From the company's point of view, it seems like an internship really ought to be more of a culture fit check than anything else. It's like an extended technical interview in a way: "try on our team for size, see how it fits. Do you like the work? Do we see potential in your skills / productivity?" That sort of thing. Heck, even for experienced engineers there's a spinup time on any large technical endeavor that is sometimes measured in months. How long is a typical internship anyway?