GUIDES TO THE UNIVERSITY

All Master of Science programs include an internship/apprenticeship/training (from now internship) or similar activity in the program requirements, classified as compulsory educational activities. Internships are worth from 6 to 8 credit points depending on the program structure of the MSc Program (see "Program Structures of MSc Programs").

It is possible to participate in other internship experiences, during your studies or after graduation, which do not have curricular value and for which the information in the paragraphs and sections is not applied: "Duration", "Positioning", "Internship recognition, "Other activities recognized in lieu of internships".
In this chapter, curricular intership exclusively stands for curricular internship with credit points.

Curricular internships must satisfy the following characteristics with reference to duration, objectives and contents, location and positioning.

Duration
Minimum 12 full-time weeks, in Italy.
Minimum 10 full-time weeks, abroad.

Subject to the prior approval from the Master of Science Program Director or his delegate, a part-time internship could be considered an option. However, it must last at least 16 weeks in Italy or abroad.

The number of weeks must be understood as continuous and non-cumulative.
For variations on duration see paragraph 5.5 Postponment, suspension, withdrawal/interruption.

Objectives and contents
The internship is an in-the-field training experience and not a labour contract whose regulations are valid in Italy and are set by the law*, national and regional one, and by the University.
The main objective of internships is to educate. They allow students to acquire work and professional experience while developing professional skills. They help students get their bearings in these areas, facilitating their professional choices. Students acquire direct knowledge of the continuously evolving world of work. The contents of the internship must be consistent with the educational objectives of the student's MSc program. The in the field experience include a company tutor (professional expert) supporting the students.

Location
Internships may take place - in Italy and abroad - in firms, public and private institutions, professional studios, international organisms, diplomatic agencies, cultural institutions and other organizations.
Internships held on the premises of the participant's family property are not accepted.

Internships whose activities are held remotely are not accepted.

The University keeps the right to express about the eligibility of the location of the internship through gathering information from different sources.

Positioning

Students may participate in internships during their second year.
Students may participate in an internship only after completing first-year courses.
It is possible, as an exception, to participate in an internship in advance:

• in the first year, following the normal authorization and validation procedures which are described below; however, internship activities must not clash with classroom activities;
• before enrolment in MSc programs but after the undergraduate degree, in compliance with the requirement of the not overlap of the internship with class activities; in this case there are various authorizations and validation procedures (see paragraph 5.4 Internship recognition).

In both cases, the internship will be registered in the student's academic career as a first-year educational activity.

• Markets and External Affairs Division (see information below);
• MSc Program Direction;
• students can have internships found via their own channels recognized, at highly qualified companies only. In this case, the Master of Science Program Director and the Internship Office will carefully monitor the internship request. Students invite the company to put in contact through the University well in advance than the internship, by accessing the JobGate portal

• JobGate: an online platform matching supply and demand, updated on a daily basis; Speciale Stage Curriculari: a program held one every six months for internships offered by the companies who adhere to the University partnership programs;
• Bocconi & Jobs Italy and Abroad: a career fair which allows students to meet with numerous companies and institutions from all sectors.
• Recruting date: recruting occasions reserved for graduate students.
• Investment Bank Weekends: meetings with the most important sector institutions;
• Meetings with employers on and off campus: presentations of the hiring programs within companies, networking activities, selection days for indivisual interviews with company representatives (Drop-In).
• Cv@B – online students and graduates cv books visible to and searchable by employers.

Whatever channel is used to find an internship, the host company or organization in Italy and Bocconi sign an internship document entitled single internship agreement on the objectives and contents of the internship via the JobGate. As the promoter of the initiative, the University will prepare all the necessary legal documentation, check the quality of the training projects, and provide insurance coverage.

Once the trainee has been selected and the internship details have been agreed, the company fills out the internship document (entering data and contents) on the JobGate by the Monday preceding the start of the internship. The internships always start on Monday.

The information relating to the internship are made viewable by the trainee on the JobGate so that he/she can check that the contents agreed upon by with the company during the interviews are coherent with the ones specified. The confirmation is valid for accepting the internship.
The Internship Office check the training project and, after checking the internship content and quality and if it is carried out in accordance with the law, confirms the internship. The University can negotiate internship contents and conditions with the company and, in case of no agreement, reject to promote the internship.

Before starting the internship, the student must:

- request advance authorization from the University and wait until it has been granted;

- access the course Internship...let’s go! available under Extracurricular Courses on the Bocconi BBoard website.

On the first day of the internship, the company downloads the internship document from the JobGate and it is signed by the trainee together with a company legal representative or delegated party. The original document is promptly sent by the company to the Internship Office for having it signed by the University. The trainee must ensure that the company sends original copy of the document to the University. If it is not returned, the internship cannot be considered as valid. The internship document, completed with all signatures, is uploaded on the JobGate portal of the University for being used by the company and by the trainee.

