TECH internships in Finland

In order to be eligible for an internship voucher, all the following conditions must be met.

• You are a TECH (CHEM, ELEC, ENG or SCI) student enrolled as attending in a degree programme (bachelor or master's degree) during the whole internship - you can not graduate during your internship.
• You are a second-year (or later) bachelor's student. Since internships usually require more advanced studies, we grant a voucher to a first-year bachelor's student only in exceptional cases based on, for example, previous studies or work experience.
• You have not previously received support from Aalto University (including Erasmus Grants and Grants for international internships) for an internship. You may use the support for an internship once during your studies.
• You have completed at least 20 credits per semester. The credits must be present in your transcript of records. (Please note that we apply the following counting method: the number of credits divided by the number of enrolled semesters = no less than 20. If you were not enrolled during a semester, we require a document, e.g. a screenshot of the Sisu page where enrolled/unenrolled semesters are present).
• The internship lasts no less than 2 months but no more than 6 months.
• The internship is full-time and is included in your degree. You must confirm from your degree programme staff whether this is possible. In some cases (for example double degree programmes) Aalto might not support an internship.
• The salary from the internship must meet the Kela minimum requirement, which is, in 2024, 1399 €/month.
• The internship is done in the premises of the employer (temporary remote work is acceptable).
• The internship has a supervisor appointed by the employer

You can apply for vouchers for internships in 2024 by filling out an application form. Fill in all the blanks, attach a transcript of records (an unofficial record from Sisu is acceptable) on the application and click Send. Check that the information is correct in the preview view and click Finish. You will receive a reduced summary of your application in your email.

The decision regarding the voucher is made within two weeks after an application has been received. You will be informed of the decision via email. Vouchers are allocated in the order of the applications for applicants that meet the criteria.

After you find an internship placement, please immediately notify the Learning Services of your school. Students who have received a voucher but won't need it must cancel the voucher as early as possible.

The voucher is valid until the date given in the decision e-mail. You are required to inform Learning Services whether you'll be using the voucher by this date. If you are still in recruitment process during this date, please notify Learning Services or you will lose the voucher.

Students seek internship placements independently. For further information on seeking internship placements, CV and making applications, please consult the Job Search Guide.

• Internship placements are published in the Aalto JobTeaser's job portal around the year. Internships that require support have the word "Voucher" on the description. Please note that before you apply for these internships, you must have applied for an internship voucher and received a confirmation that it has been granted. Most of the government summer internship positions are published in the job portal by the middle of January.
• You may seek positions by contacting the employer independently. Information on government jobs is found on the Valtiolle.fi -webpage. University internships that require internship support can also be found on the portals of other universities or other job search channels.

Once you find an internship placement, please provide the following information for the Learning Services of your school:

• Full name, phone number, aalto-email, school and degree programme of the intern
• The time and date of the internship
• The salary
• The name of the employer
• The name and email address of the person in charge of supervising the internship
• A summary of tasks planned for the internship (for example, a published job advertisement)
• Proof of suitability of the internship for your degree (Confirm that the internship can be included in your degree from the coordinator/planning officer of your degree programme. Provide a document that demonstrates this, e.g. email message that states the matter).

Billing contract, work contract and salary

In the next phase, Learning Services will contact your employer in order to devise a billing contract. This contract is signed by the employer organization and the Aalto University, Learning Services. The intern does not need to sign it. In this contract, the support for the employer and the terms related are agreed upon. After the internship, the employer bills Aalto University for the support.

The intern and the employer organization devise a written contract. For further information on work contracts, consult the employment contract page. Instead of a work contract, the organization might decide to make a temporary appointment (this is especially the case with government internships).

Your employer will pay your salary during the entire internship. As an intern, you will have all the rights and responsibilities of a government or community worker according to existing rules and regulations. From the student's perspective, the internship is comparable to a regular summer job.

• Devise a Learning plan together with your supervisor during the first month of the internship. This plan is written down on a Learning plan form (in Finnish) (docx-file).
• Send a copy of the Learning plan for Learning Services of your school.

The internship must be included in your degree. Apply for internship credits in accordance with the instructions of your own school / degree programme within one month of the end of the internship. Obtaining credits requires, among other things, the following:

• Write an internship report according to your school's / degree programme's instructions.
• Send a copy of the employment certificate (e.g. scan and email) to Learning Services.