Admission requirements
Master students that have completed the course Research Methods.
Description
The business studies internship represents an exciting opportunity for students to use and advance managerial knowledge and skills in a real-life business context. Over the course of their internship students become familiar with subject matter expertise and competencies required to be successful in a particular industry- or functional- domain. Moreover, students will contribute to state-of-the art managerial knowledge in this domain. The internship provides an excellent orientation and preparation for students’ post-university career, with many students ending up with a job at their internship organization after graduation. Examples of internship projects and experiences of SBB students can be found on the Science Based Business website.
There are three types of internships with different requirements and ECs. The number of ECs is determined by different levels of learning outcomes. ECs account for not only work at the Internship Organization but also other activities, such as applying for an internship, preparing deliverables to the universities, and self-studies for the internship project.
➔ Business Practice Internship (20 ECs) ▪ Minimum 3 months (full time) for the internship period. ▪ The internship constitutes a particular position in the Internship Organization and consists of a series of assignments and tasks, usually of increasing complexity and executed with increasing independence.
➔ Business Development Internship (30 ECs) ▪ Minimum 4 months (full time) for the internship period. ▪ The main component of the internship is a business development project, e.g., marketing research, product development, process optimization. The project should be challenging and has well-defined goals, milestones, and endpoint. The student should be personally responsible for the project. The end products of the project include a Business Development Report, documenting the project process and results, as well as deliverables to the Internship Organization, e.g., an action plan, a strategy report, a documentation of an improved system.
➔ Business Research Internship (40 ECs) ▪ Minimum 5 months (full time) for the internship period. ▪ The main component of the internship is a business research project. The business research project should have a clear research question, solid literature review, and rigorous research design and execution, in particular the collection and analysis of qualitative and/or quantitative data. The student should be personally responsible for the project. The final product of the product of the project should be a research report. ▪ The main difference between a Business Development Internship and a Business Research Internship pertains to scientific rigor. For example, a marketing research project may qualify as a Business Development Internship if it is causally designed, but it may qualify as a Business Research Internship if it has a well-thought-out sampling strategy and questionnaire design, a more systematic analysis of the data for deriving findings and conclusions, and an academic writing style.
Course objectives
Learning Objectives
Through the internship, the student is expected to develop competencies (i.e., knowledge, skills and attitudes) in the following areas.
➔ Organizational and industrial knowledge ▪ Understanding of how organizations function. ▪ Understanding of various management aspects. ▪ Understanding of the industry in which the Internship Organization operates.
➔ Business function competence ▪ Ability to independently perform a business function and fulfil its role and responsibilities, e.g., business intelligence analyst, product and process developer, financial manager, regulation affairs specialist. The business function should have a sufficient level of business/management engagement, positions with a purely ‘technical orientation’ such as those primarily involving lab work are not acceptable.
➔ Analytical and problem-solving skills ▪ Ability to solve complex business problems. ▪ Ability to collect and analyze information for business decisions. ▪ Proficiency in using advanced business analytics tools and methods.
➔ Professional skills ▪ Ability to work effectively and efficiently across business settings, covering various “soft” skills, e.g., social and communication, managing self and relationships with the boss and colleagues, teamwork, conflict management.
➔ Business development competence (only for Business Development Internships) ▪ Ability to identify important business problems. ▪ Ability to independently plan and manage a business project. ▪ Ability to translate analytical results into business insights.
➔ Business research competence (only for Business Research Internships) ▪ Ability to raise an interesting and relevant business research question. ▪ Ability to conduct a comprehensive literature review. ▪ Ability to design and execute a business research project. ▪ Ability to collect and analyze qualitative and/or quantitative data. ▪ Ability to translate findings and knowledge into business insights. ▪ Ability to write a research report following academic standards.
Timetable
The Business Studies Internship can be done any time throughout the academic year.
Mode of instruction
The student is assigned an academic supervisor by Science Based Business, whose task it is to provide guidance regarding the academic requirements the student needs to meet, and a line manager within the internship organisation who supervises the student’s day to day activities during the internship.
Course load
There are three types of internships with different requirements and ECs (20/30/40). The number of ECs is determined by different levels of learning outcomes. ECs account for not only work at the Internship Organization but also other activities, such as applying for an internship, preparing deliverables to the universities, and self-studies for the internship project.
Assessment method
Students are assessed based on the following deliverables: The Internship Plan, the Interim Report, the SBB Colloquium, and the Internship Report. Assessment criteria are in line with the required learning objectives (Internship type: Weight):
Organizational and industrial knowledge (Pratice: 5/20; Development: 5/30; Research: 5/40)
Business function competence (Pratice: 5/20; Development: 5/30; Research: 5/40)
Analytical and problem-solving skills (Pratice: 5/20; Development: 5/30; Research: 5/40)
Professional skills (Pratice: 5/20; Development: 5/30; Research: 5/40)
Business development competence (Pratice: 0; Development: 10/30; Research: 0)
Business research competence (Pratice: 0; Development: 0; Research: 20/40)
In order to pass students must have a total grade of at least a 6 (six). The final grade is rounded off to the nearest half or integer.
Reading list
To be determined depending on the scope of the SBB Business Studies Internship.
Registration
Self-enrollment in Brightspace, no registration in MyStudymap.