Internship: Practice - Experience - Opportunity!

The “Trendence Graduate Barometer 2017” (Trendence Institute) showed that two-thirds of University of Hohenheim students complete an internship during their studies. Internships help you to find the right career and offer a first look at the professional world. But not all internships are the same. What is an internship for and how should you plan?

Get additional information from the Internship Office and get advice at an early point in time.

Why do an internship?

Internships in the basic study period

Get an overview
Get to know industries
Help for deciding on specializations

Tip: Shorter internships (6-8 weeks) during the lecture-free period

Internships in advanced study period

Prepare for career entry
Get to know practical side of desired career field
Make contacts

Tip: Longer internships (3-6 months)

What do I need to know?

Before the internship

Professional orientation: CareerCenter Hohenheim
Planning your studies with an internship: Internship Office
Career fairs and job marketplaces
Application coaching for internships: CareerCenter Hohenheim
Internship payment and BAföG
Formal guidelines and legal information
Internship lasting at least 50% of the lecture period - students may request a semester leave of absence.
Internship etiquette

During the internship

Working hours: The same legal regulations apply as for regular employees.
Tasks: An internship is part of your education (learning, gaining experience, developing further).
Contact: You should have one person assigned as your contact person / supervisor.

After the internship

Have a feedback discussion at the end of the internship with your supervisor
At the end of the internship, a reference letter is given.
Use the internship as an opportunity to network: Around six months before you completed your degree, make contact again. Are there opportunities for starting your career there?

Formalities and requirements for mandatory internships.

Statements

Student statements

Helena Häringer (M Sc. Agricultural Sciences and B.Sc. Agricultural Sciences)

“The career I am choosing is based mostly on the many internships I did and the practical experience I gained in many different areas of agricultural operations. There, I got the chance to gain insights into various areas of agriculture and got a clear idea of what I want to do.”

Annika Feichtinger (M.Sc. Food Technology, B.Sc. Food Science and Biotechnology)

“My six-month internship with Dr. Oetker Professional during my Bachelor’s program was really beneficial to me in many ways. Besides making contacts for starting my career later, I was finally able to apply what I had learned during my studies in practice. That was the best way to start my Master’s program with clear goals and renewed motivation!”

Christina Pfriender (Master’s in Management, B. Sc. Business Administration and Economics)

“My voluntary internship helped me make valuable contacts. After my internship, I got the opportunity to stay in the company as a working student. I’ve now been working there for 1.5 years.”

Statements from companies

Angela Ott-Schwaderer (Plant Production, HR Development, ZG Raiffeisen eG)

“As a cooperative company, we aim to support our members. Most of them are farmers. That is why we believe it is beneficial for students to work in the operations to find out what is important for the farmers.”

Raiffeisen Jobsaround

Dr. Jochen Riebensahm (Senior Consultant, AGRI-associates Deutschland)

“An internship is good for getting orientation or to build up specific competences. Just doing any internship to bridge some free time does not make sense.”

Julia Eich (Campus Recruiter, KPMG AG Auditing Company)

“From my own experience, as well, I recommend that everyone takes the time for a longer internship during their studies or between their Bachelor’s and Master’s programs. Internships give you good insights into daily professional life, and you then also have contacts with a company where you might be able to start your career after your degree.”

Esther Graeger (Team Manager, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg)

“If your degree program doesn’t require an internship, then you should definitely do a voluntary one. With us, you have a chance to experience modern banking business life for between 2 and 3 months in a voluntary internship.”