Internship Abroad

By being active in your search for an internship abroad, you may succeed in finding your dream internship. University of Vaasa does not offer internship placements abroad in the same way as exchange study placements. Finding the position and going through the application and administrative process of working abroad require initiative and flexibility, but it will pay off. Internship completed abroad can also credited for and included in your degree.

You can find an internship placement abroad through various internship programmes. Look for organisations and associations that offer internships. For internships and working in Europe, EURES portal is a good place to start.

If you are looking for an internship, do also research on the country where you wish to go, e.g. on visas and work/ residence permits. If you find an interesting business or organisation, be confident in contacting them directly. Send an application and your CV to HR or head of an operative unit and follow up your application, or make a connection via social media. Larger corporations usually have information on internships and application process on their website.

Financing your Internship

Most employers hire paid interns. However, internships abroad are often unpaid, or the salary is relatively small. Because of this, some associations that arrange international internships award funding or grants for internships.

University of Vaasa provides funding for international internships as grant for Erasmus+ internship (see below), as University of Vaasa internship voucher or as University of Vaasa Travel grant (see below).

Since internship can be included in your degree as credits, you can also get study grant from Kela during internship. For more information on study grant, please contact Kela.

Erasmus+ programme offers funding for internship in another country participating in Erasmus+ programme. Student has 12 months of Erasmus grant they can apply for on each higher education degree level (Bachelor, Master, Doctorate). This means you can apply for Erasmus grant for internship on the same degree level where you have been on Erasmus student exchange.

Prerequisites for getting an Erasmus grant for internship from University of Vaasa are that the student is registered as attending and fulfills the criteria of having completed around 30 ECTS / attended semester. Internship should not affect the normative completion and graduation time for a degree programme, which for a Master's degree programmes is 2 years, including the internship period.

In order to get an Erasmus grant for internship, credits from the internship must be included in your degree at University of Vaasa. Internship must therefore also be approved by your study programme/ Academic School before the internship period.

Erasmus Internship Placement

In Erasmus Internship you would be working in a European business or organisation (private company, public institution, university etc.). Embassies and Consulates of the student's home country and of Finland are also possible as Erasmus internship placements. EU organisations, National Agencies dealing with Erasmus funding or placements via EDUFI internship programme administered by Finnish National Agency for Education, are not acceptable as Erasmus internship placements. 

University of Vaasa does not have any internship positions abroad to offer. Students must be active in finding a suitable placement. Internship opportunities can be found e.g. on ErasmusIntern Portal or EURES portal, both supported by European Commission, other portals or simply by contacting companies directly. Follow also Mobility Services Facebook for ads for internship placements at our partner universities.

Duration of Erasmus Internship

Duration of an Erasmus -funded internship is a minimum of 2 months and maximum of 12 months. Please note when planning the duration of the internship, that you may not necessarily get Erasmus grant for internship from University of Vaasa for the whole duration of the internship, especially if it exceeds 6 months. Usually a funded duration for internship is 3-4 months. Internship needs to be full-time for funding.

Please note that you cannot graduate from University of Vaasa during the Erasmus+ funded internship.

Erasmus internship can also include a virtual part of exchange, but the grant is as a rule only paid for the period of physical stay, for which minimum is 2 months, at internship placement abroad. Virtual part of exchange practically means working remotely and connected virtually to internship placement.

Applying for Erasmus Grant for Internship - Before Internship

You can apply for Erasmus grant for internships in an ongoing application from University of Vaasa Career Services.
In order to be able to apply for Erasmus grant for internship, you already need to have the internship placement ready.
Please note that you need to submit application documents to Career Services prior to the start of the internship.

How to go about with applying for Erasmus grant for internship:

Discuss your plans for internship with your study counselor/ responsible person for internships in your study programme. Agree on the internship being included in your degree and the nr of ECTS for the internship.

When applying for an Erasmus grant for internship, you need to submit the following documents to University of Vaasa Career Services (per email to harjoittelu(at)uwasa.fi) well in time for processing your application before internship:

• Erasmus Learning Agreement for Traineeships
  Learning Agreement for Traineeships is an agreement where student, employer and responsible person for internships in your study programme agree on duration, tasks, objectives and amount of credits for the internship. Learning Agreement is first filled in and signed by the student and receiving employer organisation and after that the person responsible for internships at University of Vaasa.
• Erasmus Grant Agreement for Traineeships
  Grant agreement is filled in and signed by the student who submits the document to Mobility Services together with Learning Agreement.

Both application documents can be found on this page.
 

Grant

Erasmus grant for internship can be applied for the whole duration of internship. Please note that the availability of Erasmus funding is not guaranteed but varies from year to year and depends on the number of applicants in ongoing application.

In Academic year 2022/23 the monthly Erasmus grant for internships to higher-cost countries defined by the European Commission (Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom) is 690 EUR/month.

