Internships

The administrative management of internships is entirely carried out online through the Esse3 application. It is accessed by all the actors involved, i.e. the student, the host company and the university tutor, each with their own credentials.

The steps involved in starting the internship are as follows:

1. The student, during the permitted time windows, includes the internship into his or her programme of study, using Esse3. The options from which he/she can choose are the modes and the number of possible ECTS credits.
2. The student attends two initial meetings with intership supervisors to prepare for the experience and reflect on the training value of the internship. Meetings are compulsory. Dates and modalities are indicated in the following paragraphs.
3. The student chooses the institution in which to carry out the internship, according to one of the following possibilities:
   - apply for an opportunity from among those available on Esse3, if the host organisation has posted an open opportunity;
   - make contact with an organisation of your choice and wait for the contact person of that organisation to start an internship for a student known on the Esse3 platform, after signing the agreement with the university. Should the student need advice and support regarding the identification of the internship location, he/she may contact the internship supervisors. The procedure for concluding the agreement and starting the internship can be found in the practical guide for companies.
4. The host organisation prepares the training project together with the student. In doing so, please note that:
   - the internship start date must be at least 15 days after the project presentation to the university tutor;
   - the legal name of an organisation (e.g. "Cooperative XYZ") is not always indicative of the context in which the internship takes place and to which the objectives are linked;
   - special attention must be paid to the drafting of the objectives, which must be related to the professional figure of the coordinator in the specific context in which the internship takes place.
5. After examining the training project completed by the contact person of the host institution, the student chooses his or her university tutor within Esse3, following the areas of competence indicated in the following paragraphs. The student also confirms the project, which the system automatically sends to the Academic Tutor for approval.
6. Once the university tutor and the University Internship Division have approved the training project in Esse3 (APPROVAL TIMES: 15 working days from the correct receipt of the project), the student receives an automatic confirmation email: only after receipt of this email can the internship begin.

During the internship:

1. The student is required to keep track of and sign the hours worked, using the form provided.
2. After having completed approximately 1/3 of the total hours of the internship, the student participates in the first monitoring meeting with the internship supervisors, during which the group discusses the experience to date and makes an initial assessment of the pursuit of the training objectives and the appropriateness of any changes.
3. After about two-thirds of the internship, the student participates in the second monitoring meeting during which they reflect on the drafting of the final report and the value of the internship that is coming to an end. Meetings are compulsory. Dates and modalities are indicated in the following paragraphs.

At the end of the internship the student:

1. Fills in the internship evaluation questionnaire on Esse3.
2. Prepares its final report, as indicated in the following paragraphs.
3. Uploads the following three documents, all in pdf format, to the Esse3 platform:
   - the final report;
   - the attendance sheets, scanned and signed by the company tutor;
   - the internship evaluation form, completed and signed by the company tutor on the appropriate form.
4. Sends an e-mail to his/her university tutor to inform him/her of the inclusion of all the required documentation on Esse3. It will then be the responsibility of the university tutor to convene the student for a discussion on the educational significance of the experience. Following this meeting, the university tutor closes the internship and records the relevant credits in the student's career.

In order for internships to be effective in terms of training and efficient in terms of organisation and management, their management has been reformulated.

Four compulsory meetings are scheduled for all students during the internship:

1. Initial group meeting, led by the internship supervisors, in which all information on the procedure for starting the internship is provided and the objectives of the internship within the academic pathway are reflected upon.
2. First group monitoring meeting, to be held at approximately ⅓ of the hours. This meeting with the supervisors and the other students doing the internship will be an opportunity for group discussion on the experience to date, making an initial assessment of the pursuit of the training objectives and making an initial analysis of the context that welcomed the student.
3. Second group monitoring meeting, to be held at approximately ⅔ hours.This will be an opportunity to reread and reflect on the course so far with an eye to the drafting of the final report.
4. A final individual meeting with the university tutor. This interview includes a discussion with the university tutor on the final report drawn up by the student and on the formative significance of the experience carried out, also in relation to the broader degree course, as well as the end of the internship on an administrative level. It will be the responsibility of the university tutor to propose a date for the individual final meeting after receipt of the required documentation.

Initial meetings are repeated in 3 period options (autumn, winter, pre-summer) and the monitoring ones are repeated on a monthly basis; based on their own needs, but taking into account the hours worked, each student can freely decide on which date to attend.

Meeting dates