Project and Trainee Period

The Project and Trainee Period allows the student to try out competencies, to refine skills, and to reflect upon how to use the knowledge acquired during the M.Sc. in Economics and Business Administration programme in a ‘real life’ context. Therefore, the student must work independently on one or more problems that are reasonable in scope and resources in terms of the time frame and expected workload compared to the number of ECTS assigned to the course. Ideally, such problems involve innovative problem-solving and are not merely execution of existing routines (e.g. performing communication, service or sales as part of existing routines).  

During the project-oriented study, the student will get instruction on Career Management Skills in the form of 4 workshops taking up to approx. 12 hours. The Career Management Skills workshops are designed to help the student get maximum benefit from the project period and stimulate reflections on how the student’s competences are used most appropriately in order to increase the student’s employability after graduation.

The Project and Trainee Period must contain two elements:  

A practical element: A solution of one or more specific problems decided by the company in collaboration with the student and a supervisor from SDU. 

A reflexive element: A reflexive analysis and discussion of the selected problem(s), its potential solution(s), and the method(s) applied.   

There are no specified content areas, but the content should, in general, represent the field of the student’s profile on the MSc in Economics and Business Administration. Moreover, the approach to identifying, analyzing, and solving the problem must be evidence-based. To solve the specific problems at hand, the student may need to search for and implement theories additional to the contents of the compulsory courses.

The objective of the Project and Trainee Period is that the student should use the competencies acquired during the constituent courses of the programme as the starting point for documenting the ability to be able to select, employ and/or reflect upon specific theoretical and analytic approaches in relation to the project work. The student should demonstrate such competence by assisting practical problem-solving in an organization. Upon completion of the course, the student can:

The distribution of the project work in the organization is decided in agreement with the organization where the internship takes place. The Project and Trainee Period is usually distributed across one semester (5 months), including supervision, project work in the organization, and the writing of the final assignment. However, the period may also be placed prior to a semester in for example August or as a combination. Regarding requirements for this, look under “Examination regulations". 

The student may see supervision in relation to solving the tasks at the company and writing the final report. For this, an amount of 6 hours is allocated (for communication, supervision, and preparation for meetings).  

In addition, the student must attend 4 workshops in Career Management Skills. These are designed to help the student put their subject-related, personal and generic academic competences at work within organizations. Throughout the workshops the students will: 1) Reflect on and exploit their own career resources 2) Communicate their competences in the project organization as well as in writing in résumés, cover letters and for interviews 3) Actively build and use their network within an organization and for job searching and 4) Develop career strategies.   

The Project and Trainee Period may take place in a private/public company, an association or an NGO, and it must take up approximately 200 working hours corresponding to approximately 27 days. A proposal for a trainee period may be rejected if the workload is insufficient or if the workload exceeds this amount without designating a suitable timeframe for the work related to the project. The student is responsible for making contact to the organization in which the internship takes place. The student cannot receive a salary for carrying out these tasks. The student is allowed to receive funding to cover documented expenses during the trainee period. The student may have a job in the organization during the Project and Trainee Period. At the company/organization, an employee must be appointed as a liaison between the university and the student. This person will also assist in resolving practical issues related to implementation of the project.   

Prior to starting the trainee period (undertaking the actual project work in the organization) the student must have an introductory meeting with a supervisor. The student is free to contact a supervisor at his or her own request. At the introductory meeting, the student should detail the project/work tasks that are expected to be carried out and their relevance in relation to the academic field within the chosen MSc in Economics and Business Administration profile. It is strongly recommended that the internal (SDU) supervisor is not closely affiliated with the organization in question. The work/problems/tasks undertaken by the student during the project must allow the student to test and develop relevant competences. 

The work to be performed during the internship must include appropriate tasks, i.e. the student's work must have a specific academic content and include not only general office (or similar) work. The content of the internship must be related to one or more specific topics within the area of business economics or business administration in a broad sense but within the MSc program profile. Proposals for actual working tasks/problems are prepared by the student in collaboration with the contact person in the trainee organization. Schedule for the working days/hours is made in agreement between the student and the organization/company.  

There must be a written agreement between the student and the organization in which the internship takes place concerning the learning purpose of the internship as well as organization of the work in the organization and the target for the final report. The agreement must be approved by the supervisor and the profile responsible (see examination conditions).  

The project and trainee agreement is available at the programme’s page on www.sdu.dk. It must as a minimum contain the following information:  

•Name of organization/company at which the internship takes place 

•Name and title of contact person at the study site 

•Period for internship

•Working hours per week  

•Description of work content of the internship  

•Goal for the project report 

Expected workload (SAT):
Time in company: approximately 200 hours.
Writing of the final assignment: 54 hours.
Career Management Skills Workshop: approximately 12 hours (each class requires exercises to prepare/reflect upon in the project company).
Supervisory work (contact with the supervisor and preparation): 6 hours.

Total: 270 hours.