Elective internship (secondary elective)
International and innovative companies need open-minded people who know how to interact with people from different backgrounds and cultures. An internship in a company or a university abroad is an experience, which helps you achieve those qualities. Experiencing an internship may make it easier to choose for a career in industry or to pursue a PhD position.
What is the workload?
The internship normally takes 30 EC, equivalent to 21 weeks fulltime work. Smaller internships of 15 EC are also possible, but companies look for students opting for a longer stay. If holidays are included, the internship can be extended with the weeks that are counted as leave. It is certainly not our aim to allow internships above 30 EC.
Important: you need a specific internship contract (UNL or EAIE) before you start
You need to fill out an internship contract and send it via email to science.internshipcontracts@uu.nl. See more information in the dropdown below.
You need to fill out an internship contract and send it via email to science.internshipcontracts@uu.nl
The following general rules apply:
- For internship in the Netherlands the UU prescribes the Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) internship contract (Dutch version/English version)
- The EAIE contract is preferred for an external elective internship outside of the Netherlands.
- If the host organisation has their own internship contract, please contact the internship contract coordinator via science.internshipcontracts@uu.nl.
- In all cases the signature of the internship contract coordinator is needed. If the UU is no party in the host organisation agreement the approval of the internship contract coordinator remains necessary. In some cases an appendix to this kind of agreement has to be drafted and signed by all parties.
- Similarly to the application for the Research Project, the application for the elective internship is processed through Osiris. You submit a request via Osiris Student. Please select ‘My Cases’, ‘Start Case’ and then ‘Internship Nanomaterials Science’, fill in the application form and upload the internship contract.
Please note, that there can only be one internship contract, so please discuss this with the host organisation carefully. We advise students to first discuss their internship (contract) with their supervisor before signing.
In the past, students went to the USA (New York, Louisiana, Berkeley), Australia (Sydney), Asia (Singapore) and Europe (Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, Dublin, Paris, Lund, Zaragoza, Roskilde, Zürich). Students visited companies like Philips Research Eindhoven, Akzo Nobel, Dow Benelux, MSD Oss, FOM, Technip Benelux, ECN Petten, DSM Geleen, TNO, Teijn Aramid BV, Albemarl and Pneumotec Moers.
Our researchers have extensive contacts all over the world, inside and outside academia. So talk to professors, postdocs and PhD candidates in the group where you do your master’s research. Larger companies have their special websites for students looking for internships. You may also find leads to internships through Career Services of our faculty and the UU page Internships. If you are interested in going abroad for your internship, visit the Internship or research abroad pages and learn about procedures and financial issues.
If you are a foreign student and intend to go abroad, you need to comply with certain rules concerning your residence permit: i.e. your grade can only be validated if you are residing in the Netherlands. Do not change your official Dutch domicile to a location abroad during your studies without knowing the consequences. For more information, go to the Science International Office.
You can only start an internship after you have finished all other courses of the master’s programme. If you want to go abroad, keep in mind that you need to make preparation well in advance.
You need to fill out an internship contract and send it via email to science.internshipcontracts@uu.nl
The following general rules apply:
- For internship in the Netherlands the UU prescribes the Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) internship contract (Dutch version/English version)
- The EAIE contract is preferred for an external elective internship outside of the Netherlands.
- If the host organisation has their own internship contract, please contact the internship contract coordinator via science.internshipcontracts@uu.nl.
- In all cases the signature of the internship contract coordinator is needed. If the UU is no party in the host organisation agreement the approval of the internship contract coordinator remains necessary. In some cases an appendix to this kind of agreement has to be drafted and signed by all parties.
- Similarly to the application for the Research Project, the application for the elective internship is processed through Osiris. You submit a request via Osiris Student. Please select ‘My Cases’, ‘Start Case’ and then ‘Internship Nanomaterials Science’, fill in the application form and upload the internship contract.
Please note, that there can only be one internship contract, so please discuss this with the host organisation carefully. We advise students to first discuss their internship (contract) with their supervisor before signing.
You will be guided by a supervisor of the host company, university or institute. From a distance, you will also be guided by an Utrecht University supervisor who will approve the content of the internship and is fully responsible for the quality of the internship.
There is not much difference between the research of an internship and the master research. We expect you to write an internship report which follows the structure of a research report. Compared to the master research it will be smaller in size as there are less credits and time allocated to it. You will also give a presentation.
Your UU-supervisor will grade your internship based on the input received from the host supervisor, your report and your presentation by filling in the assessment form in Osiris Case. Preferably, you invite him/her for the presentation. It is also possible to hold two presentations if you are abroad: at your host institution and at the lab of your Utrecht supervisor upon your return to Utrecht. For the assessment of an internship there is a separate assessment form.
The assessment criteria for a 30 EC internship are the following:
- Process: 15 EC or 50%
- Presentation: 5 EC or 17%
- Written report: 10 EC or 33%
Additional details about the assessment criteria can be found in these rubrics.
Confidentiality issues
In many cases, companies are working on new techniques/methods and are developing new materials. This information is confidential and you will have to comply with its confidentiality. However, your Utrecht supervisor needs to grade your written work. A solution to share confidential information is to have the company draft a NDA document signed by those persons who agree to comply with the company’s rules about confidentiality.
The internship report will be published in Osiris and should be complemented by a check for plagiarism. Publication under embargo is an option. When confidentiality is an issue, a second version of the report needs to be written excluding the confidential information prior to publication (under embargo) at Osiris.