Internships are an outstanding opportunity for accessing and promoting qualified young talents early on. Often, students initiate innovative ideas and provide new impulses to established workflows. When interns are placed and supervised appropriately, they can strengthen a business’s workforce in daily operations or specific projects.

The Focus is on Learning!

Internships constitute an important contribution to students’ professional orientation and qualification.Therefore, the training and education of studtens should always be in the foreground. Good training and familiarization, guidance, and supervision are a matter of course, and are part of a specialized internship.

Internship Information for Businesses

Hiring interns ties up business resources and must be prepared in terms of organizational and legal requirements and required insurances. For businesses with little or no experience in hiring interns, we have compiled several links providing information on advantages and disadvantages as well as on the legal framework (in German):

• A guideline by the IHK (Chamber of Industry and Commerce) informs on organization and realisation regarding internships in companies.
• The IHK Berlin also provides information on the statutory regulations pertaining to the minimum wage for internships, which apply since January 1, 2015.
• The German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has also compiled facts and figures on the minimum wage in a brochure (PDF).
• The brochure “Praktika – Nutzen für Praktikanten und Unternehmen” (Internships – Benefits for Interns and Businesses) by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs provides a detailed overview on rights and obligations of companies and interns.
• Employers wishing to hire international students as interns may inquire with the International Placement Services (Zentrale Auslands- und Fachvermittlung – ZAV). A detailed instruction sheet informs on rights and obligations in relation to employing international interns within the scope of study-related internships.

Framework Conditions for Study-Related Internships

Work-related internships during university studies are given a high priority within the academic education at Freie Universität Berlin. Bachelor’s programs include obligatory internships, which are integrated into the course of study.
Have a look at our information in German on:

• Criteria for a fair internship (PDF)