Internship for MINA-students

Relevant work experience

Here you will find the information you need to get started with internship for students at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management (MINA).

The aim of internships is to link studies more closely to the current job market and give students an understanding of how acquired expertise is applied in current work life.

Information for companies

• What is an internship?

  Internship is a course at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management (MINA) where students, for a limited period, engage in work within a company on an agreed-upon project or other relevant issues. The student should have the academic background necessary to carry out the agreed-upon tasks, and these tasks should be relevant to the job market the student is preparing for. The goal of internships is to connect academic studies more closely to the current job market and to provide students with an understanding of how acquired knowledge is applied in real-world professional settings. We aim for both the student and the company to mutually benefit from the experience.

• What do the company gain?

  • A motivated and enthusiastic student who dedicates time and applies acquired knowledge to a set of the company's tasks.
  • Results produced by the student during the work placement.
  • Insight into the competencies possessed by our students.
  • The opportunity to suggest changes to the content of the studies based on their experiences regarding the academic strengths and weaknesses of our students.
  • Familiarity with potential new employees for your company.
• What is expected of the company?

  • You have relevant issues well-suited for a temporary work placement.
  • You provide a contact person/supervisor for the student during the specified period.
  • You facilitate the integration of the student into the work environment.
  • You provide feedback to the student throughout the placement and conduct an appraisal interview approximately midway through the period.
  • You address any challenges that may arise and, if necessary, contact the internal supervisor or the responsible person for the course at MINA.

• How does the process unfold?

  • You are contacted by a student expressing interest in an internship at your company.
  • You assess whether you have relevant tasks and capacity to accommodate a student.
  • You evaluate if the student possesses the academic background and personal qualities you are seeking.
  • You appoint a contact person/supervisor for the student.
  • The student independently identifies an internal academic supervisor at MINA.
  • An agreement must be drafted among the company, MINA, and the student. The agreement should define tasks and describe the expected learning outcomes. The template provided by MINA should be used.
  • If the placement involves access to confidential information, a confidentiality agreement should be signed.
  • The contract is approved by MINA, and the student is enrolled in the workplace experience course. Only then can the actual work at the company commence.
• Salary

  The student will receive academic credits for the agreed-upon work hours and workload in the internship course and should, therefore, not receive payment for the work. If there is a need for internal training, the company is responsible for covering the costs. For companies located far from the study site or the student's place of residence, the company may cover accommodation and travel expenses, especially if travel is required during the work experience period. If there is a desire to combine the internship with a summer job or similar, it must be clearly defined which period is part of the internship and which is not.

• Insurance

  In Norway, employers are obligated to have occupational injury coverage for their employees. For the state, this falls under the self-insurance scheme, meaning that governmental employers cannot purchase occupational injury insurance, and any potential injuries are covered by the state itself. When our students are on workplace experience at an external company, they are entitled to the same occupational injury coverage as the company's regular employees. This implies that the host company should insure internship students under its standard insurance scheme. Normally, the student is responsible for covering this, similar to how students in other courses purchase textbooks.

• If you wish to be a host, what should you do?

  
  Contact the study adviser or course responsible of the relevant internship course. They will be able to register your company as a potential host and, if needed, facilitate contact with interested students.

Information for students

• What is an internship?

  
  Internship courses are designed for students at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management (MINA), where the student, for a limited period, engages in work within a company on an agreed-upon project or other relevant issues. The intention behind these courses is to establish a closer connection between your studies at the faculty and the current job market, providing you with an understanding of how the acquired academic knowledge is applied in the actual workforce. The course aims to offer you work experience, practical learning, and networking opportunities in the professional field. The goal is for both you as students and the participating companies to mutually benefit from the experience.

• For whom?

  Students in all programs at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management (MINA) can take an internship course.

  Since it is desirable for students to apply knowledge acquired through their studies to relevant tasks in a company, bachelor students must be in their third year of study and have completed a minimum of 120 credits before starting the course. All master's students enrolled in MINA's master's programs can undertake an internship course.

• When?

  
  It is possible to take internship courses during all teaching periods of the academic year, including vacation periods. Different study programs have varying periods that are more accommodating for such courses. Consult with your study adviser. Additionally, it must align with when companies have needs and relevant tasks.

  Nominal workload:

  The course can be either 10 or 15 credits, depending on the scope of the tasks to be completed:

  • 10 credits correspond to 250 hours of work, of which a minimum of 150 hours must be in the company.
  • 15 credits correspond to 375 hours of work, of which a minimum of 250 hours must be in the company.

  
  The internship in the company can either be conducted intensively over a short period or stretched out by working, for example, one day a week. The remaining time is used for contact with the company, contract writing, completing mandatory submissions, and portfolio submissions.

• Finding a company and an internal supervisor

  You must find and contact a relevant company. Additionally, you need to find an internal supervisor at MINA. If you need tips, you can contact the study adviser or course responsible.

• The process step by step

  • Find and contact a relevant workplace/company.
  • Find an internal supervisor at NMBU-MINA.
  • Write an agreement with the company/contact person and MINA/internal supervisor.
  • Send the completed agreement to studieveileder-mina@nmbu.no.
  • The study advisor sends a confirmation of the approved agreement to the student, the company, and the internal supervisor, and enrolls you in the course 'Internship' and provides access to the Canvas page.
  • You can now start the internship (ensure that you are insured through the host company's insurance scheme. You may need to cover the insurance yourself).

  Remember to:

  • Keep track of time sheets for the work in companies.
  • You are required to have an employee interview during the work period. A report from the conversation should be written and submitted.

  At the end of the work experience course, the components of the portfolio assessment must be submitted. These include:

  • A reflection note on your experiences during the internship
  • A video, podcast, or blog post

  This should be submitted in the semester in which you are enrolled.

• Internship agreement

  An English version of the internship agreement is under development.

Course descriptions

• Renewable Energy
• Forest Science
• Ecology and Management of Natural Resources
• Environmental Science
• Nature-Based Tourism