GUIDES TO THE UNIVERSITY

Three-year Bachelor programs allow students to include an educational internship experience (curricular internship) in their study plans. An internship is worth 6 credit points, as an alternative to an elective course held in Italian (see "Bachelor Degree Program structure").

For the calculation of the graduation grade after the participation in the curricular internship see final paper.

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 following paragraphs and sections does not apply: Duration, Positioning, Recognition, Other activities recognized in lieu of internships and their recognition.

Internships must satisfy the following characteristics involving duration, objectives and contents, location and positioning.

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

 

The number of weeks must be understood as continuous and non-cumulative, in agreement with the University a period of temporary suspension of the internship experience (such as closing of the company, national holiday) to be recovered at the end of the internship if it affects the minimum duration of the internship.

In special cases, part-time internships can  be allowed, as long as they last a minimum of 16 weeks, in Italy or abroad.

Objectives and contents

The main objective of internships is to educate. They allow students to gain real work world and professional experience while developing professional skills. They help students get their bearings in these areas and facilitate their professional choices. Students acquire direct knowledge of the continuously evolving world of work. The  contents of internships must be aligned with the educational objectives of the Program.

The main objective of internships is to educate. They allow students to gain real work world and professional experience while developing professional skills. They help students get their bearings in these areas and facilitate their professional choices. Students acquire direct knowledge of the continuously evolving world of work. The  contents of internships must be aligned with the educational objectives of the Program.

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. 

Positioning
As the aim of the internship is to acquire personal and working experience, the University is positioning such experience after the completion of learning activities which are fundamental to gain theoretical basic knowledge.
Therefore, students may participate in an internship only after completing second-year lessons.
Internships are registered in students' academic careers as a third-year educational activity.

In addition to what has already been said in terms of its characteristics, an internshipis an experience which offers in-the-field training, whose regulations are valid in Italy, and are set by law (24 June 1997 no. 196 art. 18 and the decree of 25 March 1998, no. 142 and Interdepartmental Decree of 22 March 2006 Official Journal no. 159 of 11 July 2006) and by the University.  An internship is not a labour contract.By law internships are not paid. At their discretion, companies can grant a monetary contribution that would go towards a student's studies. Scholarships to carry out internships are also provided (see "Contributions for internships in Italy and abroad/Contributions for internship in the European Union").

Finding internships

Università Bocconi recognizes internships organized by any of the following parties:

• Markets and External Affairs Division
• Bachelor Program Direction
• Students can also find internships via their own channels. In this case, the University will carefully monitor the internship request and the correct running. In addition it necessary that the students contact the Internship Office well in advance and always before the internship starts.  

  If the company has never cooperated with the University the student reporting must be at least 20 days before the start of the internship by following the indications on the web pages.

Markets and External Affairs Division

Internship opportunities in Italy and abroad are promoted through:

• JobGate:  a platform which is updated daily with internship and work opportunities reserved to Bocconi students;
• International Internship Programs in companies, Chamber of Commerce, foreign Consulates in Milan, International Institutions, non-government organizations, Italian Permanent Representatives abroad;
• Arts and Culture Internationl Program: a program offering internship opportunities at cultural institutions;
• Bocconi & Jobs, the University's semi-annual career fair which allows Bocconi students to meet with numerous companies and institutions from all sectors;
• Company presentations in the University: companies present themselves and describe their programs for hiring potential candidates; the calendar for presentations is fixed every six months;
• Placement Library: the Career Service's library dedicated to the world of work. Students can organize the search and retrieval of information which is useful for finding internships or jobs. 
   

Formalization

Whatever channel is used to find an internship, as a general rule the host company or organization and Bocconi sign an internship agreement and a training and orientation project on the objectives and contents of the internship. 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.

Internships abroad, if they are not run by internship agreement and a relating training project, can be run by a working or internship contract stipulated with the company or by other documentation demonstrating practice educational experience according with the local laws where the experience is held. Internships which are not provided with such documentation cannot be recognised for the awarding of credit points in no way.

Students must always contact the Internship Office well in advance and in any case before starting the internship.

The Service will contact the student to agree upon a date for the participation in the Gruppo Stage (Internship Group), a preparatory meeting for the internship experience.

Internship recognition 

All internship experiences must be previously approved in order to ensure their consistency and coherence with the ducational path carried out by the students.At the end of the internship such experience is validated in order to obtain academic recognition.In order to obtain the recognition of the internship and the relating credit points it is necessary to follow the steps described in this paragraph. 

Authorization in advance 

Before the internship the student must request and obtain the approval in advance by the Coordinator of the Internship Office. The authorization is a compulsory requirement to start the curricular internship.

Final validation
When completing the internship students:

 

•  submit the end-of internship documentation to the Internship Office
  - print of the evaluation form by the trainee
  

  - Certificate of end of internship issued by the Company.
  The evaluation form of the company tutor is printed at the Front Desk - Internship Office at the time of submission of all documents above.
  

• The Internship Office, after carrying out the assessments due, validates the experience carried out  for recoding it in the students academic career;
  
• The student signs the form provided by the University for the internship recognition.

Registration: the internship is registered by the deadline for the completion of the exams provided for in the program structure set for the graduation. Generally, the internship must have been finished by that date.
Any uncompleted internships which have satisfied the minimum duration of time indicated above will still be recognized and can be registered in the student's academic career.The recognition can be possible only if the student has to graduate before the end of the internship. In this case, the end-of-internship documents must be completed within the time needed to record the internship in the student's academic career.

Withdrawal and interruption
Withdrawal/interruption of the internship is possible for serious and/or certified reasons. If there is no serious/certified reasons, there will be limitations for accessing to a new internship (the new internship cannot start until one month from the date of interruption of the previous internship). It must communicated urgently to the Internship Office.

Contributions for internships in Italy and abroad
For students taking part in internships offered by public authorities in Italy, or through international organizations, institutions, authorities and companies abroad for which no compensation is provided, contributions are available from Università Bocconi: for allocation criteria and application forms check the ISU Download Area.

Contributions for internships in the European Union
Scholariships of the LLP/Erasmus Student Placement program are available only for  internships in the European Union in companies and research and training centers, Italian Chambers of Commerce Abroad and some International Organizations located in one of the countries participating in the Program lasting minimum three months and with curricular worth.  Further information is available on http://www.ir.unibocconi.eu/  and http://www.cs.unibocconi.eu/. The scholarships are not cumulative with contributions indicated in the preceding title.

Other activities recognized in lieu of internships
Though internships remain the main educational activity aimed at facilitating professional choices, other activities known as "similar activities" are permitted  in lieu of the internships.These include qualified work experiences, with contracts different from those of internships, such as temporary or permanent work, apprenticeships, traineeships, limited-time work contracts ("lavoro a progetto"). These are subject to the same rules (duration, positioning, eligibility) as internships. To have the activity recognized and the credits assigned, students must hand in to the Internship Office: a copy of the contract stipulated with the company and a short report from the student containing information on the nature and duration of the activity. This is necessary to prepare the authorization and final validation form to be signed by the Internship Office Coordinator, after evaluating the experience contents. in order to have the internship recorded in the student's academic career

Information
For further information on the above programs we suggest you to consult the website: http://www.cs.unibocconi.eu/

Markets and External Affair Division 

Internship Office Markets and External Affair Division
Piazza Sraffa, 11 - 20136 Milan
fourth floor - room 405
international.internship@unibocconi.it
infostage@unibocconi.it

Placement Library/ Career Service Information Desk
Room 418
Ph. +39 02 5836 2711
placement.library@unibocconi.it

Room 418 Ph. +39 02 5836 2711