Economics internship

Course goals

Learning objectives 
At the end of the course the student:

• Developed a good knowledge of the practice of the profession of an economist;
• Developed his/her professional skills to do economic-related work for the organisation that provides the internship opportunity.
• Has a better understanding of the job market and his/her opportunities after graduation;
• Applied and developed his/her knowledge and skills in a real job situation;
• Is able to reflect upon him/herself regarding the accomplishment of the internship assignment and his/her functioning in the company, team and job. 

The learning objectives will be fixed in mutual agreement by the organisation and the internship coordinator.

Content

Cannot be combined with the 7,5 EC Economics Internship (ECB2STAGE) and the Internship Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ECB2IEI).
 
Note
In the USE bachelor programme, two options for an economic internship are provided: the 7,5 EC version and this 15 EC version. The 15 EC deviates from the 7,5 EC version for the following requirements:

• Extent: at least 50 working days
• Activities: execute a research
• Guidance: supervised by an expert in the field, being able to monitor and guide academic research.

An internship gives students the opportunity to practice their knowledge and skills within an organisation, and offers students the added advantage of seeing if that type of organisation and/or job is a suitable place to work in the future.

Academic skills
The Economics Internship focuses on the following academic skills:

• Labour market orientation

Format
Dependent on the circumstances of the organisation.

Assessment method
No later than two weeks before the start of the internship, the student should have signed Internship Agreement and needs to contact the U.S.E. internship coordinator to get approval to start their internship (to be found on this page; https://students.uu.nl/en/leg/economics-and-business-economics/my-study/electives/internships)
To receive approval, the student should have a supervisor in the firm who has proven sufficient knowledge of the subject and holds an academic degree. In addition the student and the host organization should be able to present a plan in which they define the activities that the student should perform and how he/she will be guided and monitored. From the plan it should be clear that the student will execute a research and that the student and the host organization agree on the research question. 
After approval of the plans, the internship coordinator will appoint a supervisor to the internship. This supervisor will be a USE staff member, with an expertise in the field or sector selected.

The internship activities should take place in a professional organisation of substantial size and experience. The activities should be of an academic level, which means they are sufficiently research oriented and analytical and would normally be performed by an academically schooled employee. Besides, the activities should be related to the field of expertise of (business) economics and should be performed at the premises of the host organisation. The organisation should provide a supervisor who is well qualified to supervise an intern in terms of (economic) expertise and time available, and who is willing to fill in the assessment form at the end of the internship. The supervisor should not be a relative of the intern.

Upon completing the internship, the student should prepare an internship report. The report should contain a part on the host organization and the internship in general and a part on the research. The report should be approved by the supervisor in the host organisation and send to the internship coordinator.
The final assessment is the interview between the student and the supervisor, who safeguards the supervision of the internship on a contents based level. The student does or does not receive the credits based on the assessment of the content of the internship portfolio and the assessment interview with the supervisor. Prior to the interview, the USE supervisor will contact the supervisor of the host organization to discuss the type of work and performance of the student.
 
The internship portfolio should contain the following items:
a. A copy of the Internship Agreement;
b. A copy of the Assessment Form;
c. Some of the work you wrote during the internship, in English or Dutch;
d. An internship report consisting of at least three pages with:

• a summary about the company, your duties, and internship assignment, including whether you met the objectives
• Feedback on the assessment form, positive and negative experiences, and future plans
• a report (approximately 10 pages) on the research executed for the firm.

The student should make sure that the evaluation takes place within 6 weeks after the internship period has ended.
 
Effort requirements 
The internship period must be at least 50 working days. For a part-time internship the student is required to work at least 3 days a week.

Course materials
Students who wish to take this course must fill in the related forms requesting approval for the internship as a major-related elective. (See https://students.uu.nl/en/leg/economics-and-business-economics/my-study/electives/internships for a step-by-step plan, Internship Agreement, Assessment Form and the regulations.)
 
Students are expected to have knowledge of:
 A minimum score of 90 EC is required.