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GUIDES TO THE UNIVERSITY

2014-2015 A.Y.
Bachelor of Science Programs (3-y)



5.
CURRICULAR INTERNSHIPS

Three-year Bachelor programs allow students to include an educational internship apprenticeship/training (from now internship) experience or a similar activity 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 and graduation".

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

Last change 25/07/2014 17:01

5.1.
Curricular Internship characteristics

Curricular 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.

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

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

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 law, and by the University. The main objective of internships is to educate.

They allow students to gain real 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 in the field experience includes 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.

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.

Last change 17/07/2014 14:28

5.2.
Finding internship

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

  • Markets and External Affairs Division (see information below);
  • Bachelor Program Direction.

 

Only in exceptional cases students can have internships found via their own channels recognized, at highly qualified companies. In this case the Internship Office will carefully monitor the internship opportunity. The student will invite the company to put in contact through the University, well in advance than the start of the internship, by accessing to this link.

Markets and External Affairs Division
Internship opportunities in Italy and abroad are promoted through:

  • JobGate: an online platform which is updated daily with internship and work opportunities reserved to Bocconi students;
  • Internship Programs in companies, Chamber of Commerce, foreign Consulates in Milan, International Institutions, non-government organizations, Italian Permanent Representatives abroad;
  • Arts and Culture International 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 meetings at the University: companies present themselves and describe their programs for hiring potential candidates; the calendar for presentations is fixed every six months.
Last change 17/07/2014 14:29

5.3.
Internship formalization

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 Portal, with the student ID number of the trainee, by the Monday preceding the start of the internship. Internships always start on Monday.

If the candidate chosen for the internship wants to recognize the experience as the curricular internship with credit points, he/she will have to ask the preliminary authorization and wait for the answer from the University before starting the internship. Therefore the starting date could be postponed."

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 as internship acceptance.

The Internship Office checks the training project and, after checking the coherence and the quality of its quality in accordance with the current laws, confirms the internship. The University can negotiate the contents and the conditions of the internship with the company and, in case of no agreement, can refuse to promote the internship.

Before starting the internship, the student must access the course Internship...let’s go! available under Extracurricular Courses on the Bocconi e-learning 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 copy of the document to the University. When 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. However internships without such documentation can be run with an internship contract or other document demonstrating practice educational experience according with the local laws where the internship experience is held. This documentation must be sent by the trainee to the Internship Office through the Help&Contact procedure on the yoU@B Diary before the internship starts. 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 or work 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.

For all internships carried out of Italy the trainees must fill out and sign, before departure, a document of Indemnity to the Internship Office. 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. The trainee finds the document of Indemnity in the JobGate, in the ‘My internships’ area in the section ‘Internship Agreement and attahments’. Once the document has been filled out and signed, the document must be uploaded in the same section.

At the middle of the internship, the trainee and the company tutor are invited to fill out the mid-term evaluation form (available from January 2015). The trainee can view the form filled out by the company tutor and can decide if authorize the tutor to view the numerical section of the form filled out.

At the end of the internship the following end-of-internship documents are required:

  • evaluation form filled out by the student via the yoU@B student Diary;
  • end of internship report by the student via the yoU@B student Diary (only for internships carried out abroad);
  • evaluation form of the company tutor filled out on the JobGate. The evaluation by the company tutor includes information on the skills acquired.

The company, at the end of the internship and upon request of the trainee, must issue an internship certification for his/her personal purposes.


 

Last change 30/07/2014 11:52

5.4.
Internship recognition

All internship experiences must be previously approved in order to ensure their consistency and coherence with the educational objectives of the study program the students are enrolled in. 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 the following paragraph.

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 advance authorization’.

The request is automatically made viewable to the Internship Office which can give approval, reject it or, for more information, ask the student, through a messaging procedure available on the yoU@B Diary, to schedule a meeting or through chat.

The student views the request outcome in the yoU@B in the ‘My internships’ area of the JobGate portal. The assessment of the Internship Office is final. In case of any doubts the Internship Office will interact with the Program Director.
Notice: without advance authorization, the internship is not started as curricular internship.

Final validation
Once the internship is ended, the Internship Office takes note of the end of internship and views the evaluation sheets filled out by the trainee and company tutor respectively. For more information, the Internship Office can ask the student, through a messaging procedure available on the yoU@B Diary, to schedule a meeting or through chat.
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. Such communication will be forwarded urgently to the student and to the host company.

