ECN334 Internship in Economics
Credits (ECTS):10
Course responsible:Silja Marianna Korhonen-Sande
Campus / Online:Taught campus Ås
Teaching language:Engelsk
Limits of class size:The limit on the number of students in internships is 5. Students can work individually or in pairs as per the contractual arrangement with the external partner.
Course frequency:Annually
Nominal workload:250 hours of which: two-thirds of the time is spent on work related to activities on the tasks; and one-third of the time is for preparation of meetings and the final report (and presentation if required).
Teaching and exam period:This course starts in Autumn parallel. This course has teaching/evaluation in Autumn parallel.
About this course
The internship is a mean of demonstrating the relevance of the knowledge and skills from the study program to work life, and for the student to gain work experience in the process. The student will work with an external partner organization (EPO), a private firm or public agency, on an agreed set of work tasks to be performed, the deadlines for deliverables, and the duration of the internship. Through the student's initiative with the EPO's guidance and a faculty member's supervision, the student will apply their knowledge and skills to address an identified problem with the EPO's interests.
A student can earn internship credits working with an EPO in two manners. First, the student, through their own initiative, can find an EPO that is willing to host and work with them during the internship. Second, the student applies for an internship with an EPO with which the School of Economics and Business has already entered into an agreement. To ensure the academic content of the internship, the student must find an academic supervisor who will approve the academic work plan and supervise the tasks according to that plan.
The course consists of an internship period for 12-13 weeks during the Autumn semester where the student is present at the organization at least two days per week throughout the internship period. There are two aspects associated with the internship:
1. The student must complete the assigned tasks specified in the terms of the internship (work-related tasks and deliverables, if relevant).
2. Students must complete the academic tasks (if different than the work-related internship tasks) that are specified in the study plan of the internship project developed in collaboration with the academic supervisor (e.g., consultation meetings, interim assignments, and submission of a final project report). An oral presentation of the final report can also be required. These activities require approval by the faculty supervisor. Finally, a self-reflection report on what was learned may also be required as well as an evaluation of the experience.
Learning outcome
The student must demonstrate that the work-related tasks assigned by the EPO have academic relevance to the knowledge and skills that the student has learned and developed through their study program.
Knowledge:
After completing the internship, the student shall have:
- Gained insight into the daily operations of an organization, and the practical challenges and opportunities that face it;
- Developed renewed awareness of the relevance of the study program, and the courses and specializations therein, to understand and address a real-world problem through the application of theory and methods to the specific context of the internship.
Skills:
During the internship, the student shall:
- Develop the ability to carry out work tasks as specified in the work plan within the contract;
- Gain work experience and demonstrate the ability to work independently on tasks to meet agree deadlines; and
- Seek out, identify and acquire research-based knowledge relevant to practical problem solving.
General competence:
Through the internship, the student shall:
- Improve written and communication skills; and
- Interact with work colleagues and consult with an advisor to solve a problem and reflect on his/her own professional development.
- Prepare a research plan and work independently on the tasks related to that plan and submit deliverables as specified in the project description (as per the contractual arrangement with the partner organization and the School).
- Independent accomplishment of work tasks as defined in the project description. Internship can take place in a private or public sector organization. The student will work on tasks related to the student's specialization in the Applied Economics and Sustainability studies, and participate in the daily work to be familiar with the organization.
- Follow up meetings with the assigned supervisor. Frequency and form of the meetings is discussed in the beginning of the course.
- Prepare and deliver a final report that relates the problem of the organization with the skills and knowledge received in coursework and the literature reviewed during the internship.
- The contact person in the external partner organization will oversee day-to-day work tasks related to the organization. The student will follow up the the faculty supervisor at the School of Economics and Business to ensure progress on the interim tasks and the preparation of the final report. The student can expect at least three consultation session for a minimum of four hours of supervision. E-mail consultations will also be an appropriate means of communicating with the supervisor and receiving feedback.
- The student must have completed one year of their study program under Master in Applied Economics and Sustainability program.
Final report accounts for 100% of the grade. Oral presentation may be required. Grading is Pass/Fail. No re-examination is being offered in this course.
The language of the internship can be in English and/or Norwegian, as per specified in the contractual agreement.
Report Grading: Passed / Not Passed- An external examiner evaluates the syllabus and the assessment method.
- Work at the external partner organization (confirmation/attestation), follow-up with the appointed supervisor. The internship agreement must be accepted before the course enrollment. The mandatory activities are valid only for one semester.
- There are no lectures, exercises or exam as part of the internship research. The internship is independent, self study with minimal supervision. The student is expected to be present at the external partner organization as per the conditions specified in the contractual agreement. The student is expected to meet agree deadlines and submit deliverables.
- BUS334 (10 ECTS), ECN333 (5 ECTS), INN331 (10 ECTS)
The course is for 2nd year students in Master in Applied Economics and Sustainability.
The internship contract (including the project description) must be approved before course enrollment.