Company internships
The University Internship (TU) is part of the educational curriculum and involves the acquisition of a predetermined number of credits. For the Degree Course in Automation Engineering, “Ord. 270” (D.M. 270/2004), the credits assigned are 15 ECTS. Each traineeship is assigned a reference number called “code”.
A student can carry out two types of internship: curricular mandatory or curricular non-mandatory. The term “curricular” refers to the fact that the internship is carried out by a student enrolled in the Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree program at Politecnico. Mandatory internships are included in the study plan and give 15 ECTS (B.Sc. Degree only). Non-mandatory internships are not included in the study plan and do not give any ECTS.
There exist also extra-curricular internships, carried out after the completion of the B.Sc. or M.Sc. Degree. Information about the latter can be found here.
Prof. Luca Ferrarini and Prof. Fredy Ruiz Palacios are the professors of the Board of Studies in Automation Engineering devoted to the management of traineeships, whose duties are:
- Approve the traineeship offers, available on the University internship service portal or proposed by the student, based on their quality.
- Approve / Assign Academic Tutors.
- Provide a student orientation service.
The academic tutor has a role of control and guarantee. The choice of the Tutor depends on the subject of the internship. All teachers of the Polytechnic can be Tutors, even if they have never been teachers of the student.
As a rule, the student directly contacts the most appropriate teachers according to the subject of the internship, and communicates it to a delegated teacher. If the student cannot independently find an Academic Tutor available, he can ask the delegated teachers for help.
It is emphasized that a TU request can only refer to an activity yet to be undertaken and not for the recognition of an activity already carried out.
Activation of the internship
PHASE 1: Procedure for identifying and starting internship
- Type A: TU available on the University Internship Service portal (career service).
- The student chooses an internship among the offers on the internship portal managed by the Career Service of the Politecnico di Milano and signs up for the interview for TU selected. The secretarial activities of the traineeship, and therefore of bureaucratic management, are carried out by the Training Area and specifically by the “Career Service Stage”.
- Once the interview is over, after obtaining the internship code and the start / end date of the same, the student presents the proposal to the delegated teacher for approval, together with the proposal of Academic Tutor. Clearly, approval is subject to the agreement between the student and the teacher who will act as tutor. At this point, the student receives the Training Project. It must be signed by the Academic Tutor, the Company Tutor and the student himself, and then it must be sent via email to tirocini-automazione-deib@polimi.it, at least 2 working days before TU start date.
- At this point, the student can begin TU.
- Type B: Autonomous search for TU proposal. If the type talks have failed and / or the proposals on the Politecnico stage portal are not considered interesting, the student can independently seek an offer from another company (of which he is not an employee). However, in this case, the proposal must be approved by the delegate professor and the procedure is as follows:
- The student presents to the delegated teacher, during his reception hours or preferably by mail, a written proposal, written by the Company on headed paper (or sent by company email address), containing the following information: Company data — data of the student — description of the traineeship and tasks of the student — expected duration, beginning and end, possible Academic Tutor.
- If the delegated teacher approves the proposal and approves / assigns an Academic Tutor (also in this case the approval is subject to the agreement between the student and the teacher who will act as tutor), the student can continue with the completion of the practices; otherwise it must look for a new TU proposal.
- Once the proposal has been approved, if the company already has an agreement with the Politecnico, it must insert the offer on the website of the University Internship Service following the procedure for the insertion with the candidate already selected. After registration, the proposal will be read again and evaluated (having already been accepted to suggest sending mail to the delegated teacher who approved it with the code of the internship in order to speed up the approval). If the company does not have an agreement with the Politecnico, it must first contact the University Career Service office to activate the Convention.
- Once the internship has been approved, the student can follow the standard procedure.
- Type B (employees): If the student is already employed by the Company, the procedure is instead the following:
- In this case, the prior approval of the CCS is required, which is obtained by sending a written training proposal, written by the Company on headed paper, containing the following information: Company data — student data — description of the traineeship and tasks of the student — expected duration, beginning and end, name and business function of the Company Tutor.
- The delegated teacher, by delegation of the CCS, proceeds to evaluate the proposal. The practice becomes the responsibility of the CCS and not the internship service, therefore the student will not qualify as an early trainee, but as an employee; it follows that his situation will be managed separately.
PHASE 2: Conduct of the Internship / Internship
- The trainee performs the activity of TU at the company’s headquarters in the times and in the ways specified in the approved Training Project.
- Major changes in the activities and methods of execution must be agreed with the Academic Tutor and reported to the CS delegate.
- Any changes in the duration of TU in progress must be agreed with the academic tutors, the company and the delegated professor.
Once the variation has been confirmed, the Company will have to inform the “Career Service Stage” of the change for updating the Training Project.
