The curricular internship is an activity that allows students to acquire the credits required in the Program’s Study Plan and is also an opportunity to gain practical skills as well as encourage their first experience in the working world.
The Curricular Internship is an academic experience foreseen in the Course Structure, characterized by practical activities carried out in UNIBO and non-UNIBO structures, in Italy or abroad, and which must be included in advance in your Study Plan.
The Dissertation Internship is an internship different from the Curricular Internship described above; it aim is preparing the thesis work based on a project agreed with the thesis supervisor. This internship must also be included in your Study Plan (select it from the "Final exam choice group”).
While the Curricular Internship (type F or type D) can be carried out in another structure, or in a university facility, the Dissertation Internship (type E) is aimed at preparing your dissertation thesis and can only be carried out in an external structure, such as a company. A thesis prepared within the Department is not considered an internship.
Internships can be a mandatory course type (type F) or optional (type D or E) more detail in the attachment “Internship duration - Table”.
Internship is activated on the basis of an agreement signed between the University of Bologna and a Host organization (company, public body, professional firm, university, etc.) and on the basis of an internship project signed between them.
Internships cannot be carried out in a structure in which the CEO, a partner or any legal representative, has family ties or affinity up to a 2nd degree with the student.
You can find more information in the Internship Regulations.
In order to start an internship, it is mandatory to have obtained the certificates required by the State-Regions Agreement, as indicated on the "Health and Safety in the Workplace" page.
On this page you can find information on:
Unless otherwise specified, an internship lasts 25 hours per credit (CFU) attributed to it in the Course Structure. Consult the CFUs foreseen by your Course in the attachment under “HOURS/CFU Details”
In all cases, internships must be completed within 12 months from their start date.
You can ask for an internship extension for a maximum of 20% of the scheduled hours, by sending an e-mail with a justified request, to the Internship Service Office: (distal.tirocini.bo@unibo.it) with the Host Tutor and the Academic Tutor (see elsewhere in this text for definitions) with whom the extension was agreed in advance, in CarbonCopy.
Internships may be carried out in UNIBO and non-UNIBO structures either in Italy or abroad.
To choose where to carry out your internship, consult the Internships online app.
From the app’s home you can consult:
Should you have already made arrangements with an affiliated structure, you will have to invite them to access the online internship app and upload a specific offer for you, as explained in the “Handbook for Interns” (see attachment).
If you wish to carry out your internship in a laboratory belonging to an University Department, you must make arrangements with a teacher of your Course and follow the internal self-application procedure explained in the “Handbook for Interns” (see attachment).
You also have the possibility of suggesting an internship with a new structure not yet affiliated with UNIBO. In order to do so, you must communicate the name and e-mail address of the Host to the Internship Service Office (distal.tirocini.bo@unibo.it) which will send the Host Tutor the instructions on how to make a request of agreement. Both, approval of the request and signing of the agreement, can take place in a short time, approximately 30 days. Companies can also find details on the information page dedicated to companies.
Furthermore, some affiliated structures have chosen not to be visible through the online service, therefore they will not be able to receive self-applications. They will only upload internship offers, which can be generic or specific (i.e. addressed to a single intern with whom they have previously made agreements).
Students can apply for an internship solely through the Internships Online app.
The online request for curricular internship can be submitted only after establishing all the details of your internship (location, dates, duration, activities) with the Host Tutor (contact person of the host structure), and with the Academic Tutor ( i.e. a professor expert in the internship topic).
With regards to “Dissertation Internships” (i.e., in preparation for the Final Exam), the Academic Tutor is the Thesis Supervisor.
Internship requests are validated by the Internship Service Office (distal.tirocini.bo@unibo.it) and then submitted to the Internship Committee, for the approval of the project and the choice of Academic Tutor.
The Internship Committee’s approval will be carried out within 30 days from submission.
Once the Committee has approved the internship, you will receive an email with the request of downloading the internship project.
At least 4 or 5 days before the established start date, you must:
NOTE: you MUST download the Attendance register BEFORE starting the internship.
The internship MUST be carried out between the start/end dates indicated in the Attendance Register. Any activity carried out outside this timeframe will not be validated.
During your internship, you must maintain communications with your Academic Tutor who can offer support or advice on how to carry out the activities. You must also record all daily activities in the Attendance Register.
All Internship hours must be recorded in the period between the start/end dates indicated in the Attendance Register.
If you intend to withdraw from, or interrupt your internship, for reasons that will no longer allow you to continue it, or if you need to extend it, you must communicate your intention by e-mail providing explanations to the Academic Tutor/Thesis Supervisor, the President of the Internship Committee, and the Internship Service Office. The internship can be interrupted, or extended, if the committee deems valid the motivations presented.
At the end of your internship, your Attendance Register has been signed by the Host Tutor. The signed register has to be uploaded on internships online.
