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2016/2017  BA-BSOCV3005U  Internship 15 ECTS

English Title
Internship 15 ECTS

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 15 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Bachelor
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc in Business Administration and Sociology
Course coordinator
  • Stine Haakonsson - Department of Business and Politics (DBP)
Main academic disciplines
  • Innovation
  • Management
  • Organization
Last updated on 16-08-2016
Learning objectives
To achieve the grade 12, students should meet the following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or errors: In order to pass, the internship report must demonstrate:
  • A general ability to convert academic and theoretical knowledge into professional experience
  • Ability to extensively analyze, discuss and provide a perspective on the tasks performed during the internship or on the field of practice of the company, institution or organization, in relation to relevant literature.
  • Be able to reflect on and apply relevant theories and methods of business administration and sociology in relation to the field of practice of the internship organization. The internship report along with documentation of completion must be submitted after completion of the internship.
  • Ability to integrate theories and methods into analyzing contemporary organizational challenges.
Examination
Internship (15 ECTS):
Exam ECTS 15
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Max. 20 pages
See project manual
Assignment type Report
Duration Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Description of the exam procedure

The Internship Report

Internships provide students with a real life professional learning experience and offer students a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a company, institution or organization that works professionally with issues relating to business administration and sociology. The main objective of internships is to convert academic and theoretical knowledge into professional experience. This must be mirrored in the report.
Hence, the report contains two elements. Firstly, a description of the organization and the internship along with key learning experiences. Secondly, a reflective paper relating the host organization and/or the work completed during the internship to relevant theories, issues or problems from  the BSc Soc curriculum. The formal requirements for the internship and report are available from e-campus.
The report should be between 15 and 20 standard pages (both for 7,5 and  15 ECTS).  The internship report is  graded pass/fail  by one internal examiner (the supervisor). The re-take takes place according to the same rules as the ordinary examination.
 

CBS academic supervisor

The student is responsible for finding a supervisor at CBS from the BSc Soc faculty. The role of the supervisor is to ensure the internship meets the overall requirements and is relevant for the study program. Furthermore, the supervisor can help in framing the topic and content of the internship report. If the student wants to collect data for future projects (e.g. the bachelor project) the supervisor may also be helpful in planning this. The student is entitled to 4 hours supervision (including preparation time for the supervisor). The student is responsible for scheduling meetings and meeting agendas.
 

Pre-approval and Internship Contract

At CBS:The internship must be pre-approved by the course coordinator. The application is to be submitted on the form provided on e-campus (under BSc SOC). Along with this form, two other documents are to be submitted:

 

  1. The internship contract with the organization stating the time period and contract hours of the employment and the host organisation’s description of the extent and nature of the intern’s work and learning processes ,and
  2. A motivational essay (1-3 pages). This must address why the internship is relevant for a BSc in Business Administration and Sociology student and include a preliminary academic hypothesis suitable for examination through the activities the student is engaged in during the internship.

Please read on e-campus how to apply.
Contract with the organization:The student also needs to sign a contract with the host organization prior to the internship. This can be done in collaboration with the supervisor and the mentor and should contain agreements on: tasks, working hours, expectations to the outcome, formal requirements and contact persons. Important issues in this regard are the definition of the work content and the workload. The tasks undertaken by an intern are often related to assisting the organization with their daily work. However, it is a good idea to combine this with a special assignment that can relate to the internship report. This could be an investigation into a specific area of the organization. It is important to state clearly that the content of the work needs to be relevant for the study BSc Soc program and have a business administrative content.

 
Course content and structure

Content

An internship is transferred as elective worth either 7,5 or 15 ECTS and must involvebothjob training and formalized learning processes. It must take place within an existing organization (company, governmental, non-governmental) in which the student is hired by a contract specifying time period and contract hours. The internship is not limited to organizations in Denmark, but can take place in all parts of the world. The duration of the internship depends on the contract, but the total period of employment must be at least 200 hours for a 7,5 ECTS internship and 400 hours for a 15 ECTS internship.
It is important to emphasize that an internship must have an academic content. Projects will not be pre-approved and reports will not pass if it is apparent that the nature of the work has only been practical (coffee making, photo copying etc.). The internship report (see below) must apply relevant theories in analyzing the organization or parts of it.
An internship is to be supervised by a mentor in the organization (primarily for the job training) and by an academic supervisor from CBS. CBS offers 4 hours of supervision (both for 7,5 and  15 ECTS). The students make individual arrangements for supervisors. The overall evaluation of the internship is a 15-20-page internship report (both for 7,5 and  15 ECTS).  The internshipcan be transferred either as business administration electives or as electives of free choice, depending on the content of the internship; if you would like it to be transferred as a business administration elective, you need to include in your motivational essay your arguments for this choice. 
In the initial phase, the student can meet with the internship coordinator for up to 30 minutes to discuss ideas related to the ‘kick-off’ phase of the internship.
It takes time to set up an agreement with an organization on an internship, especially if the internship is abroad. The student needs to engage with relevant organizations as early as possible in order to be able to gain the most of the internship. Some places have very well defined internship arrangements while others may not have had an intern before. Therefore the contract is very important.
 

Funding opportunities

Depending on the organization, there are different potential funding opportunities. Some organizations offer an intern a small salary while others do not. This salary is not much, but certainly worth going for. However, there may a certain rationale in finding the best match disregarding salary.
If the internship is abroad, there are private funds which may support travel expenses etc. ‘Kraks legathåndbog’ is a good database for Danish funds. For this the student needs to start early as many of these funds have deadlines during the spring. The International Office may also be helpful in this regard.
Teaching methods
Supervision from CBS and the organization
Student workload
Internship 412 hours
Report writing and exam 412 hours
Last updated on 16-08-2016