The real purpose of an internship

What is the purpose of an internship? The simple answer would be to gain practical work experience and develop skills. But for what? I believe the real purpose of an internship is to explore career opportunities.
 
I receive tens of emails every month inquiring about internship opportunities. However, I rarely see applicants expressing a long-term interest in working with us, for example, joining our group as research scholars. Most applicants do not even explain how working with us will help them in their future careers.
 
On the other hand, almost all who inquire about research positions never approached me for an internship in the past, possibly assuming they would not receive a positive response.
 
To be clear, I am not blaming students. The primary problem lies in our education-employment interface. Most companies in India either see internships as an unnecessary expense or do not expect candidates to show serious interest in their organizations. As a result, the entire education-employment interface is completely messed up. In my earlier posts, I had suggested that educational institutions should close their placement offices and instead open new offices dedicated to facilitate internships.

As far as internship opportunities in my lab are concerned, you have a very high chance of receiving a positive response if you specify why you are interested in building a long-term relationship with us.