Also internships abroad are run by internship agreement in compliance with the procedure described above. They can be also run with an internship contract or other document demonstrating practice educational experience according with the local laws where the internship experience is held. Such documentation must be sent well in advance by the trainee to the Internship Office through the Help&Contact procedure on the yoU@B Diary before the start of the internship. Internships which are not provided with such documentation cannot be recognised as internship.

For all internships carried out of Italy the trainees must verify the methods for obtaining, if requested, the appropriate visa and ony other needed document so that the internship can be carried out in compliance with the law of the hosting Country. If documentation of the University is also needed to support the visa request, the trainee can make reference to the cert@B procedure for the official certifications and to the Internship office (through the Help&Contact procedure) for any ad hoc documents (see paragraph Certifications and documents).
For all internships carried out of Italy the trainees must subscribe , before departure, an Indemnity (selecting a box on the JobGate). In such document the student declares to be aware that the University cannot ensure security and solvency of the institution and the country in which he freely decided to carry out the internship.

For some typologies of internships, at the middle of the experience, the trainee and the company tutor are invited to fill out the mid-term evaluation form online. The trainee can view the form filled out by the company tutor and can decide if authorize the tutor to view the form filled out.

Few time before the end of the experience the following end-of-internship documents are required for the validation purposes:

• Evaluation form filled out by the student via the yoU@B student Diary along with the final report (this report is only for internships carried out abroad)
• evaluation form of the company tutor on the JobGate. The assessment by the company tutor also includes the skills acquired.

The company, at the end of the internship and upon request of the trainee, must issue an internship certification.

All internship experiences must be previously approved in order to ensure their consistency and coherence with the educational objectives of the Master of Science the student is enrolled in. At the end of the internship such experience is validated in order to obtain the credit points.

In order to obtain the recognition of the internship it is necessary to follow the steps described below.

Authorization in advance
After having viewed the internship on the JobGate and having confirmed it formally, the student must request the in-advance authorization, by accessing the area ‘My internships’ and clicking on ‘Request internship recognition.

The request is automatically made viewable to the Program Director or his/her delegate who can give his/her approval, reject it or, for more information, ask the student to schedule a meeting. The student views the request outcome in the yoU@B in the ‘My internships’ area in the JobGate.

Notice: without advance authorization, the internship is not started as curricular internship.

For the Management MSc Program the following internships cannot be recognized as curricular ones: at Italian Chambers of commerce abroad, The Foreign consulates in Italy, the professional studios and, as a general guide, Italian embassies and consulates abroad, the Italian diplomatic representative institutions abroad.

If the internship is carried out before the enrollment finalization to the MSc programs and after the undergraduate degree students may request authorization to have the experience recognized as a Master of Science curricular internship via help&contact to the Internship Office (the Internship Office will contact the Program Director) by the end of the teaching period (end of second semester lessons) of the first year of studies.

Students cannot request authorization before the end of the internship and before the beginning of the first year in no way (even if he/she initially enrolled in the MSc program as of the internship starting date).

If students carry out further internships in the years following the first one with potential curricular value, the internship already recorded in the study plan remains valid.

Final validation
Once the internship is ended, the Program Director views the evaluation sheets filled out by the trainee and company tutor (end of internship document) respectively. The evaluation sheets will be analyzed carefully; for need of information, the Program Director can ask the student to schedule a meeting. Once the final recognition has been obtained, the student can check the credit points recording in his/her academic career via the Punto Blu.

The University carries out checks during the internship of the student in order to verify the real running of the internship. In case the student is repeatedly not found the internship is annulled. Immediate communication on the internship annulment will be forwarded immediately to the student, to the Program Director and to the host company.

In case of behavior contrary to the Honor Code and to the Regulations for University Internships during the internship, students can be reported to the Disciplinary Board.

Registration of the credit points: the internship must be recorded in the student's academic career by the set deadline for the study plan completion for the graduation session.

Generally, the internship must have been finished by that date. Any uncompleted internships which have satisfied the minimum duration of time will still be recognized in the student's academic career only if:

• the student must graduate before the end of the internship
• the student applies for a scholarship.

In the above cases, the completion of the end-of-internship documentation must be carried out within the time needed to record the internship in the student's academic career as the set deadline for the completion of the study plan (or the deadline for the cases specified above) approaches (at least one week before) In addition, the student must make an explicit request of recognition for the advance end of the internship to the Internship Office via the Help&Contact procedure.

Postponment
It is possible to request before the end of the internship, request a postponement for a limit of 6 months of duration of the internship. The Internship Office carefully evaluates the reasons for the request. In case of internship carried out by a student, only if the company demonstrates that more time to reach the educational objective for the complexity of the project is needed. In case of internship carried out by graduates, it is not possible (no way) postpone the internship over the 6 month the internship duration in the same company.
The postponement period must be communicated in advance by the company to the Internship Office on the JobGate portal in the section ‘Internship duration changes’ and the trainee must access the portal to confirm the postponement entered by the company.

