It is up to you to decide if you want to do your final bachelor assignment in the Netherlands or abroad. In general, finding an international internship is more difficult and will take more time than finding a work placement in the Netherlands. Even so, one advantage of an international internship is that you get to know another culture and another way of life.
Once you have found an international work placement, preparations often take more time as well:
- Applying for a visa
- In some cases, you may need inoculations for tropical diseases
- Follow a language course
Things you may encounter during your international internship:
- Having to get by in another language
- Unknown (work) culture
- A different climate
- Higher costs (sometimes there is no internship compensation, travel expenses, etc.)
Finding an international internship
It is up to you to select the type of organization for your internship:
- University or research institute
- Dutch company that operates internationally
- Foreign company
You can look for an internship by:
- Checking the lists of completed internships of the Student Mobility for Civil Engineering
- Using your own network, searching Internet, newspapers and magazines
- You can also look for a work placement via an agency, but this often involves costs
An example of a website for an international assignment is http://www.enviu.org
Insurance
The University of Twente has developed a registration system for staff and students who are going on an international assignment. This ensures that the University of Twente knows where you are and is able to offer assistance in the event of an emergency.
The registration system is linked to the free collective travel insurance you can take out. You can enrol via the link "web applications" on the website of the University of Twente. We urgently recommend students with an international internship to enrol and to also use the collective travel insurance in addition to any private travel insurance. For more information on insurance, you can visit the Students Mobility Centre for Civil Engineering.
Subsidies
An assignment abroad generally involves higher costs than an internship in the Netherlands. With an international internship you can apply for a UT Buitenlandbeurs. For more information on this you can visit the Students Mobility Centre for Civil Engineering.
Grants
- In preparation for an international internship you can check out any grants that may be available.
- Information on various grants can be found on the website of the International Office of the University of Twente http://www.utwente.nl/internationaloffice.
- Also have a look at www.wilweg.nl and www.beursopener.nl.
- For more information on these grants and other possibilities you can visit the Students Mobility Centre for Civil Engineering.