The programme is part of two projects funded by DIKU (Norwegian Directorate for Internationalization and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education). The partners include Federal University Fluminense – AGIR Innovation Agency (Brazil); Federal Institute Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) and University of Pretoria- Tuksnovation business incubator (South Africa).
At the bachelor level the internship is offered during the summer months (June-August) as part of the course ECO2006 Applied economics and administration (10 ECTS). The course includes a pre-departure introduction module, the grade is assessed through a reflective report. The report focuses on reflection about the hosting organization working culture, management theories useful during the internship and students' own experiences.
At the master level, the internship is also offered during summer months (June-August) as part of the course LED5007 Management in Practice (7,5 ECTS). The course is assessed as a written assignment. The student can prepare a business report, with focus on practical results of the internship for the hosting organization. Alternatively, the report can be structured as a short academic report connecting the internship experience and results with a business/management theory of the student's choice.
The internship project is integrated in the course ECO2006 and takes place during summer (approx. June 20 to August 20). The purpose is to provide the students with an opportunity to apply in a real-life situation in a Norwegian or in a non-Norwegian setting the theoretical insight and the methodological knowledge obtained during the first four semesters of the bachelor program. Currently the program has internships available for Brazil.
Eligibility
The course ECO2006 is elective for second year students in the B.Sc. in Business Administration (Økonomi og ledelse) in Bodø and Steinkjer.
Application and information meetings (December-February)
Information about the internships to Brazil is communicated through Canvas by December. Students interested to apply will have to coordinate with the student advisor and the intern Abroad coordinator, see this page for contact information. An application usually includes the students' CV, grades for the first two years and a motivation letter.
Preparation before the internship (March-May)
Internship agreement: The internship coordinator must ensure that an internship agreement is prepared which is approvable by all parties involved. The agreements must be approved and signed by the student, the internship coordinator at Nord University, the host university in Brazil.
Accommodation, scholarship and registration of the international mobility: Once the internship agreement is signed by all parties, the student will receive a scholarship. The scholarship is funded by the program InternAbroad from DIKU (see below for further details). This scholarship can be used to cover e.g. accommodation costs or visa processing costs.
Pre-departure seminar: this seminar introduces students with theories of inter-cultural work environments, as well as a political, economical and cultural introduction to the country Brazil.
Readings and preparation videos/ materials: Once students register for the course, they will have access to preparation materials which can be used in combination with the pre-departure seminar.
Internship (June-August)
In collaboration with the partner Universities and hosting organizations in Brazil, we have prepared a very detailed handbook which includes information about local safety routines, accommodation options, local transport, key contacts. Support upon arrival is also been coordinated with hosting organizations.
By the mid-term, the student shall deliver a progress report of the internship. This allows the internship coordinator to have an overview of the students' progress, as well as potential challenges during the internship.
The intermediate report shall contain the following information:
- A description of the organization -including the way in which it is organized
- A description of the organization's areas of work
- An overview of the work areas in which the student has been involved
It is expected that the intermediate report will not be a fully elaborated version containing the above-mentioned elements. It is expected however that the student has defined the project scope, as well as can introduce the scope of his ongoing project.
Final report (August)
The final internship report shall include, in addition to the expanded/ finished sections of the intermediate report:
- An analysis of how the student benefited from the internship, academically and socially
- The student experience with the internship, including suggestions for the study program to update the curriculum
- A reflection on the knowledge exchange conducted between the organization and the study program.
Upon finish of the internship, the hosting organization must complete an evaluation on the student internship. The evaluation may include the following:
- Formalities (organization name and department, name of the intern, period of the internship, external supervisor)
- A brief description of the student's task
- An assessment of the student's work
- An assessment of the student overall performance (cooperation, approach to the work, work performance)
The internship declaration will also be appended to the final report.
