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.

How to activate an internship at a company or external organization

First, prepare an effective CV and a cover letter. If you need help, you can refer to the Job Placement services: Preparing for the world of work — Job Placement English Version

To set up your curricular internship, you have to log into SOL-Internships where you can:

1. Apply for the published internship offers;
2. Check the list of partner companies and send them a spontaneous s application;

If you want to carry out your internship in a company that has not yet signed an agreement, send the organization the instructions to register on our internship platform and provide the internship office with the name of the company/organization and the name of the person you are in contact with.

After the company has accepted your application (for an offer or a spontaneous application), you  receive an email with the instructions to complete the activation procedure that will follow these steps: validation by the internship office, approval by the internship commission/academic tutor, signature of the program and printing of the attendance sheet.

NB: Only once the program is signed by you and the company, you are allowed to download the attendance register from SOL - Internships in which you will find the definitive period of authorized performance and start the internship.

NB: Before starting the internship, you have to complete the Health and Safety Training Courses (Module 1 and Module 2). You can find the links to the two Modules on the website of your course of study, on the "Health and Safety mandatory training" page of the "Studying" channel.

If you have already a safety certification - Module 1 - obtained outside of the University, you must verify its validity by writing to: sicurezza.formazione@unibo.it. Once obtained the confirmation of its validity, please send the confirmation mail and your safety certification to the Internship Office. The safety certification - Module 2 - must necessarily be obtained by the University of Bologna.  

PLEASE NOTE:

• the authorized internship period is the one indicated in the attendance sheet (which may be different from the one in the offer or in the autonomous application) and that it is not possible to start the internship activity without having correctly completed the entire procedure, under penalty of non-validation of the hours, it is also not possible to continue the internship beyond the end date indicated on the attendance sheet. In case of extensions, it is necessary to contact the internship office. The number of hours indicated on the attendance register must be respected.

• 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.
• students cannot carry out internships within a host organisation whose legal representative, director or business associate has family ties within the 2nd grade with the student applicant.

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).