Internship
Internship
Do you want a head start into working life?
Master students at NTNU School of International Business have many opportunities to work closely with regional industry. One of these is to take a credit bearing internship worth 15 ECTS in your third semester.
An internship gives you a great opportunity to gain work experience and strengthen your future career prosepects. You can use what you have learned during your courses, while building a network in the industry. You'll spend two days a week working with local businesses, receiving guidance and feedback from the business and NTNU to enable you to get the most from your learning. You might even find your dream job!
Internship course information (for international Master’s students)
We have introduced a structured internship scheme that gives Master’s students at the department the opportunity to work on real tasks in organisations, while receiving academic guidance and ongoing reflection throughout the semester. The scheme is part of the internship course (15 ECTS credits) and provides students with an arena to apply what they have learned in their studies in practice, build networks, and develop professional competence in collaboration with working life.
The process begins with a kick-off event in February, where partner organisations present themselves and their opportunities to students. After this, students can apply for the internship positions they are most interested in by submitting a CV and a short motivation text. A short round of speed interviews is organised between organisations and relevant candidates, before each organisation selects which students they would like to offer an internship to. Throughout the process, we facilitate clear communication between the student, the host organisation, and the department, and the department follows up both students and internship hosts.
Students receive close follow-up through supervision from both the course instructor at NTNU and a contact person at the host organisation, mandatory seminars, and reflection assignments. The goal is for the internship to provide students with academic relevance, insight into organisational processes, confidence in professional communication, and a solid foundation for further career choices.
About the internship course
The internship course is an elective course worth 15 ECTS credits for Master’s students at the department. For Master’s students, the internship takes place during the autumn semester (August–November/December), typically lasting 14–15 weeks with two working days per week. Working hours are agreed upon between the student and the host organisation.
What do you gain from an internship?
- Relevant work experience within your field of study
- A professional network in the business sector
- Academic and personal development
- Support and reflection through seminars and supervision
Learning outcomes
- After completing the internship, the student will be able to:
- Apply academic knowledge in practical work situations
- Understand how organisations function
- Critically reflect on their own experience
- Communicate professionally and collaborate with different stakeholders
- Increase awareness of career choices and academic direction
Guidelines
- Unpaid and credit-bearing: The internship must be unpaid and provides 15 ECTS credits.
- A new learning arena: The internship must be completed in a new learning environment and cannot be combined with an existing paid position or carried out in a department where the student already has a part-time job. An internship in another department within the same organisation may be approved if it involves substantially new tasks, roles, and learning situations.
Assessment
The main activity in the course is practical work in an organisation relevant to the study programme. The student must complete a total of 240 hours of internship work.
In addition, the course includes:
- Two mandatory seminars together with other internship students
- Digital supervision
- Written assignments
- Assessment method: Portfolio assessment. Information about the portfolio elements will be provided at the start of the course.
Mandatory activities:
- Seminar 1
- Seminar 2
Grading: Pass / Fail
How does the internship work?
Through a career day and guidance, you will be prepared to present your skills and competencies in the best possible way. In your second semester, you will receive information about which companies and organisations are participating as internship hosts at the internship kick-off event at the end of February, before you submit your CV and application to the Department of International Business (IIB).
IIB also organises a job application course, where staff can support you with writing and structuring your CV and application. In addition, you will have the opportunity to receive feedback on an already written CV and application during the workshop.
After this, the companies select which candidates they want to invite to speed interviews, which take place in April. Following the interviews, the companies decide which candidate they want to offer an internship position to.
The internship starts in August.
As in working life in general, not everyone will receive an offer, but after the application process you will still gain valuable experience.