For Curricular Internships, you must write a Final Report of at least 2,500 words about your internship; it must contain a description of the company in which you carried out the internship, the analytical description of the activities carried out and your personal reflection on the validity of the period of your training (download the attached "Facsimile of Title Page of Final Report"). On the basis of this documentation, and possibly after an interview with you, the Academic Tutor will express his/her opinion on the validity of your internship, approving it or requesting modifications via internships online.
No report is necessary for Dissertation Internships. Your thesis supervisor will express their opinion on the validity of your internship based on the internship documents via internships online.
For both types of internships, once documents will be approved, you will need to consult the exam calendar for the internship exam dates according to your Course. You must register for the exam NO LATER than 30 days prior to the graduation date, according to the procedures indicated.
You may request equivalence of work experience (or similar) in a field related to your degree as an internship :
To obtain this equivalence, students must fill an application form that is in the attachment 6) Equivalence of Work Experience IT/EN. After an admissibility evaluation of the request, and meeting the documentation criteria, the Internship Committee will express the consent or denial of equivalence.
The University of Bologna guarantees insurance coverage for students against accidents at work and third-party liability claims. These policies are drawn up by insurance companies specialized in the sector. If travelling to locations or structures beyond those approved for the internship, it is necessary to request an insurance extension according to the “Instructions for the intern when leaving the official internship site”, on condition that the journey requested is consistent with the objectives of the internship. Online courses on Health and Safety in the Workplace are compulsory for all students.
For internships carried out abroad, consult the information page on Health and Safety.
For information on internship guidance, you can contact the internship contact person of your Program.
For assistance with the internship documents, doubts regarding procedures and online Internships, you can contact the Internship Service Office (distal.tirocini.bo@unibo.it).
It depends on your Program; you can easily verify if they are by checking your Course Structure. If you find an internship under the heading "Curricular internship" or "Internship group options", it means that it is mandatory (type F). If instead, it is present under "Optional Courses" and it is a type D, it is optional and you can decide to include it in your Study Plan or not.
They are two different things. While the first (type F or type D) can be carried out in another structure, or in a university facility, the second (type E) is aimed at preparing your dissertation thesis and can only be carried out in an external structure, such as a company. A thesis prepared within the Department is not considered an internship.
Furthermore, the internship requires a report of the activities, while the internship in preparation of the final exam does not require a report, as it will be discussed during the thesis presentation.
In this case, an "Internship" and not an "Internship in preparation of the final exam" is being carried out. Hence, it is a normal internship activity which will end with a written report. Thereafter, students may be motivated by the internship activity as a basis for their thesis work.
To affiliate a new company, you must communicate the name and e-mail address of the company to the Internship Service Office (distal.tirocini.bo@unibo.it) which will send the company the instructions on how to make a request of agreement. Both, approval of the request and signing of the agreement, can take place in a short amount of time, approximately 30 days, in order to allow you to apply for the internship as soon as possible.
Modules 1 and 2 of the Safety Course are mandatory for all internships. Training information can be found online: https://elearning-sicurezza.unibo.it/.
Instead, module 3 of the Safety Course must be carried out specifically in the case of risks of a chemical, biological and physical nature, and is mandatory if laboratory/field or company activities are planned, or in any case in which interaction with substances/agents deemed dangerous or potentially dangerous are involved. This training is given in a class (or online) on the dates found on the Health and Safety in the Workplace page under the heading “Calendar of Module 3 editions”. The procedures for registering on the Students Online app are also visible. To submit your internship application, it is therefore necessary to have done the required modules. The app will verify that requirements are fulfilled. If you see a red square in reference to the Safety Course modules, you must quickly contact the Internship Service Office (distal.tirocini.bo@unibo.it) in order to clarify your position (for example, recognition of safety modules completed outside the Department).
In the "Useful information" section you will find the file "Instructions for the intern when leaving the official internship site ". Here, you will find the instructions and the text of the e-mail to be sent to the President of the Internship Committee. If several outings have been planned, the Host Tutor can send several exit requests at once, specifying the day to which each refers.
You can request an extension, generally within the maximum time limit for carrying out an internship which is one year. With particularly serious and justified cases, requests for postponements beyond one year will be evaluated. See the section dedicated to extensions.
The university does not bear any of the expenses incurred during the internship, such as those for transportation and so on. However, the intern can accept an agreement with the Host organization, keeping in mind that reimbursement is no manner due.
INTERNSHIP CONTACT PERSON OF THE DEPARTMENT
- Prof.ssa Elisabetta Frascaroli
INTERNSHIP CONTACT PERSON OF THE DEGREE PROGRAMME
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Istruzioni per le uscite del tirocinante dalla sede ufficiale di tirocinio
3) Internship duration - Table
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4) Internships Regulation - University of Bologna
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5) Facsimile of Title Page of Final Report
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6) Equivalence of Work Experience IT/EN
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How can we help you: Activate and manage a curricular internship or one for the preparation for the final dissertation, in Italy and abroad, outside of international mobility programmes.
E-mail distal.tirocini.bo@unibo.it
Facsimile of Title Page of Final Report
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