Industrial Internship

4 ECTS credits
110 h study time

Offer 2 with catalog number 4004025ENR for all students in the 1st semester at a (E) Master - advanced level.

Semester

1st semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Impossible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Enrollment Requirements

Due to specific risks and security issues, students must have obtained their bachelor degree and must have successfully passed ‘Biochemical engineering’, 'Industrial microbiology' and 'Protein chemistry, function and structure' before they can enroll for ‘Industrial internship’.

Taught in

Dutch

Faculty

Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences

Department

Bio-Engineering Sciences

Educational team

Stefan Weckx (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

110 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

The industrial internship is an obligatory part of the education of Vrije Universiteit Brussel students in bioengineering sciences. In practice, students stay at least twenty (20) working days in a company (not a research insitute; a research company is possible) in Belgium. Students have to arrange the internship themselves; this is part of the contents of the internship. Once an industrial internship place is found, an industrial internship registration formular (this is not a contract) has to be filled in and has to be submitted in four copies (originally signed by the student, the industrial promotor, the academic promotor, and the industrial internship coordinator; see further). The internship has to be agreed on by the department council, after which the industrial internship coordinator will sign the industrial internship registration formular. Subsequently, the completely signed industrial internship registration formular has to be given to the industrial promotor and the academic promotor (one copy is for the industrial internship coordinator and one copy is for the student). After this internal administrative process, if necessary and before the industrial internship starts, a contract agreement or confidentiality agreement or non-disclosure agreement can be signed (on initiative of the company involved). These agreements should be given to the co-titular industrial internship to be checked juridically, after which, upon agreement by the juridical department of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, these agreements will be signed by the iindustrial nternship coordinator and the dean of the Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences. The training period should be between the first and the second year of the master studies during the months of July, August, and/or September (or in another period in the case that no model trajectory is followed), and should be supervised by a qualified person of the company (the industrial promotor). Also, a ZAP member of the Department of Bioengineering Sciences of the Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel with specific expertise in the domain acts as academic promotor. The stay in the company must be finished before the start of the last academic year of the studies, but cannot be started without Bachelor degree; the student can only register for the industrial internship during the end-of-study phase.

 

Additional info

Assurance: the assurance of the university is applicable during the period of the industrial internship, for the normal trajectory from the place of living to the company's place and back. If desirable, a certificate can be obtained from the secretary of the industrial internship coordinator.

Structure of the report: maximally 30 pages
- Introduction (maximally 2 to 3 pages). This consists of a description of the company and its activities.
- Aims (one page). This encompasses a description of the problems and aims dealt with during the practical stay.
- Results (approximately 25 pages). This part is the major part of the report and consists of the actual reporting of the work carried out daily, including the materials and methods used, the results and their discussion, etc.
- Conclusion (one page). This part describes the conclusions of the results obtained.
- Possible annexes (e.g. of the actual measurements).

Before submission of the report, the report of the industrial internship has to be given to and checked by the industrial promotor. The industrial promotor will then determine and decide if the report can be given to the academic promotor and industrial internship coordinator. Subsequently, a definitive copy can be given to the industrial promotor, the academic promotor, and the industrial internship coordinator.

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

Training course of minimally twenty (20) working days in a company in Belgium. During this internship students come into contact with the industrial world and can test and apply their theoretical knowledge in practice. Students learn to know the companies' structures, mentality, and different functions that a bioengineer can fulfill in a company as well as learn to understand the different activities of a company. As it is not necessarily the aim to work on one specific project, the industrial internship is complementary to the masterproof. The subjects of the industrial training course and the master proof must hence differ in both subject and place, so that it can be assured that the student's education concerning practical knowledge is multidisciplinary.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
SELF Report determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the SELF Report category, the following assignments need to be completed:

• Zelf stageverslag with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 100% of the final mark.
  
  Note: Tijdens de stage kunnen de studenten contact opnemen met de academische promotor met het oog op actieve begeleiding en terugkoppeling.
  
  Na afloop van de stage dienen de studenten een verslag te schrijven over het bedrijf en het uitgevoerde werk. Dit verslag dient nagelezen te worden door de bedrijfsverantwoordelijke(n) en dient ingediend te worden bij de academische promotor, de industriële promotor en de stageverantwoordelijke van de opleiding Bio-ingenieurswetenschappen aan de Vrije Universiteit Brussel. De stage wordt door de industriële promotor beoordeeld op basis van het praktische werk dat werd uitgevoerd, het verslag dat hierover gemaakt werd en interactie met de industriële promotor en diens personeel. De academische promotor geeft enkel een beoordeling op basis van het geschreven verslag. Van beide beoordelingen wordt het gemiddelde gemaakt.
  
  Structuur van het stageverslag:
  - Inleiding (maximaal 2 tot 3 pagina's). Dit omvat een beschrijving van het bedrijf en de bedrijfsactiviteiten.
  - Doelstelling (één pagina). Dit omvat een verwoording van de tijdens de stage te behandelen probleem- en/of doelstellingen.
  - Resultaten (ongeveer 25 pagina's). Dit deel maakt het grootste deel van het verslag uit en omvat de eigenlijke verslaggeving van het dagelijks uitgevoerde werk, inclusief het gebruikte materiaal en de methoden, de eigenlijke resultaten en de bespreking daarvan, enz.
  - Besluit (één pagina). Dit omvat een conclusie van de bereikte resultaten.
  - Eventuele bijlagen (o.a. van de meetresultaten).

Additional info regarding evaluation

During the internship period, the students can take contact with their academic promotor for active guidance and feedback if necessary.

The industrial training course has to be judged by the industrial promotor and the academic promotor. This request will be made by the industrial internship coordinator (not the student). 

The industrial internship will be judged by the industrial promotor based on the practical work that was carried out, the report that was made, and the interactions of the student with the industrial promotor and the company's personnel. The academic promotor will judge the industrial internship based on the report that has been made. The industrial and academic promotor will make their evaluations independently. An average is made of both results.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Bioengineering Sciences: Cell and Gene Biotechnology: Medical Biotechnology (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Bioengineering Sciences: Cell and Gene Biotechnology: Molecular Biotechnology (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Bioengineering Sciences: Cell and Gene Biotechnology: Agrobiotechnology (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Bioengineering Sciences: Chemistry and Bioprocess Technology: Food Biotechnology (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Bioengineering Sciences: Chemistry and Bioprocess Technology: Chemical Biotechnology (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Bioengineering Sciences: Chemistry and Bioprocess Technology: Biochemical Biotechnology (only offered in Dutch)