As a rule, it is necessary to try to find an internship yourself - your initiative is crucial here!
In order to be successful in your internship search, you should first specify your priorities. Think about the area in which you would like to work and the language in which you would like to complete the internship. Once you have defined this for yourself, please consider when you would like to do your desired internship. This is especially relevant if you would like to apply for a monthly scholarships.
Especially for internship overseas, the application process may need more planning time in advance. Some internship programmes are only advertised once per year, for certain scholarships you have to apply 9-12 months in advance. PROMOS is advertised at the THM twice a year, inform yourself ahead of time. ERASMUS+ internship funding, on the other hand, can be applied for no later than 4 weeks prior to the start of the internship.
Helpful Resources and Information
Brochure "Internship Abroad - How it Works: Facts and Tips" (in German)
Information from the DAAD (in German)
Information from Studieren Weltweit (in German)
German Trade Union
Combining study abroad and internship
What to look for in placement agencies (in German)
Job search - Where can I find an internship abroad
- EU Placements
- Databases
- Auslandskarriere.de (in German)
- EURES
- ESN database
- German Chambers of Commerce Abroad
- United Nations Careers
- Eurodesk
- EuroBrussels
- career.unicum.com (in German)
- meinpraktikum.de (in German)
- globalplacement.com
- praktikumsanzeigen.info (in German)
- Linked In, Monster, Stepstone
- RausVonZuhaus (in German)
...
- Internship officers, departmental coordinators & professors of your department
- Testimonials from students
- Fellow students who have already completed an internship abroad
- Industry and professional associations (e.g. VDI etc.)
- Visits to trade fairs (e.g. Hannovermesse, Cebit, Medica, contact fairs)
- Placement agencies
- Kopra - free placement for internships in Asia
- ISPO - free placement in UK weltwärts (with costs)
- AIESEC (fee required, in German)
- Steuben-Schurz Society USA (fee required, in German)
Apply correctly abroad
Different countries, different customs: this also applies to applications. Adapt your application documents to the customs of your target country to increase your chances of being accepted for an internship. Check out the following resources for helpful, country-specific advice:
Financial Aid
Under the menu item Programmes and Financial aid, you can find numerous funding opportunities. Contact us - we will be happy to assist you in selecting the right funding programme for you.
Insurance
Before you start your stay abroad, you need to clarify whether and to what extent you are insured. This includes health, accident and personal liability insurance. With the European Health Insurance Card, the national health insurance generally also offers basic insurance cover for a stay in another EU country. However, the coverage provided by the European Health Insurance Card or private insurance may be insufficient, especially if repatriation or special medical procedures are needed. For such cases, supplementary private insurance may be useful.
Information on internships abroad with ERASMUS+
Participation in the Erasmus programme does not include any insurance cover. In this case, it makes sense to be insured by the group insurance with the German Academic Exchange Service. It includes health, accident and personal liability insurance. Further information on group insurance can be found on the DAAD website.
Compulsory for an internship abroad:
- Internationally valid health insurance (incl. medically necessary repatriation and repatriation costs in the event of death).
- Only students who have statutory student insurance and are doing a remunerated voluntary internship abroad must temporarily deregister in Germany and take out local health insurance in the destination country.
- In addition to health insurance: Foreign health insurance cover for pandemic cases
- Liability insurance: Liability insurance covers damage caused by the participant during the stay abroad (regardless of whether the participant is at work or not). Different liability regulations apply in the individual countries participating in transnational mobility for internships. Interns therefore run the risk of not being covered. If the host country's national rules do not make such cover compulsory, it cannot be requested from the host institution.
- Accident insurance: This insurance covers damage to employees caused by accidents at work. In many countries, employees are insured for accidents at work. However, the extent to which transnational interns are covered by the same insurance may differ between countries participating in transnational mobility programmes. If the host institution does not provide such protection (which cannot be required if it is not mandated by the national regulations of the host country), the programme participant must take out insurance cover on their own initiative.
| Statutory family insurance | Student private insurance | Student statutory insurance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compulsory-internship | without pay | insurance in Germany with EU insurance card | ||
| with pay | insurance in Germany with EU insurance carde | |||
| Voluntary internship | without pay | insurance in Germany with EU insurance card | ||
| With pay | insurance in Germany with EU insurance card | Temporary deregistration in Germany and health insurance in destination country | ||
Recognition of your internship abroad
Before you start your internship abroad, you must clarify the recognition of the placement period with your department. You can apply for recognition for both compulsory and voluntary internships from your internship officer. You can also have a voluntary internship recognised as an elective module.
Document: Recognition of internship in the department
On the website of the Examination Office, the recognition and objection procedures are described in a standardised manner at the university and the documents to be submitted are available for download.
Information on the Diploma Supplement can be found here:
General Regulations:
https://www.thm.de/site/thm-dokumente/studium/modulhandbuecher-studien-und-pruefungsordnungen-studienganginfos/allgemeine-bestimmungen.html
Appeals procedure: Should problems with recognition arise, you can find out about the appeals procedure (in German) and lodge an appeal with the relevant complaints offices.
The THM's anti-corruption officer is Ingmar Böffel (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).