Internships

What is an internship

The curricular internship is a second-year activity which allows you to complete an experience as part of your university education. The internship is an activity to be carried out in companies, institutions, organisations, or university facilities.

Types of internships included in your Degree Programme

The Master’s Degree programme in International Relations provides, for all the academic curricula, the possibility to carry out among second-year activities (“attività a scelta dello studente”):

• Curricular internship (8 CFU equivalent to 200 hours) consistent with the learning objectives of the programme.

In the framework of the final examination, it is possible to activate the following internships:

• Internship abroad in preparation of the final examination (12 CFU equivalent to 300 hours). The internship project must be previously agreed with a thesis supervisor, approved, and notified to the Academic Tutor.
• Preparation for the final examination abroad (12 CFU equivalent to 300 hours). This educational activity will be recognized only if completed either in the framework of scholarships for preparing the final examination abroad or in the context of mobility programs of the University of Bologna to study abroad (Erasmus+/Overseas).

From 2022/2023 internships, as well as all other academic activities, must be carried out in presence, the academic tutor only, once checked the internship program can authorize students to work remotely.

When can you apply

The curricular internship is a second-year activity. In order to activate the internship, it is necessary to include it in the study plan during the expected time frames.

It is possible to anticipate the internship choice starting from the summer period between the first and second year, in order to promote successful internship research. In this case, it will be necessary to include the internship activity in the study plan through a paper-based form. To do this, please contact didatticahercolani.rilm@unibo.it.

We still recommend you include in the study plan an additional activity of your choice (“attività a scelta dello studente”), different from the internship, to avoid any graduation delays if the internship cannot be completed.

The Academic Tutor of the Master’s Degree Programme is Professor Massimiliano Trentin.

Your Internships Opportunities

The University of Bologna has an internship database, called SOL-Internships. Companies and institutions that have an agreement with the University of Bologna may publish their internship offers there. You may, alternatively:

1. Apply for existing offers on the database;
2. Refer on the database to the list of partner companies and send them a letter of inquiry/speculative application;
3. Set up a new internship agreement between Unibo and a company that is not our partner yet.

N.B. Students cannot carry out internships within a host organisation whose legal representative, director or business associate has family ties with the student applicant.

In cases a) and b)

1. you will need to send your CV to the company of interest (if you need support to prepare an effective CV, you may contact the Job Placement Service)
2. Once you have been selected, you will receive an e-mail with the instructions on how to accept the internship offer and complete your application;
3. After the Internship Board has approved the activity for you, you will receive another e-mail indicating how to activate your internship;
4. Lastly, download from SOL-Internships the attendance sheet, where you will find the period for the internship approved (which may differ from that of the original internship offer). 

You are in touch with a company/institution willing to host you as an intern

Please follow the passages below to activate an internship:

1. check on  SOL-Internships whether the relevant company/institution is already in the list of partners of the University of Bologna.
   If it is not, you can send the company the instructions on how to set up an agreement. Then please email the Internship Office with the name of the company and an indication of a reference person; 
2. ask the reference person in the host organization to post an internship offer targeted to you in the Internships and Agreements Service;
3. you will receive an e-mail with the instructions on how to accept the internship offer and complete your application;
4. after the Internship Board has approved the activity for you, you will receive another e-mail indicating how to activate your internship;
5. download from SOL-Internships the attendance sheet, where you will find the period for the internship approved (which may differ from that of the original internship offer).  

You would like to carry out  your internship within an office or lab of the University of Bologna

In agreement with your Internship Academic Tutor and with the reference person of the chosen University structure or lab, then send an application via SOL-Internships:

1. please make sure to complete the compulsory modules on Health and Safety (module 1 and 2);
2. select  the button “Present Internship application in Unibo";
3. fill in all the requested fields;
4. wait for the email confirming that your request has been validated;
5. after the Internship Board has approved the activity for you, you will receive another e-mail indicating how to activate your internship;
6. download from SOL-Internships the attendance sheet, where you will find the period for the internship approved (which may differ from that of the original internship offer).  

You would like to carry out an internship abroad

You can carry out your internship outside of Italy following one of the two possibilities listed below:

• by participating in a mobility programme (ex: Erasmus+ Mobility for Traineeship, grants for preparing your dissertation abroad, etc.);
• by contacting a company/institution located abroad, and following the passages explained above.

You would like to ask for the recognition of university credits for working, extra-curricular, other activities

If you have completed an external activity (a non-curricular internship, a placement, etc.) that you think is relevant to your study field, you can ask for its recognition as a curricular internship. Check the information on how to submit your request, as in the attachment box.

What to do during the internship

• Fill in your attendance sheet, in compliance with the period approved for your internship.
• If, for any reason, you wish to interrupt or extend your internship, or if you have concluded/accomplished your tasks and hours earlier than planned, you must inform the Internship Office, with the Internship Academic Tutor and your reference person in the host organisation in carbon copy (cc).
• Should you need to travel to locations not included in the approved programme, you can ask for an insurance extension to the Internship Academic Tutor. Please email him or her, with the Internship Office and reference person at the host organisation in carbon copy, then wait for your request to be approved.
• During the whole internship period, you are insured against accidents at work and third party liability claims. For further information, please consult the Insurance Policy webpage.

What to do at the end of the internship

After completing the internship, you will have to upload the attendance sheet on SOL-Tirocini with all its pages filled in and signed, the final report (see template) and fill in the online questionnaire.

At the end of the internship for thesis, in addition to the usual administrative tasks, the thesis supervisor will inform the academic tutor that the internship has been carried out according to the needs related to the thesis.

Next, you will have to wait for the file to be validated by the Internship Office and the Academic Tutor.

Once the closure process is completed, you will be able to enroll in the call of Prof. Massimiliano Trentin on AlmaEsami for the verbalization of the internship (presence is not required on the day of verbalization).