Internships
Guidelines for Lecturers
FEB Internship Office
The FEB Internship Office is responsible for, among other things:
- supporting students looking for or doing an internship
- organising academic internships
- informing the lecturers involved
- monitoring that the Rules and regulations for BSc theses, MSc theses and internships at the FEB are followed
Thesis internships (or work placements)
BSc thesis internship
An internship in the context of the BSc thesis is an internship at the end of the BSc degree programme in Economics & Business. Depending on the programme and the variant chosen, students can obtain 6 ec for the BSc thesis. Student from the programs Actuarial Sciences, Econometrics and Operational Research students get no credits for the internship itself, but the internship is mentioned separately on the list of marks that accompanies the BSc certificate.
MSc thesis internship
An internship in the context of the MSc thesis is an internship that runs parallel to writing of the thesis, at the end of the MSc degree programme. Depending on the variant chosen, students can obtain 10, 15 or 20 ec for the MSc thesis. Students get no credits for the internship itself, but the internship is mentioned separately on the list of marks that accompanies the MSc certificate.
For all the kinds of internships described above, students always have to follow the procedures described in the Teaching and Examination regulations and the guidelines at 'information for students'.
This implies, among other things, doing an internship requires advance approval. If an internship is not approved in advance, the student cannot get credits for it afterwards, nor will it be mentioned on the list of marks.
Internship in the MSc Operations Research
For students of the master programme Operations Research a different procedure is applicable. Please contact the thesis coordinator for more information.
Assigning internship supervisors (BSc/MSc)
Students doing an internship need two supervisors: an in-company one and a tutor of the FEB, specialized in the field of your internship.
BSc thesis internship
A thesis internship supervisor is assigned during the thesis seminar. Students who have found an internship before the start of the seminar and want to have an approval for this internship, can address to the coordinator or programme director of their specialization. The supervision of the internship is linked to the thesis supervision and is only available during the thesis period as determined in the time schedule.
The link below refers to the course catalogue webpage with an overview of the coordinators and programme directors of each specialization.
MSc thesis internship (except for Operations Research)
A thesis internship supervisor is assigned during the thesis seminar. Students who have found an internship before the start of the seminar and want to have advice about the content of the internship, can address to the thesis coordinator of their master programme. This also applies to students in a master programme without a thesis seminar. Approval of an internship will be given by the thesis internship supervisor. The supervision of the internship is linked to the thesis supervision and is only available during the thesis period as determined in the time schedule.
The link below refers to the course catalogue webpage with an overview of the thesis coordinators of the master programmes.
Internship in the MSc Operations Research
For students of the master programme Operations Research a different procedure is applicable. Please contact the thesis coordinator for more information.
The link below refers to the course catalogue webpage with an overview of the thesis coordinators of the master programmes.
Approval of the internship (BSc)
Approval of work placement and drawing up a work placement plan
Once the student has found a work placement, he/she shall submit this as a proposal to the Specialisation Coordinator or Programme Director.
He/she shall assess whether the work placement satisfies the requirements in terms of content. The student shall then draw up a work placement plan. In terms of style and language the same requirements are imposed for the plan as for the Bachelor’s thesis. The plan shall be 1-2 pages long or, more specifically, 300-600 words. Before the work placement commences, the plan is to be approved and signed by the Specialisation Coordinator / Programme director and the contact within the company or organisation concerned.Before the work placement commences, the student shall hand in a copy of the work placement plan to BES (the Student Desk).
Approval of the internship (MSc)
Before commencing the work placement
The student will draw up a work placement plan in accordance with Internship Office guidelines (see link below). It is particularly important that the student states what the work placement has to offer the student, as well as the environment in which the Master’s thesis will be written. The work placement plan will be evaluated and signed by the Thesis supervisor and the contact within the company or organisation concerned. The student will submit a copy of the work placement plan to the FEB Internship Office.
The FEB Internship Office must have received a copy of the work placement plan before the work placement commences.
Supervising during the internship
Regular contacts and adequate supervision are very important for a successful internship as well as for a successful thesis. Students sometimes find out too late that things are not going well.
The supervisor in the company or organisation involved is in contact with the student the most, but these people also value your input highly. Your specific expertise and interest in the student as well as in the organisation are highly appreciated.
