This is a trick question.

It can be a daunting task to invent new ways to better our system until one realizes that we already know a lot about how to improve architectural internship. This issue has been studied and written about by some of the most respected members of our collateral organizations and other great minds interested in the success of our internship model. As a profession, we have generated mounds of paper on the subject since Boyer and Mitgang wrote in 1996 that internship was "perhaps the most troubled phase of the continuing education of architects."

To be specific, the 1999 Collateral Internship Task Force (CITF) report clearly outlined nine recommendations for improving architectural internship. Further, the Collateral Internship Management Group final report of 2003 explained how the collaterals can make the improvements suggested by the CITF. Unfortunately, only the least contentious parts of these reports have been taken seriously. We are not, as profession, any closer to offering all or part of the ARE concurrent with internship. In addition, we still cannot agree to rethink the title of "intern" even though it does not help the architecture community or the general public to understand the achievements and status of architecture school graduates. It is time for the good ideas we have written on paper to be implemented.

What else would make an architectural internship better?

Do not mistake my praise for the work of our predecessors as a way of passing off responsibility. To the contrary, finally implementing all nine recommendations of the CITF is just the first step. Once we are able to move beyond what we already know, we will have to face the tough reality that providing meaningful learning experiences for interns is counterproductive for firms in our economically driven society.

We all want to trust that good feelings and a sense of professional obligation alone will be enough motivation for all firms to provide diverse and positive learning opportunities for their interns. It isn't. I believe that a solution for this issue will require a shrewd economic assessment of our internship model. Strategies for addressing this issue include financial incentives for mentors, a certification or accreditation system for firms, and competency based documentation of experience that is not tied to hourly billing. The next step is to make architectural internship even better by using a business approach to evaluate the system we rely upon to train emerging professionals.