Pros
I could only speak for my six-month internship at the CRM software development group at the company. The best reasons would be: 1. Job and financial security: I have not heard people getting laid of from this group since the economic downturns. And it does pay its employees (again, speaking for the SW group) fairly during good times. 2. Contriubtion to the society: This is a meanufl industry for people who want to contriubte to human welfare through work. 3. Long-term career development: The company seems to be strong and competitive, which means long-term career development opportunities for employees.
Cons
The senior management seems not to value its internship programs. The intern students did not have chances to see anyone from the senior management, and thus did not get chances to learn things outside of the SW division, such as sharing the mission of the company. Moreover, on my first day there was even a little confusion on who would be my supervisor, which made me wonder if they really needed a SW intern. It seems that they needed to find tasks for me. What? Was I not expected and needed? Furthermore, the interns did not receive feedbacks on performance from their supervisors during or after the internships. This was a huge disappointment. The value of internship for both the company and the students was to assess each other's abilities and fitness, which requires a well-designed internship program in which the interns should gain: exposure to other areas of the company, being introduced to the senior management team, and communicating with the supervisors about their performance. Unfortunately none of these were available to the interns after they finished their internships. In a sense the interns were treated more like contractors.