Internship

In the following table you will find an overview of the number of internships, length and deadlines required in your degree programme. Please also refer to the examination regulations that apply to you. These are binding.

• The search for a suitable internship is the responsibility of the student.
• For the pre-study internship, it is recommended that the apprenticeship atlas (Ausbildungsatlas) for the desired region be displayed on the website of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) and that suitable companies be located in the industry directory.
• For the specialised internship, we recommend searching on the relevant internet portals and on the "noticeboard" of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. If you are unsuccessful despite intensive efforts and cannot find an internship, please feel free to contact us.

• The pre-study internship is intended to impart elementary knowledge of industrial production.
• In principle, the companies should be manufacturing craft enterprises and industrial companies. Internships at craft enterprises in the maintenance and service sector without their own production cannot be recognised, e.g. car workshops.
• Please check whether the agreed internship contents correspond to the required areas of activity of the internship regulations: Experience and activity areas in the preliminary internship. Not all, but at least two of the above-mentioned areas must have been completed for the pre-study internship.
• Institutes of colleges and universities are not suitable and therefore not admitted.

• The knowledge and experience to be gained in the specialised internship should be acquired in medium-sized or large industrial companies in the mechanical engineering, automotive engineering and electrical engineering sectors, but also in other companies that operate extensive technical facilities.
• Engineering offices and research institutions independent of universities may also be suitable for partial sections of the specialised internship.
• The internship regulations do not prescribe any specific areas of activity for the specialised internship. It serves to acquire experience in a typical working environment of engineers or persons with a relevant university degree who predominantly carry out developing, planning or directing activities.
• In case of doubt about the acceptability of an intended, possibly more specialised or rather untypical internship activity, prior consultation with the Internship Office is recommended.
• However, craft enterprises in the maintenance and service sector as well as institutes of colleges and universities are not suitable and therefore not permitted.

You do not have to register your internship with us before signing the contract/starting the internship. However, if you have any questions regarding the suitability of the company or the areas of activity, you are welcome to contact us.

Pre-internship:

• To prepare the report for the pre-study internship, please use the following template.
• Please use the example for the weekly report as a guide for the content and structure of the report.
• For each week, describe a selected activity on at least one page of continuous text in font size 12. Illustrations or drawings may be included for better presentation.
• Please submit typed documents only. Handwritten documents cannot be processed.
• The weekly report must be stamped and signed on each sheet by the supervisor(s) in the company.

Specialised internship:

• Formulate an internship report in continuous text of one and a half to two pages per week of internship to be recognised, stamped and signed by the supervisor(s) in the company on the first or last page. No weekly reports.
• The report should present a description of the tasks, procedures, approaches to solutions, personal experiences in the company environment.
• The report should also include an introductory description of the company and the activities as well as a concluding summary. Furthermore, a table of contents should be included.
• There are no exact guidelines for the layout of the reports. However, the font size should not be larger than 12, the line spacing should not exceed 1.5 lines and the page margin should not exceed 2.5 cm. You may of course include pictures and drawings.
• Please submit typewritten documents only.

• The certificate must be enclosed in German or English. If the certificate is available in another language, you must have it translated, officially certified.
• The internship certificate or the certificate of successfully completed internship must be on company paper, show the duration of the student's training and areas of activity, as well as the date of issue, stamp and signature of the company.
• The wording of the certificate must clearly indicate that it refers to a traineeship, e.g. by the heading "Internship certificate" and/or the statement that the student worked as a "trainee".
• You are also welcome to use our certificate template.

You must provide proof of each day that you would like to have recognised as an internship. Holidays, sick days, bridge days and days that you miss due to participation in examinations must be made up. Public holidays are an exception; they do not have to be made up. It is best to extend your contract in advance, for example, if you have to take leave or if you have exams coming up.

You can complete the internship in different companies and thus integrate it as optimally as possible into your individual course of study. However, the duration of the internship in a company should not be less than 4 weeks.

The usual weekly working hours in the company apply according to the agreement in the internship contract. However, you should not work less than 35 hours per week in order to avoid problems with recognition.

To apply for a semester of leave, please contact the Enrolment Office. You can take a leave of absence under certain conditions.

Yes, this is possible. You are welcome to contact the International Office at the university. There you will receive more detailed information and can find out about various exchange programmes.

However, the placement does not automatically ensure that the respective place meets the requirements of the internship regulations. The interested party must clarify this with the Internship Office in each individual case. Basically, the same rules apply as for domestic internships.

You must submit the following documents to the Internship Office for recognition after completing your internship:

• Internship Acknowledgement Form (Please fill in completely and sign).
• Report card with a statement on absences (holidays, sickness, bridge days and days off for examinations), even if none have occurred. Public holidays are not absences.
• Internship report

• After completion of the internship and submission of all required proof, the internship office will check whether the internship has been recognised.
• The examination of your submitted documents usually takes 2-3 weeks.
• After recognition, you will be notified by email. If documents are missing or consultations are necessary, we will contact you.

• Depending on the training, we can credit this completely or proportionately as a work placement.
• To be considered for recognition, please submit your journeyman's certificate and a completed and signed internship recognition form.

Yes, this is possible. Internships in technical degree programmes that have already been recognised at German universities will be credited if they meet the requirements of the internship regulations. Please submit the relevant proof of recognition from the university and, if applicable, internship reports and company references together with the completed and signed internship recognition form.

• Professional activity in employment as an engineer
• Working student activities or comparable employment
• Training periods in a school setting
  • at vocational grammar schools specialising in technology
  • at technical schools
  • at a technical secondary school
• Voluntary scientific year
• Technical training and service in the German Armed Forces
• Technical education and further training in qualified technical courses

Further information on the recognition of the individual substitute periods can be found in the internship regulations.

Please submit your documents digitally, scanned as a PDF attachment, by e-mail to: praktikum@maschinenbau.uni-hannover.de. Unfortunately, we cannot accept other formats. Please briefly describe your request.

If necessary, the insurance cover must be adjusted. LUH does not provide any insurance cover. Please discuss this in detail with the internship company or the relevant insurance provider. Unfortunately, we cannot advise you in this case.

We do not issue separate certificates or sign blocking notes. Your documents will not be copied and/or archived. Activities that you are not allowed to explain in your report due to the fact of confidentiality, you should try to paraphrase so that no conflict arises between the confidential treatment of internal company information and the documentation of your activities. You can thus omit real results. Nevertheless, the starting points, procedures and objectives should be recognisable and comprehensible and the report should not be less extensive.

Yes, you should definitely conclude an internship contract in your own interest so that you are protected and all agreements are recorded in writing. The contract does not have to be submitted to the Internship Office.

• Internships that are completed during studies according to the study or examination regulations are exempt from social insurance for the period of the internship that is still outstanding. Some companies therefore require a corresponding confirmation. You can currently obtain the certificate from the examination office.
• Internships that are completed on the recommendation of the study and examination regulations before commencing studies are subject to social insurance. Accordingly, companies do not usually require a confirmation. If a company nevertheless requires such a confirmation, please submit the relevant study or examination regulations of your intended degree programme, which state that a compulsory internship must be completed for the degree programme.

In principle, company internships during attendance at general education schools are not recognised.

• Interfaces across disciplinary boundaries are essential for interdisciplinary cooperation.
• Exchange with other departments regarding data, action measures, coordination, results, etc.
• Working on interdepartmental projects.

The Career Service of the ZQS/Key Competences is your point of contact in this case. You can find information under the following link:

https://www.uni-hannover.de/en/studium/im-studium/career-guidance-internships-transition-into-employment/