PHASE 3: Conclusion of the Internship
- At the end of TU, the student prepares the final Traineeship Report (form that can be downloaded from the portal). The student also prepares an additional report, at least 30 pages, in free format, which must be approved by the Company Tutor.
- The Company Tutor completes his own Final Traineeship Report (form downloadable from the portal).
- The student presents to the Academic Tutor the final Traineeship Report and the additional report (signed in original) and the envelope with the final report of the Company Tutor who can proceed with the assignment of the traineeship credits through the traineeship portal. In his absence, the student will deliver the 3 documents above to the Student Office.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is there a minimum duration and a maximum of a TU ?
The minimum duration is 480 hours, or 3 months full time. The maximum duration 12 months. Generally, we do not recommend a TU over 6 months.
When can I start TU ?
The CCS does not place restrictions on the start date. This depends on the agreements between the student and the company. The only constraint is on the minimum duration. Indeed, it is not mandatory to do it during the semester of insertion in the study plan. There are no restrictions on the number of credits incurred beforehand.
What are the requirements to be able to do a TU ?
There are no constraints on the minimum number of credits to be achieved to carry out the traineeship or on the average. This does not mean that a company can select among several candidates also based on these parameters.
Am I obliged to carry out TU full time ? In addition, if I have to take courses, how can I do ?
The CCS does not impose constraints on the way in which TU is distributed. This depends on the agreements between the student and the company. The only constraint is on the minimum duration in hours (480). If the number of weekly hours is between 21 and 40, we talk about full time, if less than 20 we talk about part-time.
To follow the courses during the day, could I take a few hours of my TU in the evening or on Saturday?
The legal training can be done only on weekdays, from Monday to Friday, at most for 8 hours a day excluding lunchtime, during the day, therefore from 7 am to 9 pm as extremes.
Where can I carry out TU ?
TU was invented to expose the student to the business reality already in the university period. Therefore, typically it is done in a company. It can be done both in Italy and outside Italy.
How long before the date of the degree exam must I finish TU ?
TU, like the exams, must be registered in the student career by the final date scheduled for the exams. The School publishes these dates.
My TU is mandatory or optional.
Mandatory means with credits, while optional means without credits.
Should I look for the Academic Tutor ?
Yes. The delegated professor assigns the Academic Tutor, but it is the student who must take care of contacting him and looking for his availability. The student must contact (in person, telephone or mail) a professor who teaches courses and carries out research activities “close” to the topics of TU. For simplicity it is advisable, although not mandatory, to start with professors of the CCS Automation Engineering. The professors are prepared to understand the requests of TU and informed about the procedures to be followed. In case of problems you can contact the delegate (SAT — Academic Faculty structure).
I entered TU in my study plan, but I cannot find any company that will host me for an internship. What can I do ?
Inserting TU into the study plan is a free choice, not an obligation. Companies are also not forced to host all students who apply. In this case the student must therefore change the study plan as soon as possible (generally, in the following semester) replacing TU with new courses, not previously included, whose credits correspond to the value of TU (15.0). The company search typically lasts 1–3 months.
I entered TU in my study plan, but the SAT delegate did not approve the proposal I received independently from a company.
You have two possibilities: 1) to search for a new proposal independently or through the Politecnico portal, and present it to the SAT Delegate for approval; 2) change the curriculum as soon as possible, generally, in the following semester) replacing TU with new courses, not included previously.
I am a Master’s degree student. Can I do a TU ?
Technically not. TU is foreseen in the study plan for a three-year degree only. However, he can do an internship, or a period of training in the company, with zero credits. In addition, the internship, as any activity managed by Politecnico di Milno, must have a professor associated with it. For organizational simplicity, it was decided to equate the management and the bureaucracy of the internships with the optional TUs.
I am a Master’s Degree student. Can I do a thesis with an internship ?
The thesis is an activity independent of the stage. However, nothing prevents the thesis supervisor and the Academic Tutor of an internship from being the same person. However, remember that the stage / TU is an activity regulated by law and therefore it is not possible, for example, to do an internship just to make a one-week visit to a company.
What is meant by extra-curricular internship ?
An internship carried out outside the student curriculum, that is, carried out after graduation.
Who manages the internships ?
The compulsory placements are managed by the SAT / CCS of Automation Engineering. The delegates are Prof. Luca Ferrarini (luca.ferrarini@polimi.it) for type B internships (independently searched) and prof. Fredy Ruiz Palacios (fredy.ruiz@polimi.it) for type A internships (available on the Career Service portal). Documents can be delivered and collected at the Student Office, DEIB ground floor, building 20 (tirocini-automazione-deib@polimi.it).
The optional placements are managed by the Career Service (+39 02.2399.2535, careerservice.stage@polimi.it).