findings and developed components of e-Learning Research and Development Lab (eLRD-Lab) like, PBL model, problem bank, question bank similarity searching (QBSS), web-based integrated development environment, exam undertaking, automatic evaluation, result monitoring, etc have been exclusively applied in this design. Our future target is to establish a benchmark that will be guaranteed by professional skill development.