Internships

The internship (6 ECTS credits) is intended for the acquisition of theoretical-practical skills closely related to the field of research in which the experimental work necessary for the preparation of the dissertation (25+2 ECTS credits) is carried out, so the internship and dissertation are almost always carried out at the same facility. Students wishing to separate their internship and dissertation activities must first identify a professor at the university who is willing to assist them in writing their dissertation.

The internship may be conducted at a University, national or international research department, institute or laboratory, or at an external affiliated body, under the guidance of a reference professor of the Degree Course in Translational Biomedical Sciences, or another professor of the University of Parma. The results of the dissertation work are presented to a Degree Committee consisting of at least five Commissioners, appointed by the competent Academic Bodies.

The activation of the Internship Project is carried out according to the procedures described below.

The referents for the internships, Prof. Cristina Dallabona and Prof. Laura Giovati, collect the availability of professors on the 'professors proposed by the referents' list, which can be consulted on the internship page on Elly. The professors on this list are from both the University and external structures.   Students who have obtained at least 57 ECTS credits and who wish to start their internship activity with a professor on the list CANNOT make personal arrangements with that professor, but they must submit a request by e-mail to both referents (cristina.dallabona@unipr.it, laura.giovati@unipr.it) in one of the two annual windows (1-10 March and 1-10 October), indicating:

• enrolement number
• number of ECTS credits already registered
• marks average
• expected graduation date

using the form on the Elly page dedicated to internships. It will also be necessary to enclose a pdf printout of the academic transcript available on Esse3, clearly showing the average and the ECTS credits registered.

Only complete applications, submitted on time and addressed to both referents will be considered as valid (please send a single message putting both referents as recipients).

Students who have applied are provided with a list of professors who are available to activate the internship, with indications on the proposed dissertation topic, the number of available places for each potential professor, the duration of the internship, etc. A meeting is then convened and during this meeting, the referents explain the assignment procedures and ask students to express their preferences so that interviews with professors can be organised.

The referents then procede with the assignments, taking into account the student's preferences, the outcome of the interview with the professors, the average and the number of registered ECTS credits.

After the assignment, if the professor is from the University of Parma, the referents provide for the start of the internship, as reported on the link.

Then, the university contact persons or, in the case of an external organisation, the 'organisation contact person', will fill in the internship project on the ESSE3 platform. In ESSE3, the student must check and, if correct, accept the internship project and indicate the 'academic tutor' (one of the professors in charge of the degree course internship: Prof. Cristina Dallabona or Prof. Laura Giovati) who will be responsible for registering the ECTS credits at the end of the internship period.  With the subsequent approval of the academic tutor and the final approval of the Internship Office, the start procedure is concluded and the internship may begin on the date indicated on the training project. Students should consult the Elly page dedicated to internships, where they can find more detailed information on the procedures to follow and the necessary forms.

This mode allows the student to directly contact University professors or external organisations which are not included in the list proposed by the internship referents. If the availability of a professor from the University has been obtained, the student must communicate to the internship supervisors (Prof. Cristina Dallabona and Prof. Laura Giovati) the professor name so that the internship can be activated in accordance with the procedures set out in the previous point. If the agreement is taken with an external public or private organisation, the student communicates the Degree Course Supervisors the name of the external body, the name of the person who has agreed to supervise him/her (specifying whether the agreement relates only to the internship or also to the dissertation) and the subject of the internship, so that the supervisors can assess its congruity with the degree course. The student must also check with the Institution that an active agreement exists with the University of Parma and, if not, provide the Institution's reference person with guidance on how to activate such an agreement and follow the procedure.

Subsequently, the contact person of the external company initiates the internship with the 'known student' procedure. The student is notified that the training project has been entered and must check and accept, if correct, the internship project on the ESSE3 platform and indicate the 'academic tutor' (one of the professors in charge of the internship for the degree course: Prof. Cristina Dallabona or Prof. Laura Giovati) who will be responsible for registering the ECTS credits at the end of the internship period. With the subsequent approval of the academic tutor and the final approval of the Internship Unit, the start procedure is concluded and the internship can begin on the date indicated on the training project.

For all the internship projects carried out in collaboration with external organisations, it is necessary to identify not only an external supervisor, who is responsible for defining the internship project and supervising the student in the drafting of the dissertation, but also a University professor to act as internal supervisor. The internal supervisor must be identified at the beginning of the internship and his or her name must be communicated to the Internship Referents. Students should consult the Elly page dedicated to internships, where they can find more detailed information on the procedures to follow and the necessary forms.

For international mobility internships, interested parties are invited to contact and follow the instructions of the Internalisation Units, the Department's Mobility Managers and the Degree Course Internationalisation Contact Person (Prof. Luca Carnevali).