Students experience your interest as motivating. This specifically applies during the stage in which the thesis is written. A phone call or an e-mail message to the student may just mean the leg-up he needs.
Internship assignments are not always defined very concretely. Here you could offer support in the choice of methods. It is important that a thesis student works independently, but without your focused feedback a third-year BSc student, or even an MSc student will not be able to carry out the various research components in a satisfactory way.
Visiting the site of the internship is often impossible. Yet, as all internships are combined with the thesis such a visit may well be very useful. The students can write interim progress reports, to give you some idea of the supervision at the internship place, and to describe whether the internship meets with his/her expectations. These interim reports may serve as an agenda for a visit to the site.
Should you have a disagreement with the student doing the internship or writing the thesis, which makes you wish to discontinue your supervision, you have to clearly communicate this to the student and you have to advise the student on who could take over.
Internship abroad
In the case of an internship abroad, the emphasis of the supervision is mainly on the conversations that take place before the student's departure. The supervision then continues through e-mail exchanges or phone calls. Here it is also important to reach clear agreements as to the frequency and the way in which the student is supervised and coached. Interim reports may be very useful.
Assessment of the internship
Once the internship has been completed, the student has to write an internship report.
The thesis internship report is complementary to the thesis. It has to be about four to five pages A4 and has to contain the following components:
an introduction in which the central research question is defined
- an elaboration about the activities carried out and the results obtained
- a conclusion
- an evaluation of the activities carried out as well as of the internship post, the supervision and the personal objectives
The supervisor in the company or organisation concerned assesses the activities carried out in the context of the internship and indicates his/her approval by signing the internship report. Furthermore, this supervisor fills out the assessment form of the FEB Internship Office. This form is meant especially as feedback for the student. He student submits a copy if this form to you, for your information. The assessment form is not taken into account for the final assessment of the thesis, unless you have clearly indicated in advance that it would.
The lecturer assesses the internship report. The internship is graded with the judicium Fulfilled the requirement (FTR) or Not fulfilled the requirement (NFR). In the case of an internship in the context of an MSc thesis, the second supervisor assesses not only the thesis but the internship report as well.
A copy of the report, with the signatures of the student, the supervising FEB lecturer and the supervisor from the organisation or company concerned has to be submitted to the FEB Internship Office, together with a copy of the assessment form.
Registration of the internship
After finishing the thesis internship, including the plan, report and evaluation form, the lecturer needs to hand in the Evaluation form for bachelor's and master's thesis at the Student Desk. Please check off on this form thesis+internship and mention the name of the internship company on the form. The internship is graded with the judicium Fulfilled the requirement (FTR) or Not fulfilled the requirement (NFR).
Changes in the internship possibilities 2011/2012
Bachelor:
Since September 2011 the internship possibilities of the bachelor have changed.
- The elective internship has ceased to exist.
- Two new courses are introduced.
The bachelor's thesis internship (6 EC)
The bachelor's thesis internship (0 EC)
Master:
No changes in internship possibilities.
Please see the transition arrangements for more information.
Changes in the internship supervision and coordination 2011/2012
Bachelor:
1. A thesis internship supervisor is assigned during the thesis seminar.
2. Students who have found an internship before the start of the seminar and want to have an approval for this internship, can address to the coordinator or programme director of their specialization.
3. Consequently, there are no thesis coordinators and internship coordinators anymore in the bachelor.
4. The supervision of the internship is linked to the thesis supervision and is only available during the thesis period as determined in the time schedule.
5. BSc Actuarial Sciences and BSc Econometrics and Operational Research: The supervision of the internship can be restricted to approval of the internship–plan and –report (the internship is awarded with 0 credits)
Master:
1. A thesis internship supervisor is assigned during the thesis seminar.
2. Students who have found an internship before the start of the seminar and want to have advice about the content of the internship, can address to the thesis coordinator of their master programme. This also applies to students in a master programme without a thesis seminar.
3. Consequently, there are no internship coordinators anymore in the master.
4. Approval of an internship will be given by the thesis internship supervisor.
5. The supervision of the internship is linked to the thesis supervision and is only available during the thesis period as determined in the time schedule.
6. The supervision of the internship (part of the MSc thesis internship) can be restricted to approval of the internship–plan and –report.