Student and Graduate Internship Programmes: Entrepreneurship

Background

The Fundacion Universidad Empresa is a private non-profit organisation in the field of university-business collaboration. The Board of Trustees represents 500,000 companies, 16 universities and 385,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Aims and targets

The FUE is addressing the challenges and opportunities generated in the framework of university-business relations, with a special focus on Education and Entrepreneurship:

Education

academic and career orientation for secondary students, customised training programmes for companies and institutions, course management for universities and business, Job Market and Career Development internship programmes for students and graduates, career reorientation for PhDs and researchers, job fairs, job opportunities guide and website, job placements for junior profiles, studies and reports.

Entrepreneurship

business incubator, on-campus workshops, annual seminar for university/vocational training students, graduate programme, Innovation, information and advisory services for SMEs, HR for RD&I, RD&I contract and project management, workshops.

Strategy and actions

Activities include:

• Recruitment and pre-selection process of student and graduate candidates
• Recruitment of host companies and institutions
• Counselling & orientation for candidates and host companies and institutions
• Support in the design and coordination of mandatory postgraduate programmes
• Legal and financial administration (tripartite agreements, insurance policies, taxes, company invoices, grant payments, etc.)
• Marketing and promotion to different target groups (students, graduates, universities, business, …)
• Customisation of programmes to meet specific company requirements (special recruitment needs, special training schemes, for example

Monitoring and evaluation

Funding/Cost effectiveness

Sustainability/Transferability

Outcomes/impacts

Achievements

The FUE has been promoted by Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Fundación Universidad-Empresa since 1997. Acheivements include over 5.000 graduates and 200 host companies and institutions.

Participating graduates have the opportunity of designing their own academic programme (minimum 160 hours) based on their personal and professional profile requirements:

• 80 hours in Microeconomy, Macroeconomy and Business Economics: mandatory for graduates without previous academic courses in the field
• Minimum 80 hours in: Business Administration, Law, Human Resources, Languages (English and French), Computer Sciences and Computer Skills, Engineering, Sociology, Environmental Sciences, Pharmacology 

 

Success factors

One success factor is that participating companies and institutions have the opportunity of designing specialised academic programmes in their own field of business.

• For example: CITIUS COMEX: specialising in training in international commerce, promoted by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Madrid, has completed 6 programmes since 2000, with 120 participating graduates, placements in business associations. Course content was given by experts from the CCIM and UAM faculty.

Unintended impacts

Strengths and weaknesses

A particular strength is the interactive university business marketplace.