The Effect of Job Challenge and Role Clarity through Innovative Work Behavior on Internship Satisfaction

Objective: Internships in higher education are vital for students' practical experience and skill development, with satisfaction being a key measure of success. Job challenge and role clarity significantly influence internship satisfaction. Job challenge enhances engagement and creativity, while role clarity reduces confusion, allowing students to focus on learning. Innovative work behavior, involving the initiation and implementation of new ideas, mediates this relationship, benefiting both the organization and students' sense of accomplishment. Together, these factors critically shape students' internship satisfaction. Method: The sampling technique was simple random sampling. The collected survey data is then analyzed using SEM-PLS with SmartPLS software. Results: The research indicates that **innovative work behavior** does not significantly affect internship satisfaction. **Job challenge** positively influences innovative behavior but has no significant impact on satisfaction. **Role clarity** does not directly affect innovative behavior but positively influences satisfaction. Neither job challenge nor role clarity significantly affects satisfaction through the mediation of innovative work behavior. Novelty: This research not only examines the direct influence of job challenge and role clarity on internship satisfaction, but also explores how students' innovative behaviors-such as the ability to initiate, implement, and adapt new ideas-can mediate the relationship.