Internship
In this post, we are going to talk about one of the requirements of the double degree; the internship. In order to get a master’s degree from Kedge Business School, it is required to complete a 6 months internship. The only two requirements for the internship are that it needs to last for 6 months minimum, and it needs to be in the field of business. Other things, such as where, how and when, is for you to choose! Therefore, no need to stress too much about it. The internship will not necessarily prolong your graduation from the University of Vaasa, especially in case you choose to write the thesis before doing the internship.
Practicalities of the internship
The student can freely decide where and in which company to complete this internship. Therefore, this is a perfect opportunity to go abroad and explore an extra country, in case an interesting position would be open in another country, and as it is only a 6 months period, it does not require a long commitment. The only thing that can cause some difficulties, can be the process to find and get an internship, depending on the place or country. For example, for exchange students, an internship can be more complicated to get in France, especially in smaller cities. The biggest issue is the language; many companies require good (at least B2 level) French skills in order to get a job in France. On the other hand, it is possible to get an internship in Paris in a rather large, international company, where English is the common language. Actually, in some companies, the recruiters can highly appreciate a full proficiency level in English! You only need to find the right company.
This internship does not necessarily need to be an internship position. What this means, is that for example after writing the thesis, you might want to get a permanent job position instead of a lower-paid internship. Therefore, you can get a permanent job and, then only get a certificate from the company to prove that you have worked in the position for 6 months. This is a good opportunity in case the master’s thesis is already done. The other option is to get a certificate from a summer trainee job, however, the job needs to last 6 months in a row. In my case, I will complete the internship from my extended ”summer” trainee job, which will continue at least until the 6 months period.
How to find an internship?
Kedge Business School works closely with big French companies as well as international companies, and exchange students have a great opportunity to benefit from these relationships. Also, Kedge has a Career Center that supports finding an internship and provides support even for CV updating. Also, Kedge Business School posts a lot of job offerings on their Facebook page, so by actively following the social media can also help to get a job. Also, the exchange year is a period of networking when you get to know a lot of new people from different backgrounds, so why not to benefit from these new friends, you never know whether someone of them works or have worked in an interesting company or has some ideas just for you! A good option is also to go back to Finland and try to find an internship in an already familiar company. It is not needed to complete this internship necessarily abroad. For example what I did, was to go back to my previous company in Finland, where I had worked as a summer trainee the previous summer. This option was not bad at all, especially after spending an intensive year in France. In addition, I could continue form where I stopped last year, and now after completing half of the internship, I can tell that I have learned a lot more and got a lot out of this experience already.
When to complete the internship?
What is a positive thing with this internship, is that the student can decide when to complete it. For example, the master’s thesis can be written before or after the internship. Taking an example; Sini has chosen to write the thesis first and then get an internship, whereas for me I had the opportunity to complete the internship before writing the thesis. None of these options is better than the other, you choose what works for you the best, and you’re good to go! Wherever and whenever you choose to do the internship, it will definitely give you some valuable experience and prepare you in your future career.
Don’t hesitate to leave a comment or ask for more detailed information about the internship! And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram @projectdoubledegree for more content!
Mari & Sini