BIZ internships in Finland

Some internships, especially in non-profit organizations and Finnish state organizations in Finland, might require internship support from the university to make the intenship possible. By supporting internships in Finland, School of Business wish to enhance our international degree students’ working life skills and integration into Finnish society and working culture.

Some experiences from School of Business international students

"Overall, the internship was extremely rewarding. Not only was I able to receive valuable practice at a nonprofit but upon completing the internship, I was also given the opportunity to continue my work with the organization, which I gladly accepted."

"What is most exciting about a startup is that you get to pitch and defend your ideas to CEO like a rightful team member, because every opinion counts."

"I suggest international students should be more proactive and open when facing any cultural and work difficulties. Knowing yourself and asking for help are the two essential skills that need to be carefully developed in the job market."

"About the internship, what I really like is that I was given the authority to my work; the ability to give initiate, make plan and execute the plan. This has given me so much more confident in making decisions, be more active not only at work but also in my information processing."

Example of an supported internship 

Top Data Science Oy, 2017

Internship feedback

See the feedback from those who participated in the School of Business supported internship in Finland and international internship abroad (pdf)

Some of the internships in small and medium sized companies, non-profit and Finnish state organizations may require internship support from the university. Internship support is a monetary compensation paid by the university to the employer. Support is distributed to School of Business students as so-called internship vouchers. The employer pays you a salary normally for the duration of the internship and then invoices the internship support from the university after the internship has ended.

Internship voucher is like a promise of financial support, thus it is possible to start searching for internship placement when the voucher is received. 

The full internship support of 1800 € will be granted for a full-time period of 12 weeks (3 month) or part-time period of 24 weeks. Internship support of 1200 € will be granted for full-time period of 6 weeks (2 month) or part-time period of 12 weeks. The internship can be longer (max. 6 months long), but 1800 € is the maximum amount of funding.

Please note that the internship support is paid to the employer so the student does not receive the internship support for himself/herself. The employer will invoice the internship support from Aalto University School of Business after the end of the internship. 

We recommend that the internship is carried out during the summer. 

Apply for a voucher only if you are genuinely interested in an internship in the employer sectors listed above.

Please note that you can find more information about grants for internships abroad in the BIZ international internship section.

Students can undertake one School of Business funded internship during their studies. This is because there is a limited amount of funding available, and School of Business wants to support the internships of as many students as possible. This means that you cannot receive funding for both an international internship and an internship in Finland.

All the general conditions mentioned below must be met in order to receive the internship voucher. You don't need to have an agreed internship when applying for the voucher.

Conditions related to the applicant

• Student is an international Aalto University School of Business degree student (bachelor & master) enrolled both at the time of application and during the time of the internship. If you are also a Finnish citizen or an exchange student, you cannot apply. Finnish students, please see BIZ harjoittelu Suomessa.
• The applicant must have completed at least 20 ECTS credits per enrolled semester in School of Business. The credits must be found in your transcript of records (Aalto transcript). That is, the total number of credits in the study transcript, divided by the periods of enrolled semesters since the start of the studies, must be at least 20 cr.
• You have not previously received Aalto University internship support (incl. Erasmus internship grant and BIZ internship abroad grants).

Conditions related to internship and employer

• The internship employer must be a micro, small or medium sized company in Finland (employs fewer than 250 persons), a non-profit organization in Finland or a Finnish state organization (https://valtiolle.fi/en/get-to-know-employers/) in Finland.
• The internship lasts a minimum of 2 months and a maximum of 6 months. If the duration of the internship changes, the Career Services must be notified immediately.
• The internship is either full-time work (~37.5h/week and 5 days/week) or part-time work that lasts 24 weeks (6 months) with the support of 1800 € or, 12 weeks (3 months) with the support of 1200 €.
• For full-time internship, the employer has to commit to paying the student a monthly salary of at least 1399 €/month (in 2024) plus the statutory side costs of the employment. More information on minimum wage can be found from KELA´s website. The salary is negotiated between the student and the employer.
• The internship is carried out at the employer's premises (temporary remote work is possible).
• Internship must have a designated supervisor. The university does not grant support for internships where the employer does not undertake to organize guidance.
• The applicant agrees to write and submit a Learning Contract to Career Services within a month of the start of the internship as long as the internship report after the internship.
• Internship support only applies to internships and cannot be obtained only for master's thesis work.

Other terms and conditions

• We distribute vouchers in the order in which applications are received. The voucher application period continues throughout the year, but within the budget. The next year's internship budget is always confirmed at the end of autumn, and the voucher application for the next year usually starts at the turn of November/December.
• Please note that you cannot apply for this support for internships that have already started. The application must be submitted before the beginning of the internship.
• The internship must be completed without interruption.

We reserve the right to make changes.

Apply now for an internship voucher for 2024

Vouchers are distributed to students who meet the criteria in the order in which applications are received.

You can apply for a voucher by filling out the application form. Fill in all the fields and attach your transcript of records to the application form (an unofficial Aalto transcript is sufficient) and click Send. You will receive a reduced email about your application.

The application will be screened by Career Services. Applications are processed within two working weeks of submitting the application (note: we will inform about the summer holiday and Christmas holiday breaks). If the matter is urgent, please send a message to [email protected].

The applicant is informed of the decision via email. Only after receiving a decision can you apply for a internship in Finland that requires internship support. The voucher is valid until the date mentioned in the email. The validity period of the voucher is extended only if necessary (for example, while the application process is in progress), and for a maximum of one year in total.

When you find a suitable internship, inform Career Services as soon as possible. Also, if a voucher has been admitted to you, but you know that you will not need it, please inform Career Services.

