Finding an internship abroad
An internship abroad allows you to make use of the specialist knowledge you have acquired during your studies and gain some initial career experience while immersing yourself in a different culture.
Compulsory or voluntary internship?
If your degree program includes a compulsory internship, you will be able to do it abroad— just ask your department for advice. The examination or study regulations or the module guide for your degree program will tell you whether this involves a compulsory internship and, if so, what criteria need to be met for your internship to be recognized. Also, be aware that you are not permitted to take any semesters on leave in order to guarantee recognition of a compulsory internship.
The University does not impose any particular requirements on a voluntary internship, so you should agree its objectives, content and length with your host company.
Finding a suitable internship abroad
You can either search internship boards for vacancies or get proactive and send off speculative applications to companies yourself.
You should be aware of the differences between commercial and non-commercial internship boards and placement agencies. Do your research on the costs and contractual terms and conditions imposed by providers and what services they offer.
Internship boards and placement services
- List maintained by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) (only available in German) showing various internship boards
- ErasmusIntern.org
- Eurodesk which provides tips and contacts
- Web pages of the German Chambers of Commerce Abroad
- Career-Contact (only available in German), which has details of jobs and internships all over the world
- Internship opportunities worldwide, including country information and personal reports—www.praktikumsanzeigen.info (only available in German)
- Job and internship board run by the University of Bonn Career Service
- Drop’pin@EURES
- Auslandskarriere (only available in German)
- ZAV (Zentrale Auslands- und Fachvermittlung, Germany’s central service for foreign and specialist placements; only available in German)
- GIZ (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Germany’s international development agency)
- ASA Program (work and study placements)
- AIESEC — Association internationale des étudiants en sciences économiques et commerciales
- Agricultural sciences: German Farmers’ Association
- Archaeology: Archaeological Institute
- Business administration and economics: AIESEC Global Talent — Association internationale des étudiants en sciences économiques et commerciales
- Humanities: institutes of the Max Weber Foundation
- Teaching degrees:
Partner schools worldwide
PAD (Pädagogischer Austauschdienst) - Medicine: bvmd (Bundesvereinigung der Medizinstudierenden in Deutschland, or the German Medical Students Association; only available in German)
- Dentistry: zad (Zahnmedizinischer Austauschdienst, or the German Association for Exchange of Dental Students; only available in German)
Programs and services
IAESTE — International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience
Finds internships in different countries all over the world for natural sciences students; living expenses covered by a wage; on-site support; application deadline every December.
Carlo-Schmid-Program
Offers internship placements in international organizations sourced from a database that is built again from scratch every year; pays a scholarship allowance and an advance on travel expenses; application deadline every March.
Learn more (only available in German)
RISE worldwide
Scheme geared towards bachelor’s students on natural science degree programs; research internships available all over the world; pays a scholarship allowance; application deadline every December.
DAAD Lehramt International
Students enrolled on teaching degrees can obtain scholarships for internships lasting between one month (at least 30 days) and six months at foreign schools; application deadlines in early March, June and October every year.
Learn more (only available in German)
FGYO (French-German Youth Office)
Funding is available for compulsory internships in France for students of all subjects. The internships will be recognized as part of the students’ bachelor’s degree program at their home university and can last from one to three months.
Applying for an internship abroad
If you are interested in an internship that is being advertised on a board or that has been sourced by an organization, you will generally find specific information on the necessary application documents in the relevant ad.
Tip: read the relevant country information on the DAAD web pages before firing off a speculative application.
Process and tips
- Find the right person to contact. For instance, you could get in touch with the HR department at your chosen company.
- Introduce yourself and explain what you are looking for.
- Ask how the application process works.
- In your cover letter, refer back to previous emails, phone calls or the ad.
- A “convention de stage” will often be required for an internship in France. This document regulates matters such as insurance, privacy and data protection in particular. If they do not fill in this document and have it signed by their home university, students will not usually be able to embark on their internship in France.
- This is partly because interns in France usually remain covered for accident insurance via their home university. In Germany, by contrast, accident insurance will only be provided via the university while the student is actually present there. This is clearly not the case during an internship abroad, and they will need to take out private accident insurance for the duration of their stay in France.
- An internship agreement may also be needed in other countries, such as Spain or Belgium.
- Many host companies will require contracts with their own wording to be signed. These cannot be signed at the University of Bonn. You can obtain a template for an internship agreement only for compulsory internships prepared by the legal counsel at the University of Bonn by emailing convention@verwaltung.uni-bonn.de
- Tip: ask your host company in advance whether you yourself will need to ensure sufficient health, liability and accident insurance cover.
- If so, you can contact private-sector providers or, in some cases, take out combined health, accident and personal liability insurance under the DAAD’s group policy.
- Cover letters should not be more than one page long.
- What role are you applying for?
- Why did you choose this institution in particular?
- What key elements of your degree program make you a suitable candidate for this internship?
- What skills and experience do you bring to the table? You should also mention any extracurricular engagement.
- What would you like to learn?
- When would you need your internship to take place?
- Say that you would be delighted to attend a face-to-face interview.
The Career Service at the University of Bonn can provide advice on the application process.
Find out about the general conditions for the internship. Although it is not strictly necessary to sign a written contract for an internship, all parties may benefit from having the key points covered in such a contract:
- Length of the internship
- Working hours
- Duties and area of work
- Rights and obligations of the contracting parties
- Termination arrangements
- Insurance cover
- Details of remuneration if relevant
Contact
Anne Bredendiek
0.003
Poppelsdorfer Allee 53
53115 Bonn (Germany)
Office hours
Please book an appointment via eCampus
- Monday
10:00 am - 12:30 pm - Wednesday (by phone or Zoom)
02:00 - 04:00 pm - and by arrangement