Traineeship

The traineeship is completed over a period of at least three months but no more than seven months. Students complete traineeship off-campus. Only in exceptional cases students may work as trainees at the University of Twente, such to be decided by the programme mentor, the graduation supervisor and the Board of Examiners.

During the traineeship (external training) you apply your knowledge that you acquired in your master’s programme, working at a company or institution. The purpose is to work under circumstances, resembling the situation after your graduation as much as possible. Included in this working experience is also the process of finding a position and a short application procedure. The traineeship has a study load of 20 EC and will last therefore at least 14 weeks.

Organization

The following persons and organizations play a role during your external stage:

o	The host organization, which is the company or institution where you will carry out the traineeship. The host organization assigns a staff member who will supervise your work.

The Educational Supervisor is a lecturer of your master’s programme. He/she will monitor the scientific level of your traineeship. The Educational Supervisor should give approval to the traineeship before you make your final appointments with the host organization. After the traineeship, he/she will carry out the final assessment and decide about the mark.

o	The traineeship office. The office consists of the traineeship coordinator and the mediator. They will supervise the student from the beginning of the searching process finding a position until the end of the traineeship, when the last documents should be archived.

Eligibility

The following conditions must be met prior to definitive admission to the traineeship:

o	The student must have completed his bachelor’s degree

o	The programme mentor has approved the student’s course programme.

o	A minimum of 40 credits has been completed from the approved course programme

o	The student has adequate mathematical knowledge to the satisfaction of the educational supervisor, the programme mentor and/or the external supervisor of the host organization.

Doctoral students should have:

o	D1 + D2 and at least 40 EC in D3 or a total of 220 EC

Options for a traineeship

Many students will find a traineeship position at a company, but also an institution or university is possible. Internships can be done everywhere in the world, in Enschede but also in New Zealand or somewhere in between. “The sky is the limit”, unless you manage to find a position with NASA or ESA as an astronaut. The only place on earth definitely out of scope is the UT itself. In all cases, the host institute should provide an assignment that must be approved by the educational supervisor. Approval will only be given if the assignment has sufficient academic level.

Teaching qualification

If you plan on getting you teaching degree in mathematics, it is possible to replace your regular traineeship with a teaching traineeship. If you are interested in obtaining your teaching degree, you can contact Ms. N.C. Verhoef or your student adviser.

How to find a position

One might distinguish three ways to find a host institute:

1.	The database of the traineeship office: the office maintains databases containing companies and experience reports. These reports are written by students and describe their experiences during the traineeship.

2.	A lecturer in a chair (research group): during research, lecturers often cooperate with companies and institutions that might also be willing to provide a traineeship position.

3.	On your own: it is possible and allowed to find a traineeship position on your own. Many companies offer traineeship positions on their websites. Finding a position in this way may not be easy but it may lead to a surprising and rewarding traineeship.

In all cases the traineeship must be approved by a lecturer before you make your final appointments with the host institute. This is described above.

Confidentiality

No report is confidential unless requested otherwise. When your assignment or the results should remain confidential, you have to turn in a request with BOZ.

Information sessions

Twice a year information sessions are held about the traineeship, in September and April. You can find them in the rosters of the master programmes.

First contact

Make an appointment with the traineeship mediator (Stages@ewi.utwente.nl) if you start to think about a traineeship. During this talk, the course of things will be discussed and a planning will be made for the preparation, the traineeship and the completion after return. See your mediator at least six months before you plan go. After this talk, the Blackboard site with training positions will be opened for you.

Stage website: www.utwente.nl/ewi/en/education/external_training/

Blackboard site with training position database: http://blackboard.utwente.nl.

	Maarten Korsten (co-ordinator)
	Zilverling 1022

	Belinda Jaarsma (mediator)
	Zilverling 1030