Domain: Enhancing the quality of innovation and entrepreneurial education

Action: Internships in businesses

Best practice title: RIS Internship

Best practice summary: The Internship Programme aims at enabling students enrolled in the master’s study programmes to work as interns in different companies and institutions, but at the same time, at training future trainers of supervisors and mentors in those companies/institutions.

By whom: EIT RawMaterials

Key ingredients / description:

The main aim of the Internship Programme is to enable students enrolled in the master’s study programmes (in fields of mining, geosciences, metallurgy, waste management engineering, materials science & engineering, environmental management, sustainability and similar) to work as interns in different companies and institutions, but at the same time, to train a certain number of future trainers of supervisors and mentors in those companies/institutions. The matching and cooperation between the students and the industry helps to develop a new generation of young professionals with fresh attitudes, innovative ideas and an already existing awareness of real-life challenges in the raw materials sector. Therefore, the programme is envisaged as a booster to new concepts of high education and early employment strategies.

The students are matched with hosting organisations based on their competences and needs of company/institution, maximizing the positive impacts for both parties involved.

The programme supports the international mobility of labour in the raw materials sector (by enabling international internships through the programme). It also strengthens the collaboration between the education sector and industry.

The Programme is implemented through a cycle of the following activities:

• PRE-LAUNCHING PHASE (defining all further phases to the detail; setting up a recruitment and communication strategy)
• CALL FOR APPLICATIONS (publishing the call for applications for students; publishing the call for applications for hosting organisations)
• RECEIVING APPLICATIONS (receiving, registering and initial checking of the applications (of students and organisations)
• EVALUATION OF THE STUDENTS’ APPLICATIONS (eligibility of applicants; evaluation according to the ranking criteria; informing the student of the status of the application)
• EVALUATION OF THE ORGANISATIONS’ APPLICATIONS (eligibility of applicants; requesting additional information and setting up a profile webpage of the organization in the open pool of hosting organisations, https://www.eitrawmaterials-rcadria.eu/rcadriainternship/organisations-list)
• MATCHING AND SELECTION (contacting and proposing the internship to companies ; arrangement of interviews if requested; confirming the internship, definition of the duration and start date)
• CONTRACTING (preparing the draft contracts; signatures; tax pin procedure)
• PAYMENTS (processing of payments to students and organisations)
• MONITORING (regular communication with interns and organisations; monitoring the reporting deadlines for students; collecting and auditing the reports)
• EVALUATION OF STUDENTS / MENTORS (collecting the evaluation forms from the students and mentors; monitoring statistics; reacting if needed)
• REPORTING (preparing the project reports)

The appropriate preparation for the internship is needed, therefore:

• the hosting organisation assigns a trainer/supervisor to each admitted Intern (a supervisor needs to complete a training envisaged within the project), completing the online training prior to the commencement of the internship. The training is available at: https://www.rgn.unizg.hr/images/ADRIA_Internship_Webinar_supervisors_Kamenov/  
• each admitted Intern must complete the online training prior to the commencement of the internship. The training is available at: https://www.rgn.unizg.hr/images/ADRIA_Internship_Webinar_students_Kamenov/

Context (if applicable): n/a

Audiences (if applicable): Students meeting the defined criteria (among others: bachelor’s degree from a relevant scientific field; minimum B2 English language proficiency level) as well as organisations that meet the defined criteria.

Documents (if any):

• RIS Internship learning outcomes (SCHEDULE 1)
• RIS Internship – instructions for the supervisors (SCHEDULE 2)
• RIS Internship – reporting templates for the students (SCHEDULES 3-4)

Links (if any): https://www.eitrawmaterials-rcadria.eu/rcadriainternship

Key success factors / How to replicate:

The internship programme is scalable since its authors have developed the advanced collaboration schemes. To implement the programme, it is essential to have a team devoted to networking and attracting new partners as well as students. Potential hosting organisations and interns have to be made aware of the benefits gained by joining the programme. Therefore, constant work on the visibility and promotion is crucial for the success of the recruitment process, relying on the advertising campaigns carried out via social networks (LinkedIn and Facebook) and other types of digital media. However, experience showed that directly approaching the staff of individual organisations and students accomplishes best results and helps to build long-term partnerships.

Timely establishment of standardized procedures and documents related to the programme administration (call preparation, collection and evaluation of applications, selection of Interns, contracting and tax procedures, contract monitoring etc.) significantly improves the efficiency of the overall programme management.

Considering the international character of the internship, the manager(s) of the programme has to be able to recognize and propose solutions to the possible legal challenges related to international mobility and payments, tax obligations, privacy protection rights, insurance etc.

Contact person: Sibila Borojević Šoštarić, sibila.borojevic-sostaric@rgn.unizg.hr

Keywords (at least 5): internships, real-life business challenges, education and industry collaboration, partnerships, employment opportunitie