An intern for your company
What is an internship?
More and more companies are using internships as a way of recruiting students for thesis collaborations, student jobs or, at a later stage, hiring them for full-time jobs. As a general rule, the internship is unpaid - however, you decide for yourselves if you want to give the intern a monetary gratuity.
An internship is a component of the students’ study programme, and it must be approved by the university. Internships are included in master’s degrees, and you and the intern will together prepare an internship contract.
Duration: The internship will typically be based at the workplace three to five days a week. The duration of the internship can vary from two to five months, but the timeframe varies from study programme to study programme.
What do you get out of it?
You should view the internship as a mutually beneficial relationship, in which you get a dedicated employee who can provide new perspectives to your company.
The intern can work on various projects or tasks that you would otherwise not have had the resources or competences to undertake.
The intern will be part of your company’s everyday operations and will therefore be in a position to provide inputs on your work processes and tasks.
You get the opportunity to demonstrate that you are an attractive workplace and to get in touch with future talents. View the internship as a great opportunity for further collaboration. A successful internship often results in a thesis collaboration, a student job or the student being hired after graduation.
What do you need to do?
- Advertise the internship at RUC Job and Project Portal
Add the open internship position to Roskilde University Job and Project Portal. It is always a good idea to post the internship well in advance. October/November is a good time to publish your opening for an internship if you want an intern for the spring semester. Similarly, April/May is a good time to do so if you want an intern for the autumn semester. - Get the intern involved
You need to ensure that the intern is involved in projects/tasks that are relevant to his/her studies. The intern is expecting to be working on tasks on a professional level that matches what you would expect someone who has not yet completed their master’s degree to work with. - Select a contact person
You will provide the intern with a contact person that he or she can use for professional and social sparring throughout the internship. - Prepare an internship contract
Together with the student, you will prepare an internship contract that is to be approved by an academic counsellor at Roskilde University - this ensures that the internship is relevant for the student and that it is based on a clear matching of expectations between you and the intern. - Let the intern become part of the workplace
Involve the intern in your everyday work - for example, also let him/her attend meetings or events that are not necessarily directly connected to what the student is working on. This provides the student with good insights into how your company functions - and what you are working with.