Curricular Internships abroad

Mappamondo

An internship abroad not only is a good way to gain work experience, but also a perfect opportunity to develop other skills such as knowledge of foreign languages. An internship gives you the opportunity to discover the world of work. It helps you to enrich your theoretical and methodological background and allows you to put into practice what you learnt during your studies.  

The process for an internship in Italy is different from the process for an internship aboard. That is because different countries have different rules and standards. If you want to do an internship abroad, the Host Company/Institution must register HERE

Upon registration, the Company/Institution will receive an e-mail and will have to confirm a link. Then they will receive the credentials to access Politecnico platform. In order to host an intern, the Company/Institution must fill in all the details about the Company/Institution ​​​​​​ and upload a copy of the company registration report/certificate (officially translated into English) or, in its absence, a copy of the identification document of the legal representative or his/her representative in section called "Request Internship Agreement" (see screenshot example). This serves as official recognition of the request by the company/institution, while it will not be used for any other aims.

Example portal homepage screenshot

At the end of this procedure, the Company/Institution will be visible in the list of host companies/institutions  and you will be able to fill in the "INTERNSHIP AGREEMENT" online ("stage" tab of your personal page) which is necessary for starting the internship abroad.

The University, as Promoting Institution, will not sign documents other than the standard agreement required for all internships to be activated abroad.

Privacy Policy Accreditation of Companies/Institutions_Internship Agreement

Curricular internships abroad have specific rules and procedures, which vary depending on each degree programme. The procedure for the registration of your internship in your transcripts also depends on the rules of your degree programme. The duration of an internship (number of hours) dependsto the number of credits you have in your Personal Study Plan (1 credit = 25 hours). We suggest you check the internship regulations of your degree programme.The specific rules for each degree programme are available on the STUDENT GUIDE (english version under construction), INTERNSHIP section.

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Visa, health insurance and travel advices

Before travelling to a foreign country for your internship (even if the country belongs to the Schenghen Area), verify with the embassy/consulate of your host country if you need an entry visa. This depends on your nationality and current domicile. 
It is the responsibility of the intern to gather the information, also with the help of the host entity, and obtain the necessary visa for the internship. 
For non-EU nationals and citizens, support can also be sought from the Immigration Desk

If you're an EU citizen, health assistance is guaranteed in EU countries only for emergencies or medical treatment necessary by the European Health Insurance Card. If you travel to Extra-EU countries, you must take out a private health insurance policy, valid for the entire period of stay abroad. It can be useful to take out a policy privately even if you travel to EU countries. On the website of the Ministry of Health there is specific information for each country, which you are kindly requested to read.
If you are a Non-EU citizen, before you leave, check with the consular representations of the country of destination as to what the requirements are for health insurance.

Useful links:

  • www.esteri.it/maew
  • ww.viaggiaresicuri.it
  • reopen.europa.eu/it

It is also recommended that you register your trip on the Dove siamo nel Mondo website, run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, so that the Italian diplomatic network abroad always has your updated contact information.

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Funding

The Erasmus+ Traineeship Program allows students to undertake an internship experience (unpaid with salary) in European countries at companies, Research Centers, Training Centers with a registered office or branch within the countries participating in the ERASMUS+/PROGRAMME COUNTRIES program. 

From 2 to 6 months of internships (full and continuous) can be funded, within 12 months of graduation, with different monthly amounts depending on the host country, as indicated in the call for applications.

More information on the page dedicated to Bandi per mobilità internazionale studentesca.

The INTERNSHIP AGREEMENT (Progetto Formativo) is a document that the intern must fill out online and that it must be appovated BEFORE the beginning of the internship. 

It includes the following information:  

  • your personal data;
  • information on your Host Company/Institution and contact details of your Company/Institution Tutor (the person chosen to assist and guide you during your internship);
  • contact details of your Academic Tutor, a PoliTO faculty  member chosen by you or automatically assigned to you, depending on the rules of your degree programme. Your Academic Tutor is in charge of verifying that the contents and activities carried out during your internship actually match those declared by the Host Company/Institution;
  • internship dates. We need this information to provide appropriate insurance coverage;  
  • expected training outcomes and contents of your internship.

