Virtual internships (VI) enable students, especially those in engineering domains, to gain real-world experience and skills in a remote online setting. Even though they offer several advantages over traditional internship programs, these benefits have not been fully realized due to many challenges related to organization, VI models, information technologies, communication, and collaboration. This paper introduces the specific VI lifecycle model and the methodology for VIs with practical workflows and guidelines, which enable design of adapted and flexible internship programs. For successful management of VIs, a web-based digital platform is designed and developed. It is based on the proposed VI lifecycle model and methodology, and it connects all parties (students, schools, and companies) within the secure and collaborative digital environment. Its architecture is multitiered and it is based on microservices and open standards, so it can be customized for specific VI scenarios, or integrated with other specialized e-learning platforms that complement VI user experience. The digital platform contains specialized components that support specific VI tasks, such as Internship database, Lectures, Assessments, Company Profiles, Assignments, etc. This enables more flexible, efficient, personalized, low-cost, and adaptive solutions for VIs. The proposed VI model and digital platform were successfully applied in several southeastern European countries, demonstrating applicability and flexibility of the approach. The results, based on various surveys and the system and user data from the digital platform, show a higher level of collaboration, better communication, increased level of professional knowledge, and acquired skills related to online teamwork and collaboration. © 2021 TEMPUS Publications.
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