Aims

Internships allow students to try out the skills they have acquired during their studies in practice and gain professional experience. Internships also enable students to get to know potential employers and make important contacts. All of this makes it easier to start a career after graduation.

As part of the key competencies programme, the Mathematics Department of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science promotes the completion of work placements by offering the opportunity to earn credits.

Procedure

• Before the internship: In order to check whether an internship is generally suitable and whether the conditions from the module description can be fulfilled, we require the following documents/information in advance.
  • Content: Internship description issued by the organisation offering the internship, e.g. (link to) job advertisement, alternatively a short synopsis.
  • Scope: Relevant are start date, end date, weekly working hours - proof by e.g. employment contract.
• Exam registration: This should take place on the next examination date after the end of the internship. Examinations are offered every semester, typically approx. 3 weeks after the start of the teaching period.
• After the internship the following documents are to be submitted:
  • Work certificate as proof of completion of the internship,
  • Internship report as the basis for earning credits.
• As soon as the documents are available, there will be a short discussion about the internship report to clarify any outstanding questions.

Internship report requirements

The internship report must be created in PDF format. Experience has shown that it comprises 5-10 pages (continuous text). The following key questions should be addressed in the internship report.

• How did you find the internship position?
• Brief introduction of the employer.
• Brief introduction of the department.
• Range of tasks (of the department).
• Description of your duties including embedding in the department's tasks, in particular:
  • Workflow (e.g. was there a jour fixe?)
  • Training/onboarding?
  • Guidance / supervision?
  • Did you got feedback?
  • Output achieved?
• Description of the methods / tools / theories used, in particular, mathematical knowledge applied during the internship.
• Did you learn something useful for your math studies?
• Self-reflection:
  • What was good, what wasn't that good?
  • Did the internship match your expectations?
  • What did you learn?
  • To what extend did you benefit?
  • Did you miss something?
  • Would you recommend the employer?
  • Dos and don'ts for other future interns!

Contact