This month, 131 students from Hirat University received certificates of accomplishment for completing a three-month internship program organized under the USAID-funded Afghanistan Small and Medium Enterprise Development (ASMED) project. This is the third graduating class since the ASMED internship program began in Afghanistan’s western region in 2007. The internship program exposes students to real-world applications in the business environment and gives them practical experience working inside a business. As a direct result of this program, private sector organizations and government offices are already employing several of the recent graduates.