Practical Internship Semester

An alternative to studying abroad is the internship abroad. It is a good idea to spend the practical study semester abroad in order to gain practical experience in foreign living and working cultures.

Thanks to the Student Council W, the database Datenbank PIS is available, where you can also find addresses and reports of students who have completed their internship abroad. The database can only be accessed from the PC pools in Building L (Room 305 and 306) via an icon on the desktop.

Often, the International Office and professors of the faculty also receive inquiries from foreign companies that would like to host interns. The offers from the International Office are forwarded to the foreign representatives and published centrally on the bulletin boards. The professors publish their announcements on their own respective bulletin boards.

Please make sure at an early stage that your internship with a foreign industrial company will be recognized (submission of the internship contract, job description, duration, etc.).

There are various funding institutions for internships abroad during the practical semester, some of which also arrange internships. The DAAD page Internships Abroad Auslandspraktika offers good initial information. Professional organizations are also happy to arrange internships abroad for a "placement fee" - please check these offers carefully.

In any case, it is an advantage if you try to find an internship abroad yourself at an early stage:

  • Obtaining addresses via the PSI database, job advertisements of the faculty and the International Office.
  • Exchange experiences with students of higher semesters (take part in presentations about the internship semester in your study program!)
  • Ask for company lists via the embassy of your target country
  • Look for subsidiaries abroad of German companies (Zentrale Auslands- und Fachvermittlung ZAV, German Chambers of Commerce Abroad AHK)
  • Circle of friends and acquaintances ("relationships")
  • Internship exchanges on the Internet

As a rule, the internship allowance abroad is sufficient to cover your local living expenses. However, for internships within Europe you can receive a monthly allowance through "ERASMUS-Förderungen", the Auslands-BAföG as well as the Deutsch-Französisches Jugendwerk. Our International Office will be happy to inform you about ERASMUS funding and help you with the organizational preparation of your internship abroad.

 

Insurance

Since insurance and labor regulations are inconsistent around the world, be sure to clarify the following points before your internship abroad:

  • Health insurance;
  • Accident insurance (at least for injuries sustained at the company internship site);
  • Liability insurance (this must also cover damage caused by a person during an internship at the company).

Clarifying these issues with the insurance companies and social security institutions is particularly important because as an intern abroad you are usually not insured through the company and because simple travel health insurance for vacation trips or personal liability insurance do not cover damage caused during internships abroad.

Ansprechpartner

Leiter Praktikantenamt

 

Prof. Dr. G. Birkel

praktikantenamt@wing.hs-mannheim.de
T +49 621 292 68 33
Gebäude L, Raum 155