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Guidelines for the practical study semester
Faculty of Mechatronics and Electrical Engineering
in the version dated April 17th 2013
Degree programs Mechatronics / Automation Systems (ATB) Mechatronics / Electrical Engineering (ETB))
Mechatronics / Precision Engineering and Microtechnology (FMB) Mechatronics / MechatronicsPlus (MPK)
Engineering Education / Electrical Engineering and Information Technology (EIP)
1. General Guidelines
The practical semester, in accordance with § 4 SPO (Study and Examinations Regulations), is a mandatory internship totalling a minimum of 100 days of attendance. The University of Esslingen will not issue a special certificate which states the mandatory character of the internship. It will be sufficient to simply present these guidelines upon request.
The student himself must arrange the internship. The University of Esslingen does not arrange the internship. The internship contract itself is concluded between the student and the company offering the internship. The
University of Esslingen is not and will not be party to this bilateral agreement. The student must clearly record any potential declarations of secrecy with the contracted company, submit a document thereof to the Internship Office, and turn this in to the chair of the Internship Office before the contract with the student is signed. The student also must give a copy of these guidelines, "Guidelines for the practical study semester", to the contracted company.
Credit will not be given for previous employment to substitute for the practical study semester.
The internship semester takes place in a single, contiguous block in the 5th semester. A deviation from the 5th semester requires the consultation of the appropriate Academic Director.
The bachelor’s thesis may in no way be a direct continuation of the content completed in the practical semester. The practical semester, according to the SPO, is a supervised section of study overseen by the university. In order to ensure its oversight, students who enter the practical semester full or part-time in their fifth semester of study must hand in detailed information about their internship (company address, department, telephone, email address etc. and task) to the internship office by the end of the previous semester (either on Feb. 28./29. or on Aug. 31.) This is usually done online through the corresponding online form page of the university website. Additionally, for the integrated practice study models, this mandatory online registration may only be done in the semester prior to the fifth semester. In the case of a belated online registration after these dates, an administrative fee of 20,- EUR may be levied. If registration occurs so late that sufficient oversight by the university cannot be ensured, then no credit will be given for the internship.
The focal points of the practical semester are to be set in respect to the operational possibilities of the company in line with the following educational objectives and content. The intern is to supplement the content through self-study and further reading.
The interns are supervised during their practical study semester by industrial experts and professors from the university. One purpose of the advisory relationship is to ensure that the practical work meets scientific standards. The supervision can be performed in groups or according to other standards of the faculty. The companies become a part of a joint training mission and are required to collaborate with the university. They support the interns with a modern-day engineering structure for the practical study semester: In general, at the beginning of the practical semester, a project plan is drawn up and later monitored; interns are to work with professional books and journals, including internal company documents, and to do research on the internet. They are encouraged, as far as possible, to write a bibliography for their report from its inception. Students are also to be included in technical meetings of the department as such possibilities arise. Visits by professors to the partnering company are to be arranged with the appropriate representative.
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The practical semester is supplemented by block courses at the university both before and after the internship. The block courses are aimed at strengthening the technical, methodological and social competence of the students. They apply especially to the following topics:
• Presentation techniques • Project Management
• Operational structures and working methods • Enhancing professional knowledge.
2. Recognition / Credit Transfer
In addition to reports and documentation of the practical work, a written confirmation from the company about the internship is to be submitted to the Internship Office. This must include:
• The nature and content of the activity • Start and end of the training period
• Absences, or a certificate that no absences occurred
• An internship period of at least 100 days of attendance is required. It is not possible to give credit for overtime hours in place of days of attendance. Vacation days and sick days may also not be used in this calculation.
A template, which may be used for written confirmation of the internship, is located in the appendix of these guidelines.
After the internship semester, i.e. in practice-integrated study models held after the 5th semester, a report is to be given about the internship.
The Internship Office will make a decision regarding the credit given for the practical semester. A written account, an activity report and a presentation are all to be completed and turned in prior to the practical semester being counted for credit.
Unlike the pre-study internship, an apprenticeship – even in a recognized occupation – cannot be counted toward the practical semester. This practical semester is an integral part of study and thus a mandatory internship which cannot be dismissed.
However, a practical study semester that was completed in another degree program or on another university may be counted for credit. This may occur provided that specifications regarding the content, duration, presentation, and other details match the requirements of the ME faculty. The Internship Office decides regarding giving such credit.
