109861 - EXTERNAL INTERNSHIPS (30 CR)

Subject type: Optional

Coordinator: Rafael Suarez Gómez

Trimester: First term

Credits: 30

External internships are understood to be the training action developed by students and supervised by the University with the aim of applying and complementing the knowledge acquired with academic training, bringing the student closer to the reality of the professional field in which will exercise its activity once graduated and develop skills that favor its incorporation into the labor market.

External internships can be developed in academic or administrative units of the same university or in collaborating entities, whether public or private entities, national or foreign. The Tecnocampus Foundation can also act as a recipient of internship students.

During their internship at the collaborating entity, students will carry out tasks specific to the professional field in which they will carry out their activity as graduates, with the aim of completing the theoretical and practical learning acquired with the their academic training and gain work experience at the levels to which, due to their degree, they can access.

Students will be subject to the schedule and rules set by the collaborating entity. The schedule established by the same must guarantee, in any case, the compatibility with the school schedule of the students and the necessary flexibility for the fulfillment of the obligations derived from the academic activity, formative and of representation and participation of the students to the University.

External academic practices can be curricular and extracurricular. Curricular practices are those listed in the study plan with the corresponding allocation of credits. Internships can only be considered curricular when the students are in 4th year and have registered the corresponding credits. 3rd year students who, at the time of starting their internship, have passed 50% of their degree credits (that is, who have at least 120 approved ECTS credits), can do extracurricular internships with academic treatment and register for the corresponding credits in 4th To do this, it is necessary to sign and return to the academic tutor a commitment document for registration of the practice subject in 4th year. This commitment document must be submitted before the start of the internship.

ECTS credits: total student working hours

A minimum of 4 ECTS credits and a maximum of 30 can be enrolled.

30 hours of dedication to external academic internships is equivalent to 1 ECTS credit.

At the end of the course the student must be able to:

• Have acquired advanced knowledge and demonstrate an understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects and methodology of work in their field of study with a depth that reaches the forefront of knowledge.
• Be able, through arguments or procedures developed and supported by themselves, to apply their knowledge, understanding of these and their problem-solving skills in complex or professional and specialized work areas that require the use of creative and innovative ideas .
• Have the ability to collect and interpret data and information on which to base their conclusions including, when necessary and relevant, reflection on issues of a social, scientific or ethical nature in the field of their field of study.
• Be able to develop in complex situations or that require the development of new solutions both in the academic field and work or professional within their field of study.
• Know how to communicate to all types of audiences (specialized or not) in a clear and precise way, knowledge, methodologies, ideas, problems and solutions in the field of their field of study.
• Be able to identify their own training needs in their field of study and work or professional environment and to organize their own learning with a high degree of autonomy in all types of contexts (structured or not).

The external tutor and the academic tutor will monitor the external internships, verifying their use.

The external tutor and the academic tutor will advise and support the students in the aspects related to the practices.

The academic tutor is at the disposal of internship students to resolve any doubts they may have. If there is no specific incident that the student wishes to comment on, it is recommended to call the academic tutor to do the first follow-up tutoring when the student has completed approximately one third of the practicals. 

In the framework of the new curricula adapted to the European Higher Education Area, special emphasis has been placed on the possibility for university students to do external internships, in order to achieve all the practical training necessary to complement the theoretical knowledge acquired through academic training, as well as acquiring the skills that prepare them for the exercise of professional activities.

External academic internships can be curricular and extracurricular.

Curricular practices are those that appear in the study plans with the corresponding allocation of credits and regardless of whether they are compulsory or optional. This means that they must register in advance, that they must have a tutor, and that they must be assessed and qualified.

Extracurricular practices are those that students can do on a voluntary basis during their studies and that are not part of the corresponding study plan. Students can start doing extracurricular practices when they have passed 60 ECTS of the degree (all 1st year approved).

The internship report is the final work of all the practical learning carried out in the company / entity, and together with all the follow-up material, tutorials and the final presentation, it will serve as a fundamental element of continuous assessment in order to to obtain a global note of the asignatura of External Practices.

Requirements for the evaluation:

• Carrying out, during the internships, two sessions, face-to-face or virtual, with the tutor of academic internships.
• Delivery of all internship material on set dates.
• Delivery of the educational cooperation agreement signed by the company and the student on the same day that the internship begins, at most, or of the necessary documentation for validation during the first or second quarter of the academic year in which the subject registration.

The academic tutor is responsible for the final evaluation of external academic internships. The practices are evaluated at the end of the 3rd quarter of the 4th year.

The entity where the internships take place must designate a tutor (external tutor) who will act in coordination with the academic tutor. The external tutor must prepare a final report and send it to the academic tutor. This report must include the number of hours worked by the student and in which he can assess the following aspects:

a) Competences of the student; b) Commitment and attitude of the student; c) Creativity and initiative; h) Positive aspects of the student's work; i) Aspects to be improved of the student's work; j) Assessment of the theoretical training of the student; ik) Those other aspects that are considered opportune.

The student will send the academic tutor of the university a final report at the end of the internship which must include at least:

a) Personal data of the student; b) Collaborating entity where the internship has taken place and location; c) Specific and detailed description of the tasks, work carried out and departments of the entity to which it has been assigned, d) Assessment of the tasks carried out with the knowledge and skills acquired in relation to university studies; e) List of the problems posed and the procedure followed for their resolution; f) Identification of the contributions that, in the matter of learning, have supposed the practices; ig) Evaluation of practices and suggestions for improvement.

The report will be delivered to the academic tutor within 15 days of the end of the internship.

Extracurricular internships will not be evaluable.

https://www.tecnocampus.cat/servei-universitat-empresa-empreses/estudiants-en-practiques

https://www.tecnocampus.cat/servei-universitat-empresa-empreses/preguntes-frequents-de-practiques

Regulations governing external internships for students at the Tecnocampus Polytechnic School (ESUPT), attached to Pompeu Fabra University.