1. Consider your possibilities
It is important to prepare well before you leave. Consider your wishes regarding language, country, host institution and work duties. After this you can begin to look for placements.
2. Check compatibility with your study programme
If you internship is a mandatory part of your programme, you will need to follow the guidelines in your curriculum. Often you can apply for approval and credit transfer at your study board even though you internship is not an integral part of your degree. Make sure you check this in advance so you are certain that your internship is approved. Often you will be asked to do a report or assignment about your duties in the company. Perhaps you can arrange with the internship host that you get a few hours each week to work on the report.
3. Sign a contract with the host institution
It is always a good idea to sign an actual contract with internship host, regardless of whether you get paid or not. You will need to clarify issues such as working hours, holidays, sickness, insurance etc. Sometimes the host agrees to provide accommodation for the intern. Sometimes the company has its own contract to use, in other cases you will need to create the document.
Please pay particular attention to insurance. Often you normal insurance policies do not cover while at work in a company abroad - they typically only cover what you do in your spare time. Make sure you are covered by the host institutions liability insurance.
If you are eligible for the Erasmus Placement programme, you will have to use the designated Training Agreement, which should be signed by you, the company and SDU. This contract needs to be signed prior to beginning the internship.
4. Apply for a travel grant through the International Office
Depending on where you will do your internship, you can apply for a grant from the Erasmus Placement programme or from the Internationalization Fund. In both cases, the internship must be approved for credit transfer.
In order to apply, you will need to submit the following to the International Office:-
- application form for internships
- copy of your internship contract (Training Agreement if Erasmus)
- copy of your pre-approval (if the internship is mandatory, this is not needed) or supervisor contract from your department
- copy of your transcript including all attempts printed from SDU student self service
The application form and Training Agreement can be found
here.
5. Be aware of your SU
If you receive the Danish SU, there special conditions apply when going abroad. Please contact the SU Office.
If an internship is not an integrated part of your programme, often