How to fill out the document:

  • log in to your personal page of the Teaching Portal using your access credentials (Login);
  • select the STAGE tab and click “New Progetto Formativo”;
  • enter the company name in the “Company/Institution name” field: if you find the company/institution in the drop-down list, it means that it has an agreement with Politecnico. In this case, you can continue filling in your Progetto Formativo;
  • if the company/institution is not included in the drop-down list, it will mean that it is not registered on the University portal and therefore must register. After registration go to the next step;
  • fill out your Progetto Formativo in detail; if you do not have some information, ask your Company/Institution Tutor or your Academic Tutor;
  • click “SAVE AND SUBMIT FOR APPROVAL”. Your Project will be assessed in this order by:
    - your Company/Institution Tutor, who receives an e-mail with a link to a page where he can accept or reject your Project. It is therefore important to enter the correct email address;
    - your Academic Tutor and/or the Internship Coordinator of your degree programme can approve or reject your project from his/her personal page.
  • against the previous approvals, the administrative manager delegated by the Rector will VALIDATE the project. 
    These approvals are given online. Hard copies of these documents and signatures are not required;
  • after the validation of your Progetto Formativo, the Host Company/Institution can see it from its private area of the portal. You can also download a pdf version of this document and send it to the Company/Institution, if needed.

WARNING: make sure you have entered the data, previously agreed with the company/institution, correctly. Once saved and sent for approval, the agreement will no longer be editable.

Template of a curricular internship agreement

Internships have a given duration (hours) and provide a certain number of credits as specified in your Annual Personal Study Plan (1 credit = 25 hours). You can extend the duration of your internship (number of hours) by selecting one of the options available in the field “Expected no. of hours”(150 hour slots). You can only do this operation before the beginning of your internship and not while you are doing it. In any case, you cannot do more than 900 hours (the number of hours that can be selected depends on your study course).
Any request to extend the duration of an internship must be decided together with the Host Company/Institution. It MUST also be approved by a PoliTO faculty member (your academic tutor or the Internship Coordinator for your degree programme) who may reject your proposal. In this case, you need to make a new proposal and fill out a new Progetto Formativo. If your Progetto Formativo is approved, it means that the extension of your internship and the extra hours have been accepted too. At the end of an internship with extended duration, you will see that the internship is recorded in your transcript as follows: INTERNSHIP with standard hours/credits in accordance with the rules of  your degree programme (i.e. 6 credits/150 hours) plus the annotation “curricular internship extension” with your extra hours/credits. These credits will be recorded in your transcript as credit overload (they do not count towards the 120-credits threshold required for Master’s graduation).         

ATTENTION: Once the extension is entered, it will be mandatory to complete all hours, including the extension, in order to register the internship in career.

After starting your internship:

  • you must fill out your online timesheet, section "Stage" of the portal in correspondence with the agreement, for each day of of internship indicating the activity performed. After 6 hours of work, it is mandatory to take a lunch break of at least 30 min;
  • any variations from what is defined in the training project must be communicated to the university:
    - extensions are only possible in order to reach the total number of hours foreseen by the training project and do not have to be communicated. The additional period is to be indicated directly on the timesheet and the last day shown on the timesheet will be the actual end date, which is therefore only assumed when the training project is compiled and approved;
    - transfers: day, time and location of the same must be indicated on the timesheet in order to ensure insurance coverage;
    - further changes (company tutor, academic tutor and prevailing location) must be communicated by email to tirocini@polito.it by the host institution.
  • at the end of the internship, both the intern and the company/institution tutor will be asked to fill in an online questionnaire (mandatory for the intern - section "Attachement/Registration request" and optional for the tutor who will receive a link by email about one week before the supposed end date indicated on the training project or the real end date if earlier);
  • at the end of the internship you will be required to submit your timesheet to your company/institution tutor for online approval (section "Attachement/Registration request");
  • after your timesheet has been approved by the company tutor, upload on the procedure the report that may be required by your degree programme and send it for the approval of your academic tutor and/or Internship Coordinator with the timesheet (click the button at the bottom of the page). If the report is not provided for by the study course or is at the discretion of the academic tutor, the procedure will allow the documentation to be sent for approval even without having uploaded it;
  • the Internship Coordinator and/or the academic tutor are responsible for the registration of your  internship in your transcript.