A traineeship (work placement) abroad in an enterprise or any other relevant workplace. Traineeships abroad at a workplace are supported during short cycle, first, second and third cycle studies.

Students should work as an intern in a business enterprise or organization, which is directly related to their own educational field. The internship does not necessarily have to be a mandatory component of the student’s educational program although the economic sector the student works at should be closely related to it. Wherever possible, the traineeships should be an integrated part of the student’s study program.

The following types of organizations are not eligible as receiving organizations for student traineeships:

• Students will have to find their work placements independently.
• Students can intern at companies, education institutions/centers, research centers/facilities or any type of organization that is classified as “business enterprise” by the Erasmus+ Program Guide.
• As part of Erasmus+ ICM Internship program, partner university students can intern at the administrative offices of Koç University.
• The Erasmus placement period cannot be used to conduct research or analysis projects related to academic studies within a certain program. Research projectscannot be considered as training activities. Mobilitycannot be a laboratory work or scientific research. Students need to practice professional activities and internship must be carried out as the economic provisions in the relevant sector. For example, working at a company’s R & D department for product development and working at a university’s research center for a company’s project on product development could be considered as internship. Here is a list of Koç University’s Research Forums & Centers.
• Host (receiving) organizations for student traineeships may be any public or private organization active in the labor market or in the fields of education, training and youth. Such organization can be:
  • a public or private, a small, medium or large enterprise (including social enterprises);
  • a public body at local, regional or national level;
  • a social partner or other representative of working life, including chambers of commerce, craft/professional associations and trade unions;
  • a research institute (as described above);
  • a foundation;
  • a school/institute/educational center (at any level, from pre-school to upper secondary education, and including vocational education and adult education);
  • a non-profit organization, association, NGO;
  • a body providing career guidance, professional counselling and information services
• Activities may not take place at European Union institutions and other EU bodies including specialized agencies, organizations managing EU programs, and national diplomatic representations (embassy and consulate) of the home country of the student.
  • EU institutions and other EU bodies including specialized agencies Organizations managing
  • EU programs such as national agencies

Who is Eligible to Apply?

• Students must be registered in a partner university and enrolled in studies leading to a recognized degree or other recognized tertiary level qualification (up to and including the level of doctorate).
• The applicants must have not participated in the Erasmus+ ICM program (study and internship) for more than 10 months in their current education cycle (Bachelor/ Masters/PhD). A student may receive Erasmus mobility grants for a maximum of 12 months in any cycle. A student may receive funding within the Erasmus+ program for student mobility (studies and traineeships together) for a maximum of 12 months.
• Undergraduate students must have completed at least two regular semesters (remedial and prep excluded) with a minimum GPA of 2.20. Graduate students must have completed at least one regular semester (remedial and prep excluded) with a minimum GPA of 2.50.

Selection:

The selection process will evaluate the applicants and will prioritize candidates according to the established criteria and budgetary availability. The selection process will be based on the principles of equity, fairness and transparency. The first criterion is academic merit, but with equivalent academic level, preference should be assigned to students from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds and who didn’t participate in Erasmus+ ICM, Erasmus Mundus/EMJMD  before.

Suggested Evaluation criteria for Students (undergraduate and master’s degree):

• Outstanding academic record, according to the GPA (min. 2.2 for undergrads, min. 2.5 for grads in 4.0 scale required for application) in the students Transcripts of Records
• Master’s students who do not have master qualifications should provide the Transcripts of Records from their undergraduate studies.

Suggested Evaluation criteria for PhD students:

• Internship Proposal feasibility and contribution to professional development of the candidate

It’s very important to know that being selected by the home university does not guarantee the acceptance of the student by Koç University. The student will be informed about the acceptance once the required application documents are submitted on https://kuapp.ku.edu.tr Students should note that “Letter of Acceptance” by the host organization is must-to-have before submitting to online application on kuapp.

