Christine Barkley is redesigning internships through Internology

Christine Barkley, founder and CEO of Internology, is building a workforce development model aimed at making internships both more available and more effective. Her work centers on research, intentional design, and partnerships that connect education and employers.

Why it matters: - Internships shape how students move from education into work, and weaker programs can waste time for both interns and employers. - Internology is trying to solve two problems at once: expanding access to internships and improving the quality of the experience. - Better-designed internship programs can strengthen workforce pipelines for organizations and communities.

What happened: - Christine Barkley, founder and CEO of Internology, is being featured by Influential Women. - Internology is a workforce development organization focused on helping organizations and their education and workforce partners design, strengthen, and scale internship programs. - Barkley’s work centers on transforming internships through research and intentional design.

The details: - Barkley earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Childhood Education and Mathematics from SUNY Cortland. - She later earned a master’s degree in Higher Education from Penn State while working in career services. - Her early experiences included study abroad, club sports, internships, and mentoring local children. - Those experiences led her toward higher education and student development. - Barkley says her career across higher education and the private sector showed her the challenges students face and the role organizations play in creating early-career opportunities. - Internology’s approach is rooted in research, practical strategy, collaboration, and design thinking. - The organization translates internship research into practical solutions and works with education and workforce partners to build stronger early-talent opportunities. - Barkley designed her own three-month internship in Australia during graduate school. - That experience reinforced her view that when the right opportunity does not exist, people sometimes have to build it. - Barkley and her husband spent three years traveling around the United States in an RV. - She says that experience deepened her appreciation for new places, cultures, food, and perspectives. - Barkley says her definition of success includes family, relationships, integrity, purpose, and joy.

Between the lines: - Barkley’s message is that internships are not just about access; they also need structure, support, and clear value for both sides. - Internology’s broader vision suggests a move from one-off internship programs toward a more scalable ecosystem. - The feature frames Barkley’s career as a mix of education, curiosity, and self-directed opportunity-building.

What’s next: - Barkley plans to keep building Internology into a scalable workforce development ecosystem. - The company will continue focusing on research, education, practical solutions, and partnership to improve internships. - Readers can learn more through Christine Barkley’s Influential Women profile or Internology’s website.

The bottom line: - Barkley is betting that the future of internships depends on more than more openings; it depends on better design.