Erasmus grant to lower-cost countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Republic of North Macedonia) is 640 EUR/month.

Erasmus grant is based on full months and grant per day. Grant may be reclaimed in part or extra grant may be paid after internship depending on completed nr of days on internship (5 days flexibility).

In addition to receiving Erasmus grant for internship, student may also get paid a salary for the internship by employer organisation. This is often necessary in order to be able to cover all costs for internship and living abroad. Employer and student will agree on eventual salary or other perks for internship.

Erasmus+ programme supports with extra grant the mobility of people with special needs having physical and/or mental health conditions that would prohibit their participation without additional funding. Also participants with underaged children are eligible for additional funding. More information on request from Mobility Services.

Please note that you cannot apply for Erasmus funding if you get some other financial support from University of Vaasa for internship. On each degree level (Bachelor/ Master/ Doctorate) student has 12 months of Erasmus funding they can apply for. These 12 months can be also divided between Internship and Erasmus student exchange.
 

Practicalities

In addition to Erasmus Learning Agreement for Traineeships, you should also make an employment contract /internship contract with employer organisation in accordance with the legislation of host country and find out about working visas and insurance policies. 

According to Erasmus+ programme regulations the student must have valid sickness, occupational accident and liability insurances during the internship. Student must agree on these either with the host organisation or acquire them with their own insurance company. University of Vaasa only provides occupational accident insurance if the internship is without pay, other above listed insurances must be acquired by the student.

Funding for international internships outside of EU or at institutions not eligible as internship placements according to Erasmus+ programme, please see University of Vaasa Travel Grant section of this website.

Also students going on internship abroad can opt for participating in orientation for exchange studies, please contact Mobility Services at outgoing.international(at)uwasa.fi.

Your Erasmus internship can include tasks where you can develop your digital skills (e.g. data analytics, programming, development of software or websites, management of IT systems and networks, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, digital marketing). Your employer can make a note in Learning agreement that the internship is in digital skills. 

After internship

After the internship you need to submit the following document to Career Services at harjoittelu(at)uwasa.fi:

• Work certificate OR
• Learning Agreement for Traineeships section: Traineeship Certificate

Additionally, you need to:

• Submit your reply to EU Survey for European Commission (link to survey will be sent to you)
• Apply for credits for the internship by contacting your study counselor/ person responsible for internships in your study programme
   

More information on Erasmus+ internship:

Career Services
harjoittelu(at)uwasa.fi
 

Travel grant

For an internship abroad, it is possible to apply for a travel grant awarded by the University of Vaasa up to a maximum of 1000 euros. The travel grant is intended for travel expenses of internship. Basic degree students (Bachelor, Master) of the University of Vaasa who have registered as present are eligible to apply for a travel grant. There are five annual travel grants.

The travel grant is a one-time compensation, the amount of which is determined by the student’s travel cost estimation. A travel grant may not be granted to cover the full cost of travel, but may also be part of the total cost of the trip. Travel grants are not granted retrospectively. If the internship for which the grant is awarded is canceled or interrupted or the internship period is changed, it must be immediately notified to the career service and the awarded grant must be returned.

A travel grant will not be awarded if the student's internship is organized by the National Agency for Education, if the internship is an Erasmus placement or if the student has an internship voucher issued by the University of Vaasa or the student receives another grant. Also, a foreign student's internship taking place in his/her home country is not eligible for a travel grant.

Requirements

• A travel grant is awarded for a period of internship abroad which lasts at least three months.
• At the time of the application, the student must have at least 160 credits in the study register or be a Master's degree student at the University of Vaasa.
• The student must include the internship to his/her degree at the University of Vaasa.
• The student completes his/her Master's degree after the internship.
• The University of Vaasa pays the travel grant to the student’s informed account.
• The student is allowed to use the grant only for travel expenses of the internship.
• If the internship for which the grant is awarded is canceled or interrupted or the internship period is changed, it must be immediately notified to the career service and the awarded grant must be returned.
• The student him/herself takes care of the necessary insurances.
• At the latest two months after the end of the internship the student must deliver a copy of the certificate of employment to the Career Services.
• If the above mentioned requirements are not met, the grant may be recovered.

Applying

You can apply for a travel grant throughout the year after receiving an internship placement. Apply the travel grant by filling in a travel grant application. You must also attach a travel cost estimation to the application. Applications with attachments are delivered to career services by e-mail. The student is informed of the decision by e-mail. On the basis of a positive decision, a travel grant agreement is made.The travel grant is paid in the end of the following month after the decision has been made. The travel grant must be used for the purpose mentioned in the application during the time indicated in the application. The student must deliver a copy of the certificate of employment within two months after the end of the internship to e-mail address: harjoittelu(at)uwasa.fi.

Before you apply for a travel grant, you may want to inquire about the possibility of obtaining an Erasmus grant.