Important Notes & Suggestions to Partner Universities

Charter principles:

• The first part of the selection process will be undertaken at the students’ and staff members’ home universities and these selection processes will be organized by these institutions according to their own regulations, but always taking into account the evaluation criteria and the following Erasmus
  • Respect in full the principles of non-discrimination and to promote and ensure equal access and opportunities to mobile participants from all backgrounds, in particular disadvantaged or vulnerable groups. Apply a selection process that is fair, transparent and documented, ensuring equal opportunities to participants eligible for mobility.
• Partner universities are advised to implement the following when running a selection process:
  • In addition to academic achievement and language score, if the applicant has benefited from another Lifelong Learning Program or Erasmus+ mobility scheme while pursuing the same level of academic degree, 10 points will be subtracted for each and every activity utilized (regardless of whether internship or education) when calculating academic achievement and language score averages.
  • Disabled students receive +5 points if proving documents are provided.
  • Children of martyr and veteran people receive +5 points if proving documents are provided in the application.
  • Students who want to participate in mobility programs in their birth country receive -5 points

Nomination & Application

Partner HEIs should send the “Appointment Letter and Selection Committee Report” to the Office of International Programs at Koç University. If the partner university student plans to do an internship at one of the administrative offices of Koç University, OIP will get in touch with proposed departments to find appropriate host for the incoming student. Once the host department confirms, incoming student will be informed by OIP and will be asked to compete the online application on the  Kuapp website  and upload the required documents.

If the student would like to do an internship at an organization other than Koç University, the student is responsible of finding a host organization and submit a “Letter of Acceptance” when applying to Koç University.

In case some grants are not exhausted after the first round of application, a second round of application will be announced to partner university students by the International Office of the Partner University. Each call for application published by the University may stipulate different dates of start and/or end; in any case all mobility programs must be concluded by July 30th, of the relevant Academic Year. Once the student is nominated by the home university, the student will receive an automatic notification from KU OIP to complete his/her application via online application system.

**Please select the Reference Type at the Application Information section as “Internship”

The following documents should be uploaded in Koç University’s online application system:

• Letter of acceptance received by the host institution
• Transcript
• A valid English Language Proficiency Certificate (TOEFL IBT or IELTS)
• Resume (CV)
• Identification Card Copy or Passport Copy
• Special Needs Statement (* applicable for disabled students)
• Bank account information (Name as appears on passport, Bank name, Bank branch name/number, Account Number/IBAN Number, SWIFT Code)

After you are selected please note that you will be expected to submit below documents to Koç University OIP:

• Learning agreement for traineeship: Students have to fill in all the parts on the Learning Agreement electronically. Hand-written Learning Agreement is not accepted by OIP. Students are asked to fill in the Learning Agreement and sign it. Students should also get the signature of the host company/university’s representative and Koc University Erasmus Institutional Coordinator (Dr. Yiğit Sayın). Electronically filled out and fully signed LA should be submitted to OIP office.
• Letter of acceptance: You are asked to submit the “Letter of Acceptance” when you apply. However, if you make any changes in dates, then you should submit the revised version to OIP.
• Insurance Coverage: Student are required to have an international insurance coverage for the duration of their traineeship. The following coverage is required:
  • Health insurance coverage: Usually basic coverage is provided by the national health insurance of the participant as well during his/her stay in another EU country through the European Health Insurance Card. However, the coverage of the European Health Insurance Card or private insurance may not be sufficient, especially in case of repatriation and specific medical intervention. In that case, a complementary private insurance might be useful. It is the responsibility of the sending institution of the student to ensure that the participant is aware of health insurance issues.
  • Liability insurance coverage: Covering damages caused by the student at the workplace A liability insurance covers damages caused by the student during his/her stay abroad (independently whether he/she is at work or not). Varying arrangements with respect to liability insurance are in place in different countries engaged in transnational learning mobility for traineeships. Trainees therefore run the risk of not being covered.
  • Accident insurance coverage: Related to the student’s tasks (covering at least damages caused to the student at the workplace. This insurance covers damages to employees resulting from accidents at work. In many countries employees are covered against such accidents at work. However, the extent to which transnational trainees are covered within the same insurance may vary across the countries engaged in transnational learning mobility programmes. If the receiving organisation does not provide such a coverage (which cannot be imposed if not made compulsory by the national regulation of the receiving country), the sending institution shall ensure that the student is covered by such an insurance (taken either by the sending institution (on a voluntary basis as part of its quality management) or by the participant herself or himself).
  • Grant Agreement: Once the student completes and submits all the documents to KU OIP office, a draft version of the Grant Agreement is shared with the student by OIP. Student is obliged to fill in necessary places (i.e. bank account details, etc.), sign each page of the agreement and sign the signatory part of two copies of the agreement. Student is then asked to submit 2 signed copies to OIP office.