General
An internship is a restricted optional part of the master programme in Geo-Information Science (MGI) of Wageningen University. The main objective of an internship is to select a personal professional field of interest within the large working Geo-Information domain and gain “real” working experience on academic level. The GRS internship stands for a minimum of 24 ECTS, which corresponds with a period of 4 months. However, a varying internship period of up to 6 months (36 ECTS) is possible in consultation with the study adviser. The evaluation of the internship is based on the professional skills of the candidate (45%), the internship report (45%) and a self reflection report (10%).
Aim of the Internship
The GRS internship stands for a period of work, study and reflection outside the academic walls of the University. The aim is firstly, to explore the nature and range of your personal work choice as an up and coming GI academic professional and/or researcher. This period offers experience the university can hardly provide. However, educational aims must be met. General aims are:
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applying the acquired knowledge and skills in a working situation;
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gaining insight into possible future working environments;
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being introduced to potential employers;
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gaining insight into the working networks in which graduated GI academics and
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professionals operate.
It is recommended that the student formulates a number of personal goals within these general educational aims before starting the internship and discuss these goals with the GRS internship coordinator and the external internship supervisor.
Length of the internship period
The internship of MGI stands for a minimum of 24 ECTS. This corresponds with a period of 4 months. However, a varying internship period of up to 39 ECTS (±6 months) is possible. The choice of internship length is left entirely up to the student in consultation with the study adviser.
Place of internship
The internship takes place at any organization active in the field of Geo-Information Science in its broadest sense. Therefore, any company, institute, organization that is involved in any aspect of GIS is a potential place of internship. The range of suitable places is therefore very big. The only main restriction is the internship must fulfill an academic standard in correspondence with your study. Foreign students wishing an internship in the Netherlands must take into account that a strict application protocol must be followed. This has to do with acquiring a temporary working permit for the internship period. Following this protocol from beginning to end takes at least 3 weeks. Therefore, if this situation is the case, it is wise to contact the internship coordinator well in advance. In case the internship will be spent abroad, a longer preparation period must be taken into account.
How to find an internship address
MGI students are expected to actively engage themselves in finding an internship. To assist you herein, you can use the experience of fellow students, for example by looking into the internship reports (these are under the custody of the internship coordinator), or looking through professional magazines and on the Internet to find names of organizations and individuals.
You can also consult the site where you can find a list of student names and where they fulfilled their internship. In addition, the internship coordinator will send mails with requests coming from GI employers asking for internees.
Approval of the Internship
The internship must be approved by the internship coordinator before the student starts. The approval is finalized by an internship contract. The contract form is available. The internship contract has to be filled in and discussed with the GRS internship coordinator, the GRS supervisor and external internship supervisor prior to the start of the internship.
Allowances
In the Netherlands, most commercial companies and institutes give a small financial compensation. This compensation is hardly enough to cover living expenses. This compensation is meant for extra small personal costs brought about from the internship. There are no special subsidies available for internships.
Internship report
Making an internship report is a compulsory part of this study element.
From the report should become clear:
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at which organization the internee worked, the period, as well as the field of activities of this organization;
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what the structure of the organization is and the place and function of the internee within this organization;
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an extensive description of “what, how and why” the internee did within the involved projects, as well as the backgrounds of these projects. Other possible aspects to discuss are the professional re-phrasing of the assignment, the aims and definition of the problem, approach, strategies, reflection on the quality of the result(s) etc.;
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that the “how and why” of “what” was done be more addressed then the “what” itself;
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to what extent the personal goals were reached.
Personal reflection report
Making a personal reflection report is also a compulsory part of this study element. This report must be at least 1000 words long. In this personal reflection report it should be clear what MGI courses contributed to fulfilling the internship, to what extent the contribution was and what is lacking in the present MGI curriculum. A final mark cannot be given without this personal reflection report.
Evaluation
The final grade of the internship is based upon 3 elements:
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the internship provider evaluation form (45%)
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the internship report (45%)
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the self reflection report (10%)
Internship Coordination
The general coordinator and contact person of Internships of Chair group Geo-Information Science is John Stuiver.
June 2009, Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing of Wageningen UR