3. Content of the Training
The aim of the practical semester is for interns to gain insight into the operational systems used in business and their linkages, as well as getting to know the principle demands and connections within business practice, as well as the use and sharpening of qualifications which have been newly gained in their studies. This occurs through the engineering-related processing of suitable projects. Economic, environmental, safety and ethical aspects should also be taken into account in this process.
The training content should correspond to the desired professional profile of graduates and to the training spectrum of the sending Faculty of Mechatronics and Electrical Engineering from which the interns come. The training content must therefore fall under the areas of mechanical engineering, machine construction, precision engineering, microsystems technology, electronics, electrical engineering, automation engineering, production engineering or computer science. Interns may conceivably collaborate in the following areas:
• in selected areas of manufacturing,
• in the planning, control and securing of industrial processes,
• in selected areas of development, including software development and application, • quality management and
• in specific areas, e.g. operating system security, workplace design, business organization and environmental protection and preventative measures.
It is desirable that the contracted companies train interns in operational structures (e.g. team building, hierarchy, social ties, ...) as well.
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Therefore, projects may be completed in one of the following or comparable areas: • Development
• Construction
• Production planning and control • Quality Management
• Test Field • Project Planning
• Technical Sales and Distribution.
4. Duration
Industrial Apprenticeship: being present at least 100 days Preparatory block course: up to one week
Follow-up event block course: up to one week
5. Report and Documentation
The project thesis of the practical semester, an integral part of the business apprenticeship, is to be documented in engineering fashion. The documentation will be confirmed by representatives of the company before the end of the internship and is to be submitted to the Internship Office for credit.
Most importantly, before the student and the partnering firm sign the contract, the representative from the partnering firm and the Internship Office must agree as to what extent the contents of the document, in whole or in part, will or will not be made accessible to third parties. See also Paragraph 1 of these guidelines under "Nondisclosure agreement."
Ausbildende Firma:
An die
Hochschule Esslingen
University of Applied Sciences -
Praxisamt -
Kanalstraße 33
73728 Esslingen
Tätigkeitsnachweis
für das praktische Studiensemester
Frau/ Herr --- , geb. am ---
hat als eingeschriebene/r Studierende/r der
Hochschule Esslingen
i m S t u d i e n g a n g ---
i m Ze i t r a u m v o n --- b i s ---
das
praktische Studiensemester
abgeleistet.
Die Ausbildung erfolgte nach den für diesen Studiengang geltenden Richtlinien.
Fehltage während dieser Zeit: ---
davon: ---Tage Arbeitsbefreiung
___________________ Tage
Krankheit
Seite 2 für ---
Name, Vorname der/des Studierenden
---
Ort, Datum Unterschrift und Stempel des Ausbildungsbetriebes
Zur Beachtung:
Dieser Tätigkeitsnachweis ist im Original dem Berichtsheft beizufügen und
verbleibt bei der Hochschule Esslingen!
Frau/Herr
geb. am
Ms/Mr
Date of Birth
hat als eingeschriebener Studierende/r der
as a registered student at
Hochschule Esslingen
University of Applied Sciences - Esslingen
im Studiengang
course of study
im Zeitraum von
bis
from
to
das praktische Studiensemester abgeleistet.
completed the required internship.
Die Ausbildung erfolgte nach den für diesen Studiengang geltenden Richtlinien.
The training was completed according to the departmental regulations.
An die
Hochschule Esslingen
University of Applied Sciences
-Praxisamt-Kanalstraße 33
73728 Esslingen
Fehltage während dieser Zeit:
Days of absences:
davon:
consiting of:
Tage Arbeitsbefreiung
days of vacation
Tage Krankheit
sick days
Tage unentschul. Fehlen
unexcused absences
Tätigkeitsnachweis für das Praktische Studiensemester
Certificate of employment for the internship semester
Ausbildende Firma
Name, Vorname der/des Studierenden
Datum
Date Unterschrift und Stempel des AusbildungsbetriebesSignature and stamp of the training company
Seite 2 für
Art und Inhalt der Tätigkeit
Job description
Duration
Dauer
Dieser Tätigkeitsnachweis ist im Original dem Berichtsheft beizufügen und verbleibt bei
der Hochschule Esslingen!
The original of this certificate must be appended to the internship report and will be kept