Suspension
Upon agreement with Università Bocconi, a temporary suspension period for the internship can be allowed (e.g. company closure, national holiday) to be recovered at the end of the internship if it affects the minimum duration of the curricular internship. Such period has not to be more than a month and must always be communicated in advance by the company to the Internship Office through JobGate in the section ‘Internship duration changes’, in case it reaches 3 consecutive working days.

Withdrawal/Interruption
The withdrawal/interruption, with relating reasons, must be immediately communicated by the trainee to the University via the JobGate in the section ‘Internship duration changes’Without serious reasons there will be limitations for accessing to a new internship which cannot be started before a month from the date of withdrawal/interruption of the previous one.

The withdrawal, with relating reasons, must be immediately communicated by the trainee via the JobGate. The interruption, with the relating reasons, must be immediately communicated by the company to the University through the JobGate in the section ‘Internship duration changes’. The trainee must access to the portal, confirm the interruption entered by the company.

In case of curricular internship, the in-advance interruption not authorized earlier can cause that the internship is not recognized, even if the minimum duration has been fulfilled. The advance authorization is given on the basis of the evaluation of all internship characteristics, including the duration. The student forwards the request of authorization to the advance interruption to the Internship Office through the Help&Contact procedure available on the yoU@B. The Internship Office, after verifying with the Program Director, will reply the request.

• Fondo Sostegno Giovani scholarship
• ERASMUS+ scholarship
• ISU Bocconi scholarship for international mobility
• Contribution for internships at the MAECI institutions (Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation)
• Contribution for internships at international organizations

• qualified work experiences, with contracts different from those of internships, such as, for example, temporary or permanent work. These are subject to the same rules (duration, positioning and channels for finding the experience) as internships. To obtain the recognition in advance, before the internship or when it starts, students must send - via the Help&Contact procedure available on the yoU@B - copy of the contract signed with the company. Students must verify that the contract includes (or, as an alternative they must provide the following data in attachment) the following information: name and company typology, field of the activity, number of employees, location, name and email address of a company reference person, period of the activity, description of activity and/or role.
  The Internship Office will enter the information relating to the activity similar to the internship via the JoBGate and the student will have to request the advance authorization to the Program Director or his/her delegate, by entering ‘My internships’ and clicking on ‘Request internship recognition’.
  At the end of the minimum of the duration for the internship recognition, students must upload, on the Jobgate in the‘My internship’ area in ‘Attachments’area, a short report including information on the type of experience and a declaration by the company certifying the presence of the student at the company in the period specified on the request of recognition.
  After appropriate assessment the Program Director will proceed with the final recognition in accordance with the procedure specified in paragraph 5.4 Internship recognition.
  Students who wish to request the validation of the internship they have carried out before the enrolment to the MSc programs (after having been awarded the undergraduate degree) must request it before the end of the teaching period (end of lessons of second semester) of the first year of studies.
• in-the-field projects activated by the MSc Program Direction following specific agreements with a company, an institution or professional office.
  

• in-class: classroom activities guided by the professor (methodological tools), presentations from professionals in their field (e.g., applications of methodological tools).;
• in-the-field activities monitored by professionals in the field and by a teacher: case analyses, formulation and presentation of the work (group or individual) to outside professionals in the field and to a teacher.

To request certifications to the University specifying the participation in a program of international mobility or in an internship you must use the cert@B procedure available on the yoU@B Diary (see chapter 11 Certifications, self-declarations and Diploma Supplement), except for the documents described in the following paragraphs.

The student or graduate who must request a document specifying the conclusion of an internship and can provide the address of the institution/company this document will be forwarded to, must access the Help&Contact procedure on the yoU@B student Diary in order to request it and provide all useful information for the letterhead of the declaration.

In order to obtain such declaration, the student/graduate must be sure that the two evaluation sheets (by the tutor and by the trainee) have been completed or he /she must attach copy of the end-of-internship certificate issued by the host company/institution to the request.

It should be noticed that, for declarations on the curricular value, the internship must have already been recorded in the academic career when making the request.

Such declaration is exempt from the duty stamp "bollo".

The student or a graduate can contact the Internship Office through the Help&Contact procedure available on the yoU@B Diary specifying the name and email address of the company/institution/diplomatic institution/immigration office this declaration must be addressed and the declaration specifications. This declaration is exempted from the duty stamp "bollo".

Markets and External Affair Division
Internship Office
Piazza Sraffa 11 - 20136 Milano
Help@Contact : available on the yoU@B Diary
Placement Library/Career Service Information Desk
Piazza Sraffa 11 - 20136 Milano
Ph. +39 02 5836 2711
placement.library@unibocconi.it
http://www.cs.unibocconi.it/