With the exception of architecture, all first degree programmes at the OTH Regensburg require students to undertake an internship semester – a professionally qualifying industrial placement – as a compulsory part of the curriculum. The length of the internship (between 16 and 22 weeks) and its position within the studies (between the 3rd and the 6th semester) depend on the particular degree programme. During the internship semester the students remain full members of the OTH Regensburg with all the rights and obligations which this entails.
Students may only take up internships if they have demonstrated significant examination success in preceding semesters. This ensures that students have fundamental theoretical skills which they then build on through practical project assignments in the initial semesters, depending on the course. Before they start their studies many students will have had years of practical training in which they have accumulated substantial practical experience.
With the growing appeal of spending time abroad and the importance of internationalisation in general, more and more students in a wide range of disciplines are opting to spend their internship semester in another country. As well as enhancing their language skills and increasing their know-how of their chosen industry, students acquire intercultural skills and are able to demonstrate flexibility and the ability to communicate in an international context.
However, it’s not just students who gain by spending time abroad, businesses too can benefit from this experience. As well as the sound theoretical knowledge they have acquired through research at one of Bavaria’s leading universities of applied sciences, students can inject fresh ideas and impetus leading to improvements in working practices, for instance. Nor should businesses overlook the advantage of the flexible support given by highly motivated new temporary staff who may one day become permanent employees once they graduate.
Next to the compulsory internship semester, students at the OTH Regensburg increasingly use the opportunity of a further voluntary internship which will help them in their studies, provide yet more practical experience and make them an attractive proposition for prospective employers.
Businesses and other organisations willing to offer an internship abroad or who have any questions about such internships are invited to contact the International Internship Coordinators at the International Office of the OTH Regensburg.
Further Questions?
Your Contact at the International Office:
- Catherina Ertl and Elisabeth Schmid: outgoing-praktikum(at)oth-regensburg.de