Compulsory Internship
The compulsory internship in the sixth semester of Bachelor of Engineering programmes is about practicing what you have learned - the theory must now be tested in relation to concrete challenges in a company. It is an exciting period, where the key word is development: You gain a solid understanding of your the areas of work you can deal with after your studies. This is precisely the core of the Bachelor of Engineering programme: you don't just study the theory, you get to use it simultaneously!The engineering internship is an integral part of the Bachelor of Engineering programmes and has a duration of at least 20 weeks (=100 working days) full-time (min. 37 hours per week), corresponding to 30 ECTS points. It is normally completed in the 6th semester of the programme. In the spring semester, the internship must be completed in the period from 1 February to 31 August, and in the autumn semester, the internship must be completed in the period from 1 July to 31 January. A deviation from these dates requires a dispensation by the Academic Study Board.
Your Development
As an intern, you get a comprehensive insight into how a company works - at many levels. The tasks you will be given are adapted to the knowledge you have and the wishes you have to develop yourself professionally. You will become even better at communicating, planning, development and completion of assignments you have been introduced to during your previous projects and courses.
The internship can also become a springboard that provides good ideas for your final project. Many collaborate with their previous internship company during the final project. And there are also countless success stories that the internship even ends with a permanent job after graduation. The trend is clear: Engineers are becoming more and more in demand, it can happen to you too!
Internship
You must have passed all courses in the first four semesters of the Bachelor of Engineering programme before you can participate in the internship. You must apply for a dispensation if you do not meet this requirement and you still wish to participate in the internship. Please be aware that the practice of the Academic Study Board is restrictive in this regard.
If you do not meet the prerequisites to participate in the internship, and you have not been granted a dispensation from the prerequisites, your internship contract is invalid and it will be cancelled by SDU.
The engineering internship must be carried out in a public or private company in Denmark or abroad. The company must be able to offer you internship assignments with work content that is relevant to your study programme.
You must find the internship yourself.
Here are a number of hints if you look for an internship in Denmark:
- Keep informed in the SDU Jobbank. Create a profile / job agent and you will receive a notification when there is "something similar", but otherwise you can look for internship postings in the "internship category" and the other categories. The search is subsequently narrowed down to work areas and geography.
- Actively participate in SDU Internship and Project Day in Odense or Student Collaboration Day in Sønderborg. Twice a year, companies are invited to meet engineering students on campus to start a dialogue about internships or projects.
- Make a sharp professional profile on LinkedIn, so you can be "found" by relevant companies.
- Internship positions can be found on companies' websites, so take a look at these as well.
- Be inspired to "real jobs" advertised in job portals such as Jobindex.dk, Jobnet.dk or LinkedIn.
- Ask your Internship Coordinator for an overview of internship sites for previous interns on your programme.
- Participate in virtual career fairs at SDU Jobbank or physical career fairs organized by external actors.
- Participate in relevant trade fairs to meet companies.
Companies which have not previously had engineering interns from SDU, must be approved. Companies can find information about Internships for Bachelors of Engineering.
Prepare a motivated application with accompanying CV targeted at each specific posting - do not use a standard for all postings, this is considered "lazy" and unengaged. You can get assistance for writing your applications and CV from Career Guidance.
Carefully consider what is important for your internship: The best professional place? The best salary? The shortest distance from your home? Other things? If you are very limited in your geographical search, you may opt out of your professional development....
And remember that internships in Denmark for Bachelors of Engineering are paid, so in the first place ignore advertisements about unpaid internships - you won't get it approved until all other options have been applied for. (NOTE that other rules apply for internships abroad.)
In the exceptional cases where an unpaid internship in Denmark is approved, a so-called acknowledgment may not stated in the internship contract! An acknowledgment cannot be agreed in advance.
You can only make one internship contract. We therefore recommend that you enter into the official internship contract in December at the earliest for internships which start in February, and in July/August for stays which start in September.
The contract is filled out in spoc ( -> Study Secretariat -> Bachelor of Engineering forms).
The contract automatically calculates the official holidays in Denmark so that they are included in the minimum 100 days, the internship lasts.
Once you have completed your contract, it is automatically sent to your internship coordinator and your internship company for approval. When everyone has approved, you and the internship company will receive an email with a link to the approved internship contract.
Please note that you may NOT start your internship before the contract has been concluded. This is because the contract is the legal basis for the internship itself, insurance conditions and SDU's approval of your internship. If you have questions about the internship contract, please contact your internship coordinator.
Please note that you cannot enter the internship contract until SDU has registered that you have passed courses corresponding to 120 ECTS points, and that you cannot start the internship before you have passed all courses on the first 4 semesters, cf. the section"Prerequisites for Participating in the Internship" above .
The applicationfor work permission must be made at Nyidanmark -> Study -> Work permit for internship.
Please note that you should have an approved internship contract before you apply for the work permission.
Once your contract has been approved by the company, changes to it cannot be made by you. Therefore, if
- you get a new company supervisor
- there should be made changes to your salary
- there should be added/made changes to planned holiday(s) during the internship
- there should be made changes to the start or finishing dates
please contact the internship administration by sending an e-mail to studienaevn@tek.sdu.dk. Please remember to attach the company's written approval to the changes.
If you are ill for a longer period than a total of 10 working days, your relationship to the company is not good, or other problems arise, please contact
- your SDU internship supervisor
- the internship administration studienaevn@tek.sdu.dk
You must write a report of your internship. The report must contain:
- Front page
- Contents
- Description of the company and its structure (½-1 page)
- Description of the tasks you have been engaged with (approx. 1-4 pages)
- A concluding assessment of the internship, including a thorough reflection of the following:
- The qualifications and training you, as an intern, have acquired during the internship
- The relationship between the theory formation of the study programme, on the one hand, and the practice that you have experienced during your internship on the other (approx. 2 pages)
The report must be submitted via DigitalEksamen, no later than February 8 / August 11, depending on whether you did an internship in the autumn or spring semester. When you submit your internship report project in DigitalEksamen, you will be asked to enter a title for the activity. Please enter the name of the company here if you want it to appear on your diploma.
The SDU internship supervisor must announce by 15 February / 18 August at the latest whether the report can be approved or whether changes/additions are needed. You then have one week to do this.
- If your internship period deviates from the normal deadlines, you must still hand in the internship report on 8 February / 11 August, if your internship ends or no later than 5 March / 5 September. If your internship ends later, and you wish for a postponement in the submission date, you must apply the Academic Study Board for a postponement of the submission deadline for the internship report, as well as possible postponed writing period for the final project.