Universitat Rovira i Virgili
Campus of International Excellence Southern Catalonia
School of Chemical Engineering

Internships: general information for companies

Internships are an educational activity designed for students to apply and supplement the knowledge they have acquired during their academic training. They are particularly useful so that students can acquire the competences they need for professional practice, they improve their employability and they encourage their entrepreneurial ability.

The internship programme must be based on activities that are closely related to the syllabus of their degree because they are part of the student's overall training. Although the focus is on the professional side, they are directly related to the academic content of their study programme.

Type of internship

Curricular internships are those that students register on as a subject on their curriculum and, therefore, they are awarded ECTS credits.

Extra-curricular internships are those that are requested by students so that they can get work experience. They are not awarded credits.

Extra-curricular internships can last for no longer than 50% of the total of the academic year (1 September to 31 August), a total of 750 hours per year. In exceptional circumstances, the faculty/school can decide to extend this total to 1000 hours (MEQ and MEASE) depending on the student's academic performance.

Those students who do extra-curricular internships must be registered at the university and have completed at least 50% of the degree course.

The timetable must be compatible with the student's academic timetable and the student's duties must be directly related to the content of the course.

As a general criterion, extra-curricular internships are remunerated. The minimum amounts to be paid as grants or study bursaries must be approved every academic year by the Students and University Community Commission, delegated by the Governing Council. Non-profit organisations can be regarded as exceptions.

Where can internships be done?

Curricular and extra-curricular internships at the ETSEQ are mainly done in national or foreign, public or private organisations. In exceptional cases, essentially when the student's personal situation so requires and the work duties are in alignment with the degree, the internship can be done at the URV.

If students engage in a professional activity in a company connected to the degree being studied, they may be allowed to do their internship in the institution/company where they work.

Documents to be signed

A student's internship must be formalised by a specific internship agreement between the URV's School of Chemical Engineering and the company/institution. The agreement must also be signed by the student.

Before signing a specific internship agreement, the company/institution must first have entered into an educational cooperation agreement with the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, which allows the company/institution to provide internships to students from any of the URV's faculties/schools. These agreements are signed for a period of four years by the rector or the person delegated by the rector.

Compulsory registration on the Social Security and payment of contributions

Companies/institutions that provide curricular or extra-curricular internships for students are obliged to register them on the Social Security system if the agreement stipulates that students must be remunerated even though, in the case of curricular internships, they are given a discount of 100% in accordance with the addition provision no. 25 of Royal Decree 8/2014, of 4 July.

Internships students will enjoy all the coverage of the General Social Security System except unemployment benefit.

Internship insurance

Curricular internship students, who generally do not receive any payment while they are engaged in their internship, are covered by the compulsory academic insurance. Students who are 28 years old or more are also covered by a Zurich insurance policy.

Finally, those students who are paid by the companies are covered by the Social Security payments made. In terms of contributions and rights, then, students are treated as if they were employees although they are clearly not members of the company's staff.

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Regulatory framework

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More information

Internships are part of the following degree programmes:

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