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Anna Karolina Jackowska spent almost half a year in Athens thanks to the Erasmus program. She completed an internship at the University of Athens, during which she conducted electrotechnical research necessary for her master’s thesis. – I spent eight hours at the university five days a week – says Anna. – I started trying to leave eight months earlier. The scholarship – 350 euro per month – covered the difference between the cost of living in Greece and Poland.
What did this trip give her? – A measurable advantage was learning the technical English vocabulary and the ability to travel – he replies. – On weekends I visited Greece, I was e.g. in Crete and in Meteora – adds a graduate of the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow.
How much will you earn with Erasmus?
In the 2011/2012 academic year, 3,209 Poles left for Erasmus internships. They can be held in a foreign company, research and development institution, non-profit organization or state administration, museum, library, hospital, etc. The exceptions are EU institutions and Polish diplomatic missions, where internships are not allowed. The internship must be related to the field you are studying. The basic criterion for selecting candidates is knowledge of the language of a given country or the language required in a given institution.
See also: Action against free internships and internships: “I don’t do for free”
During internships, students receive a scholarship, its amount depends on the country where they will stay and the home university. For example, a student of the University of Warsaw, undertaking internships in the countries of the first group (e.g. Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom) may receive EUR 550 per month, in the countries of the second group (e.g. Belgium, Greece, Spain and Germany) it is 480 euros. Importantly, the scholarship is exempt from personal income tax. To go on an Erasmus internship, you need to report to the office at the university, preferably in the academic year preceding the planned departure.
AIESEC in over 100 countries
Agata Zasuń spent a year working in a transport company in the USA. She traveled to Minneapolis on the AIESEC program. – Preparations for the trip took me 5 months, the most time was getting the visa. For a year I worked in the transport company C.H. Robinson. After returning to Europe, the same corporation offered me a job in Great Britain – says Agata. I do not want to talk about earnings. – I was getting the same salary as other employees. I didn’t complain – he adds.
AIESEC has been sending Poles abroad for 40 years. Their flagship program is Global Talents, enabling graduates to take up internships in over 100 countries around the world. Internships last from 3 to 18 months, more than half of the 3000 offers are from the Asia-Pacific region. To participate, you must be a maximum of 2 years after graduation, be under 30 and know English at B2 level. Professional experience (3-6 months) is also important.
The salary depends on a specific company, but it cannot be less than the minimum wage in a given country. To go on an internship with AIESEC, you should report to the local office about 5 months before the planned departure. Participation in the program is payable and amounts to PLN 500.
Do this type of internship help in finding a job?
– Thanks to them, potential employees applying for a position for the first time are perceived as more operative – says Krzysztof Wieczorek, Randstad Professionals expert. – Valuable professional experience gained during internships outside Poland can be proved by, inter alia, about openness to learning about new cultures. In addition, someone who, for example, has completed an internship in a German company, may (but does not have to) get a job in Poland with such capital easier – he adds. And he points out: – Internship abroad is a valuable investment to start on the labor market.
Piotr Kalsztyn
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