1.1 General information about internships
What is an internship?
In an internship (also work placement) you spend a certain period of time in a foreign country. You are supposed to put the things you have learned in vocational education and training into practice in a company. This way you get real work experience in your field of study before you finish your vocational education. Internships are mostly not paid.
Why is it a good idea to go on an internship?
An internship abroad offers you a lot of benefits. It improves your personal and your professional development and provides a lot of useful experiences.
You have to live in a foreign culture and adapt to it, you have to use a foreign language, most of the time English, as a means of communication and you have to organize your daily routine on your own.
It is a very good way to broaden your horizon and when you apply for a job after completing your education it is an important part in your CV because it shows that you are interested in making new experiences and that you are an open minded person who is willing to get to know other people and to meet challenges.
Further an internship offers you the possibility to put the knowledge you have acquired at school into practice and gives you an insight in the way how companies work and what is expected from people working in different jobs. But bear in mind that you are in a foreign country for gaining work experience and that you are not on vacation.
Who can apply?
In a lot of European countries individual students cannot apply. You must ask at your school if there is an internship coordinator for Leonardo da Vinci Mobility projects. If you want to know for sure you can get information from the National Agency in your country. You’ll find a list of National Agencies on this site:
http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/leonardo/new/leonardo2/nalist2_en.html
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/static/en/mundus/index.htm (useful for some countries when you are in advanced vocational education)
Am I the right person for an internship?
7 good reasons why you can be interested in an internship:
- I am a creative, problem-solving person girl and I like to take initiative;
- I enjoy teamwork and I have a positive attitude;
- I think I am intellectually curious, I always want to learn new things;
- I have a personal interest in other cultures and empathy for others;
- I wish to travel and I do not panic if I have to find my way on my own;
- I think I easily adapt to living and working abroad;
- I like to express myself in another language and I want to improve my knowledge of foreign languages.