Students enrolled in the M.Sc. in Business or Global Management can participate in the internship abroad program as long as they are enrolled in the course LED5007 (Management in Practice). The internship is integrated in this elective course during the summer months (approx. mid- June to mid-August). The purpose of the internship is to provide students at HHN with work experience as part of their study program. This gives the student the opportunity to apply the theoretical insight and the methodological knowledge acquired during the first year in a real-life setting in a regional or international setting.
General scope of the internship
The internship is required to be within the scope of the study program and preferable related to the major that the student is undertaking at the study program (international marketing, management control, finance and investment, or innovation and entrepreneurship). The activities at the internship host, or at a sub-division are to be relevant for the study program to ensure that the internship project is within the students academic specialisation. The internship is to build on knowledge that the students have already acquired during the bachelor degree and particular during the first year of the master program.
Eligibility
The course LED5007 is elective for first year students in the M.Sc. in Business. To qualify for the elective course, Management in Practice LED 5007, the student should demonstrate academic excellence. The requirement is examination of the four courses at the first semester of the study program, with an average grade of B on these courses.
Application and information meetings (December-February)
Information about the internships to South Africa is communicated through Canvas by December. Students interested to apply will have to coordinate with the student advisor and the intern Abroad coordinator, see this page for contact information. An application usually includes the students' CV, grades for the first semester and a motivation letter.
Preparation before the internship (March-May)
Internship agreement: The internship coordinator must ensure that an internship agreement is prepared which is approvable by all parties involved. The agreements must be approved and signed by the student, the internship coordinator at Nord University and Tuksnovation (South Africa).
Accommodation, scholarship and registration of the international mobility: Once the internship agreement is signed by all parties, the student will receive a scholarship. The scholarship is funded by the program InternAbroad from DIKU (see below for further details). This scholarship can be used to cover e.g. accommodation costs or visa processing costs.
Pre-departure seminar: this seminar introduces students with theories of inter-cultural work environments, as well as a political, economical and cultural introduction to the country South Africa.
Readings and preparation videos/ materials: Once students register for the course, they will have access to preparation materials which can be used in combination with the pre-departure seminar.
Internship (June-August)
In collaboration with the partner Universities and hosting organizations in South Africa, we have prepared a very detailed handbook which includes information about local safety routines, accommodation options, local transport, key contacts. Support upon arrival is also been coordinated with hosting organizations.
By the mid-term, the student shall deliver a progress report of the internship. This allows the internship coordinator to have an overview of the students' progress, as well as potential challenges during the internship.
It is expected the intermediate report to include the following:
- Background information
- Scope/ research question
- Outline of the management theory relevant to the internship-draft of this section
- Preliminary analysis
- References
Final report (August)
The intern project will focus on a selected problem area the student has obtained knowledge during his/her study program.
The project should build on the theoretical and methodological knowledge obtained during
the 1st and 2nd semester as a point of departure, and these should be applied to a real-life situation. The students must thus investigate a selected problem area, or get a concrete problem from the host company, by defining a research question, collecting the appropriate data and analyze it.
Selecting a research question is important, and the student should carefully select one that enables him or her to obtain an understanding of and practical experiences with business/management within a particular field of own choice.
This project should include sketching strategies or plans for management based on theoretical insights and methodological knowledge obtained during the 1st and 2nd semester as well as assessing the consequences of the proposed strategies or plans.
A project could investigate a) preconditions for, b) progress of and c) consequences of implementing practical solutions to management in a given setting. The project should assess or take into consideration consequences for changing processes, developing a new business model, improving practices, developing new product portfolio, market analysis, etc. The project should include an analysis of the relevant economic, organizational, cultural consequences of implementing a given strategy.
During the internship the student will take part in the daily work at the host organization/ company. Description of and analysis of these tasks may form the point of departure for the semester project. However, a description or documentation of these daily tasks is not a passable semester project.
The assignment should be written as a consulting report or an academic paper. The length of the written assignment should be around 5000 words for a consulting report, and 7000 for an academic paper. The number of words is consultative. The number of pages, excludes references.