When you have the internship voucher, you can start to look for internships relevant to your field of study. Please keep in mind that not all of the employers need the internship support for hiring interns.

1. You can search for an internship by contacting employers yourself. Please keep in mind that the employer must be a micro, small or medium sized company, a non-profit organization or a state organization in Finland to get the internship support. You can contact a company that interests you directly or search for open placements online. When applying, mention that you have Aalto University School of Business internship support.
2. For advice on where to look for a job, please visit the Job Hunting Guide - Job search channels. And more information on job search, e.g. on CVs and cover letter, can be found from JobTeaser Job Search Guide.
3. Job portals. Check JobTeaser job portal regularly.

Once a suitable internship position has been found, the student negotiates with the employer on the internship details and provides the employer with the information on the Supported Internship Programme and its requirements for the employer. If you need further help with this, please be in touch [email protected]. 

See Job Hunting Guide for more instructions about for example the employment contracts, salaries and the key points to working in Finland. See also The Finnish Business School Graduates page for more information on employment contracts.

Congratulations on your internship! When you have found an internship position, please send to Career Services ([email protected]) the following information about your internship (or your employer can send it).

• name, date of birth, address, phone number, Aalto-email address, student number and study program of the intern
• time of the internship (starting and ending dates, full time/part time)
• monthly salary during the internship (€ / month)
• name, address and contact information of the internship organization
• name, title, phone number and email address of the supervisor at the internship organization
• name, title, phone number and email address of the contact person at the internship place (for contracts, etc.)
• summary of the main tasks agreed with the employer

Internship support agreement between the School and your internship employer

Next, Career Services will contact your employer for making an internship support agreement in order to agree on the details and invoicing of the internship support. The agreement is signed by the internship organization (employer) and Aalto University School of Business Career Services. Student´s signature is not needed for this. The student will be informed when the agreement has been done. You should allow at least two weeks for the agreement process.

During the internship

During the internship, you are in an employment relationship with the employer. The student must make a written employment contract with the employer for a fixed period of time. You can read more about contracts from the JobTeaser's Employment Contract page.  The employer pays your salary for all months. 

During your internship, you are an employee of the state, community or a small or medium sized company and your rights and obligations are determined in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations and agreements. You have e.g. the right to vacation days in accordance with the regulations in force (agree with your employer).

Things to note about internship support 

The internship employer invoices the internship support from the School after the internship. The student does not directly receive any financial support from Aalto University.

Everyone who receives the internship support for their internship is obliged to prepare and submit a Learning Contract within a month of the start of the internship.

• Save the Learning Contract (*.doc) to your computer, fill it out and return it to Career Services at [email protected] as a pdf attachment

Instructions for filling in the Learning Contract

The table can be adjusted as needed to better fit in your objectives. The learning objectives are thought of and discussed together with the supervisor/tutor of your internship.

1. Learning related to your field of study and professionalism in general
   Describe your main tasks and areas of responsibility during the internship, what objectives, and how, can you achieve during the internship and what is the outcome
2. Cultural learning
   Describe your objectives regarding cultural learning, which refers to acquiring in-depth knowledge about different cultures and social contexts. Take an organizational, local and/or national cultural perspective.
3. Global competence
   The Learning Contract also prepares you to think about your global competences (described in the Learning Contract template). At the beginning of your internship, discuss with your supervisor how you can enhance these competences during the internship, and think after the internship how you reached your goals and what new things you learned.

Towards the end of an internship

1. Talk with your internship supervisor at the end of the internship about how the internship went and how the objectives were met.
2. Remember to ask for a work certificate.
3. Ask your supervisor if he/she can be your referee in the future job searches.

Return within a month after your internship period has ended:

1. internship report
2. work certificate
3. fill in the feedback survey

Internship report

At the end of the internship, the student writes a 1-2 page report about his learning during the internship. The report is returned to Career Services at [email protected] within one month of the end of the internship. Return your work certificate at the same time. You should always ask for a certificate from your employer. The certificate should include the dates of your internship period, a description of your tasks, and preferably an evaluation about your performance. 

The purpose of theinternship report is to reflect on what you have learned during your internship. Think back to the beginning of your internship and consider how your objectives, as set in the Learning Contract, have been met. What working life skills did you learn?

The report should contain at least the following topics

• Internship information: how you found the internship, what channels you used in job hunting, your work tasks. 
• Which of my objectives recorded in the Learning Contract did I achieve?
• Which objectives were not achieved and why?
• What did I learn? (e.g. Finnish working life and culture, skills, industry, myself)
• How did the internship enhance my professionalism in my field of business and my special skills?
• How does my learning affect my future plans and studies?

Also consider issues related to supervision, internship location and organization

• What was good and what was bad about internship?
• What went well and what was challenging?
• How did I benefit from the experience?

Fill out the feedback survey

In addition to writing a report, all interns answer a feedback survey at the end of the internship within a month after your internship period has ended. Only Career Services see your feedback.

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Things to think about after the internship

1. Career planning. Based on your experience, think about what you liked and what you didn't like, did the experience give you direction for your future? Do you now know what you don't want?
2. Jobs. Did the internship offer further opportunities or did you gain new networks?
3. Analyse your main tasks and responsibilities. Add your work experience to your CV, and possibly on your LinkedIn profile, and think about how you will describe what you have learned in future job applications or interviews. Which things can you highlight in particular, think about what will be most useful?
4. If you're applying for credits from your internship, follow the guidelines from your programme. For instructions on how to apply for credits for your internship, see the Student Guide on your programme's website (Programme -> During studies -> Other studies).