Recruit a student

The recruiting process for hiring an intern is carried out according to the organisation’s normal recruitment practice. The most typical internship periods lasts 3-6 months.

Open internship positions can be advertised free of charge through the university’s JobTeaser job portal. Students might also be directly in touch inquiring about internship opportunities in employers who interest them.

The purpose of an internship is to give the student a possibility to become familiar with working in their field. Obviously, the employer also gets valuable input from the intern. The tasks should correspond or in some way support the intern’s studies or future career plans. If the internship is to be included in the student’s curricula, they can inquire about this at their faculty/subject.

Internship Commitment

When hiring an intern who is a student at the University of Turku, the employer, student and faculty sign an electronic Internship Commitment form. In addition to this, the employer and student sign a fixed-term employment contract for the duration of the internship.

The student initiates the Internship Commitment form (found on UTU intranet) after which the employer’s contact person fills in information about e.g. duration, salary, tasks, learning outcomes of the internship. After this, the Internship Commitment is approved and signed by the faculty, and the student and employer also electronically sign the document.

Employers log into the electronic form through strong identification (Suomi.fi credentials). If Suomi.fi credentials are not in use, the employer should contact the Career Services (rekry@utu.fi) to get instructions on an alternative way to fill in the information.

Universities in Finland do not recommend or advertise unpaid internships to students. If the organisation cannot fully fund the salary costs of an intern, the university offers an internship subsidy. The subsidy is a financial compensation paid to the employer. As one of the few universities in Finland, the University of Turku ensures that all degree students can use the university’s internship subsidy once during their studies.

The need of the internship subsidy should be indicated in the internship announcement. The internship subsidy is a lump sum of €1,800 for the entire duration of the internship. The internship employer invoices the support from the university after the internship.

The criteria for the Internship subsidy are:

• the intern is paid a salary according to the applicable collective agreement (or at least the minimum wage to meet Kela’s employment condition, €1331/month in 2023)
• the duration of the internship is at least 2-3 months (depending on the faculty) of full-time work (or an equivalent period of part-time work)
• the tasks of the internship correspond to the student’s field of study and/or develop the student’s professional skills and career plans
• the intern is designated a supervisor within the organisation

Students apply for the internship subsidy from the faculty after the internship position has been confirmed, and information about the use of the subsidy is registered in the Internship Commitment (see Hiring an intern above). Invoice information is found in the Internship Commitment.

After the internship, the employer and the student fill out a feedback form regarding the internship.

When starting the internship, the intern should get a thorough introduction to the organisation and its people and practices, the industry and other practical matters regarding the employment. It is a good idea to include the intern in meetings and gatherings so they get familiar with the organisation as quickly as possible.

The intern must have a designated supervisor who is familiar with the tasks that the intern is to work with. A good internship involves regular check-ups with the supervisor, commitment to guide the intern throughout the entire internship period and evaluating the internship period.

A successful internship period requires preparation and evaluation of the experience afterwards. At the end of the internship, it is a good idea to have a final feedback discussion, where the main contents and goals of the internship are reviewed together.

The intern is always in an employment relationship with the employer, who pays the salary during the internship. When the intern is hired, the employer and the student sign a fixed-term contract of employment according to the contract template used by the employer.

The employer is responsible for the intern in accordance with the Employment Contracts Act and other employer obligations.

The contract of employment contract must state e.g. duration of internship, working hours and salary to be paid. The intern has the same rights and obligations as other fixed-term employees.

After the internship period, the employer writes the intern a Certificate of employment with details on the work tasks and a possible recommendation.

Holiday

The intern earns vacation days in accordance with the collective agreement followed by the workplace; usually two days for each month of holiday accrual.

Insurance during internships

Students in paid internships (employment relationship) are covered by the employer’s statutory occupational accident insurance.

In most cases, the university’s insurance for students does not cover internships. However, the student is covered by student accident insurance if the internship is unpaid, the student will be granted study credits/the internship is part of the curricula, and the internship meets the conditions defined in the Student Accident Act.

Liability (and possible liability insurance) is at the internship employer, i.e. where the intern’s work is supervised.