In case of behavior contrary to good faith during the internship, students can be reported to the Disciplinary Board by the Internship Office.

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 completion must be carried out within the time needed to record the internship in the student's academic career, as the set graduation deadline for the completion of the study plan approaches (around a week before the deadline).

Last change 21/07/2014 15:13

5.5.
Postponement, Suspension, Withdrawal/Interruption

Postponement
It is possible to request, by 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 demonstrate that more time to reach the educational objective for the complexity of the project is needed, the University will evaluate the possibility to postpone the internship. 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 through the JobGate portal in the "Internship duration change" section and the trainee must access the portal to confirm the postponement entered by the company.

Suspension
In agreement with Università Bocconi, a period of temporary suspension of the internship experience can be admitted (e.g. company closure, holiday) to be recovered at the end of the internship if this affects the minimum duration of the curricular internship.

This period cannot be more than one month and must be communicated in advance by the company to the Internship office thorugh the JobGate in the section ‘Internship duration changes’ in case it is more than 3 subsequent working days.

Withdrawal/Interruption
The withdrawal/interruption of the internship can be requested only for serious and/or certified reasons. Without serious reasons there will be limitations for accessing to a new internship (the new internship cannot be started before a month from the date of interruption of the previous internship).

The interruption, 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 and confirm the interruption entered by the company.

In case of curricular internship, the in-advance interruption can cause that the internship is not recognized if not authorized in advance by the Internship Office 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 messaging function available on the yoU@B.

Last change 22/05/2015 15:55

5.6.
Contributions

As the internship is not a labour by Law, it is not paid. At their discretion companies can grant a monetary contribution that would go towards a student’s studies. Not curricular internships carried out by graduates, the new Italian regulations include a compulsory indemnity of participation in compliance with the limits specified in the regional laws, never less than 300 euros (before tax) per months.
Scholarships to carry out internships are also provided:
a) ISU/Università Bocconi
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.

b) Erasmus+ Erasmus program scholarships + 2014-2020
are available only for students who will carry out an internship in Europe at companies, education and research centers, Italian Chambers of commerce abroad and some international organizations in one of the Countires participating in the program. The internships must have a minimum duration of 2 months starting from 1st June 2014 and have not to include a participation indemnity. For further information: http://www.cs.unibocconi.eu/. The ISU Erasmus+ scholarships are not cumulative.

Last change 21/07/2014 15:17

5.7.
Activities similar to internship and their recognition

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, 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 to the Internship Office. 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 contacts of a company reference person, period of the activity, description of activity and tasks.
    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 Internship Office, by entering ‘My internships’ area in ‘Training project’ and clicking on ‘Request advance authorization’.
    At the end of the minimum of the duration for the internship recognition, students must upload, on ‘My internship’ area in ‘Agreement and attachments’, 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 Internship Office will proceed with the final recognition in accordance with the procedure specified in paragraph 5.4.

 

  • On the field research project. It is an activity promoted by a professor involving the student exclusively in a research activity to be carried out at a Research Center or a Department of the University. The minimum duration is of 12 weeks and the maximum one is 6 months. However, this activity must be considered as a part-time experience and therefore it can be validated upon a duration of at least 16 weeks. The procedure of authorization and recognition is the same one as for the internships (see paragraph 5.4).
Last change 24/07/2014 15:49

5.8.
Certifications and documents

To request certifications to the University specifying the admission and/or 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.

Last change 25/07/2014 17:02

5.8.1.
Declaration of internship ended

The student or graduate who must request a document specifying the conclusion of a curricular or not curricular 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 internship must have already been recorded in the academic career when making the request, while for not-curricular internship the student/graduate must attach the copy of the end-of internship document given by the host company/institution to the request , and must be sure that the two evaluation sheets (by the tutor and the trainee ) must be filled online. Such declaration is exempt from the duty stamp "bollo".

Last change 02/07/2014 10:46

5.8.2.
Declaration of enrolment/graduation to be attached upon sending the application for an internship

If a student or a graduate has been requested to attach an enrolment/degree declaration to promote his application for an internship by the company/institution selection procedure, can contact the Internship Office through the Help&Contact procedure available on the yoU@B Diary and specify the name of the company/institution this declaration must be addressed. 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 http://agenda.unibocconi.it/ 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/

Last change 02/07/2014 10:47