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Internship

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Aims of the internship

An internship in Eastern Europe or in an institution, company, or publisher cooperating with Eastern Europe can be undertaken as an alternative to project work in a module (5 CPs or 150 working hours) or in the module ‘Exploring fields of occupations’ (Gizo-MA-ISÖE-045, 10 CPs or 300 working hours). An internship is indispensable to a successful entry into a career. During an internship, you will learn more about how companies operate, as well as about your own personal strengths and weaknesses, and your wishes for your future career. It will allow you to make important contacts and to gain practical skills in a company working in or with Eastern Europe. The internship will be completed in the lecture-free period following the third semester and should last a minimum of 4 weeks (full-time) or 8 weeks (part-time). The internship will be awarded 5 credit points.

 Conditions of the Internship

  • The internship within the M. A. program ‘Interdisciplinary Studies on Eastern Europe’ must be of at least 4 weeks duration (full-time) or 8 weeks duration (part-time) – i.e. a minimum total of 150 hours.
  • The tasks and responsibilities allocated to you should match your knowledge, skills, and competencies, as well as your internship objectives.
  • At the end of the internship period, you must receive certification from the company or institution, clearly detailing the length and content of your placement. Furthermore, the intern must submit a final report, to be read, evaluated, and approved by the company or institution in which the internship was conducted.

Preparing the Internship

Before beginning your placement, various preparations need to be made, and numerous formalities completed. It is therefore highly recommended that you begin planning your internship as early as possible.

Visa

If you have decided to undertake your internship in an East European country that does not belong to the EU, then you must apply for a visa and a work permit for this country. Contact the embassy or consulate of the respective country in Germany. Depending on the country, the process of applying for visas and work permits may take several months and can cost up to €220.

Health Insurance

Taking out health insurance, particularly for non-EU countries, is very much recommended. Many internship positions specifically require proof of such health insurance.

Travel and Accommodation

In order to keep travel expenses to a minimum, it is recommended that you purchase your tickets as soon as possible, in order to benefit from early-booker discounts and cheap flights.

Find out about accommodation possibilities and prices in the respective town/city well in advance of your arrival and contact the persons responsible to make arrangements for your arrival.

Applying for Financial Support

An internship will only rarely be paid. Nevertheless, many costs can be reduced through grants, allowances, and awards. Start applying for financial support as soon as possible, as most foundations tend to have longer processing periods.

The following institutions may be able to help with financing your internship:

  • DAAD-travel cost grants and DAAD-short term grants (https://www2.daad.de/ausland/studieren/stipendium/de/70-stipendien-finden-und-bewerben/?detail=57085132, in German)
  • BAföG-grants for internships abroad (https://www.auslandsbafoeg.de/auslandsbafoeg/auslandspraktikum, in German)
  • Carl-Duisberg-Gesellschaft (http://cdg-carlduisberg.com/, in German)
  • AIESEC (www.aiesec.org)

These addresses may also be of use in your search for funding possibilities:

  • Stipendiendatenbank der DAAD (Scholarship Database oft the German Academic Exchange Service) (https://www2.daad.de/ausland/studieren/stipendium/de/70-stipendien-finden-und-bewerben, in German)
  • The Bundesverband Deutscher Stiftungen (Association of German Foundations) has links to all German foundations, some of which also award scholarships to students.

You can also receive further information on organization and funding possibilities in an advisory session at GiZo, at the info pages at JLU (https://www.uni-giessen.de/international-pages/studyabroad), or at the Student Advisory Office. Contact:

Mrs. Meike Röhl

Goethestr. 58, room 22

35390 Gießen

Tel.: +49 641-99-12136

Fax: +49 641-99-12179

meike.roehl@admin.uni-giessen.de

https://www.uni-giessen.de/international-pages/contact/staffmember/roehl

Internship Contract

In order to safeguard your own interests, and to avoid being allocated a position and tasks which do not meet your internship objectives, you should make sure to sign an internship contract with the company or organization at the beginning of your placement.

 Recognition of the Internship

The internship will be calculated as a module, worth 5 Credit Points. In order to get the internship officially recognized, the following steps need to be undertaken:

  • A final report needs to be written and validated by the internship supervisor as factually correct.
  • The official evaluation needs to be completed by the internship supervisor.
  • These two documents must be submitted to the GiZo Internship Panel (Praktikumsausschuss), which will award confirmation of the internship on the basis of this documentation.
  • The Humanities registrar’s Office (Prüfungsamt Geisteswissenschaften) will complete the official recognition of the internship on the basis of the GiZo Internship Panel’s confirmation.
  • This official document of recognition (Anerkennung) must finally be confirmed by a representative of the module in question.

Internship Report

The activities conducted during the internship need to be documented in a final report. This internship report must be drawn up by the student him-/herself and constitutes an academic piece of work.

Official Internship Evaluation

Following the successful completion of an internship, the company or institution where it was conducted need to draw up an official evaluation. A good evaluation can be used as a reference in future applications. The internship evaluation should contain details about the time and length (in hours) of the internship, as well as information on the tasks and activities completed, and a qualitative evaluation of the intern’s performance.

Internship offers

While looking for an internship, the following sources might be of help:

Internship exchanges related to Eastern Europe:

Internship exchanges:

    • iXPOS: This is not an internship exchange - but these companies may be good addresses for an unsolicited application.
    • praktika.de, does not offer an internship in Eastern Europe, but it does contain helpful tips on how to organize and complete the internship. (German only)
    • Jobworld - Alumni network of Economic sciences at LMU (University of Munic) (German only)