Project-based internship

Research internship

You can also do a research internship and develop your academic competences by working as an unpaid research assistant/research intern. The department constitutes the “company”, and the same rules apply as for other internships. For mere information please see the course description. You can find the course description in the course catalogue by searching for "Project-based Research Internship". 

Project-based Internship in Your Own Startup

If you are about to start a business, you have the opportunity to participate in the Project-based internship in your own startup. You can read more about the academic content and exam in the course description.

In order for you to be registered for a projectbased internship in your own company, you must:

  • Make an appointment with a supervisor. See the course description for information on who can be your supervisor.
  • Join a course at an incubator. It can be, for example, the Kitchen, but other incubation environments are also possible.
  • Be affiliated with an incubator mentor (who is your external supervisor) and have an incubator job at least two days a week.
  • Follow workshops at the incubator
  • Submit an internship contract

Project-based internship agreement

The supervisor must approve the internship programme in order for the internship to form part of the electives block of the MSc study programme. The student is responsible for obtaining the preliminary approval of the internship from the internal supervisor. The internal supervisor pre-approves the internship by signing the internship agreement.  

The student is responsible for finding and concluding a written agreement with a host company. The agreement must include a description of the work to be performed, the time frame for the internship, the scope (in working hours) of the internship and the name and contact information of the external supervisor (the contact person in the company). The description of the work to be performed must be such that it is possible to determine the academic relevance and level of the internship.

Link to the page, where you can find the contract-form

Before the commencement of the internship, but no later than 15 August, please send a scanned version of the internship agreement in an email to Aarhus BSS Studies: kandidat.bss@au.dk.

Supervision

The host company appoints a contact person (external supervisor). The external supervisor has the overall responsibility for the student during the internship and enters into an internship agreement with the student. At the end of the internship the external advisor can be asked to assess if the student has completed the internship in a satisfactory manner.

Regardless whether the report is handed in the first time for the ordinary exam or for the reexam, supervision takes place only in the time before the date stipulated for handing in for the ordinary exam. 

The student is responsible for finding an internal supervisor who must be employed as an academic member of staff at BTECH. The internal supervisor must:

  • Approve the internship/the internship agreement
  • Approve the problem formulation, delimitation and table of contents of the internship report and provide guidance in connection with the preparation thereof
  • Assess the report

Rules regarding your student grant and loan

Acknowledgement
Companies that affiliate students in project-based internships can give them an acknowledgement to show their appreciation. Students can accept a monthly acknowledgements besides their monthly student grant (SU). You can find the currently amount on the website of the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science.

A project-based internship forms part of your education as it is an integrated part of the courses constituting your degree programme. Therefore, students are eligible to receive SU while they take part in a project-based internship. Please note, as a student you cannot accept a salary during your project-based internship. This also applies if you give up your SU.
Students cannot expect to receive a permanent monthly acknowledgement from the company. Furthermore, you cannot make an agreement on beforehand that ensures a monthly acknowledgement
However, the student and the company can make an agreement from which it appears that the student can receive an acknowledgement for her/his efforts.

There might be an oppurtunity to have your travel expenses covered. Read more about this on the SU website

Legislation and salary
A number of countries (e.g. France and Germany) have legislation that requires companies to disburse a salary to students when they work for the company as part of a project-based internship. 

Students can receive the salary constituted by law, if they participate in a project-based internship in one of the countries where salaries are required.
However, it is important to emphasize that the student cannot receive SU while they also receive a salary from the place of internship.
Students must at all times be able to document that it is a legal requirement before they are allowed to receive salary in connection with a project-based internship.    

Registration

Registration for the project-based internship takes place during the registration period 1-5 May. The registration is done electronically by logging in to mystudies.au.dk -> 'STADS'.

You must submit a scanned version of your internship agreement no later than 15 August.

How to submit your internship agreement:

  • Log in to mystudies.au.dk
  • Select 'Application at your board of studies'.
  • Select 'Apply for a preapproval for a course at AU'
  • Attach the Internship agreement (the standard agreement)

Please see this guide, how to fill in the registration form in the system. 

Once you have submitted the internship agreement, you will receive an automatic receipt from the system. You will receive an email from the study administration once your internship contract has been approved.

You are only registered for the projectbased internship, when the contract has been received and approved.

If the internship agreement has not been received by 15 August, you will automatically be deregistered from the project-oriented course.

You can then be registered for elective courses, where there are still empty places by contacting Aarhus BSS Studies: kandidat.bss@au.dk

Handing in the internship report and oral defence

The internship report must be submitted at the latest on 4 January. The oral defense will take place during January.

If the date of the submission deadline for the report falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the deadline for submission of the report will be the next working day immediately following this date. 

If you are registered for the internship, you will receive a notification regarding the oral defence prime January    

Please note that the internship must be completed before submission of the report.

The report must be uploaded to WISEflow.

The front page of the internship report must include the following information:

  • Name of the student
  • Student registration number
  • Programme
  • Name of the supervisor
  • Number of characters (including spaces) for Part 1.

Information regarding assessment and reexaminations can be found in the course description.

Erasmus grant

Students doing an internship as part of their M.Sc. programme can apply for an Erasmus grant.

Erasmus grants for internships are administered by Aarhus University's International Center.

Read more about the Erasmus+ internship grant.