The internship is organised as an education partnership which is regulated by a training contract and reflects the competencies acquired on the programme as a means of deepening the students’ knowledge of the core curriculum subjects in a practical context. “Training partnership” means that the entire programme, from development, application, admissions procedure, content and scheduling of the programme, and including the student’s career planning, will be organised in cooperation with the training company.
The internship is an integral part of the programme: From the third to the sixth semester students will gain practical experience working in a company, in addition to attending courses at the university. Courses taught at the university will be scheduled exclusively for Monday and Tuesday. This allows Wednesday to Friday to be spent working at the partner companies. The internship lasts four semesters, at 15 weeks on a part-time basis each semester. In many instances the internship functions as a stepping stone into employment.
The criteria for evaluating the internship are:
Marks for the supervision seminars for practical phases 1 to 4 will be awarded by the relevant lecturer.
Around 30 companies in Styria are supporting the co-op programme in their role as training companies, employing the students on a part-time basis from their second year onwards.