Professional internship abroad – take your career to the next level

The KTU International Relations Department reminds you that the next application deadline for the Erasmus+ scholarship for an internship abroad is December 1, 2023.

Professional internship is an important part of your studies. It gives you a taste of the career, provides you with a professional networking opportunity and increases confidence in the field of your future work. However, most importantly, a professional internship provides you with soft skills, which, according to business professionals is the hard currency of the workforce.

Two in one – travelling and advancing professionally

All KTU students must do a professional internship to complete their degree. Why not take this to the next level and choose a professional internship in a company outside Lithuania? Think about the diversity and amount of possibilities that are waiting for you in the world! A good place to start looking for those places is the catalogue of traineeship offers abroad, which you can find here.

The minimum duration of the professional internship outside your study country is 60 days, and you can go anywhere in the world. Erasmus+ internship funding amounts to EUR 650–750 per month (depending on the country), but you may get an additional salary from the organisation.

For the majority of students, getting professional experience in their chosen career and travelling to see the world are among the top priorities. By choosing a professional internship outside your study country, with Erasmus+ funding, you can kill two birds with one stone – gain valuable experience both professionally and personally.

“Adapting to a new culture and professional environment was challenging but rewarding,” says Wren Francis Alumkal Thomas, a final-year student of Informatics.

During his internship at AB InBev’s Prague Digital Hub in the Czech Republic, Wren Francis worked on data automation and migration, which added to his academic knowledge of the data analysis field. However, he says that teamwork and problem-solving skills are as important as professional experience.

For his internship Skirmantas, who is aiming at a career in academic research, has chosen a university instead of a company. According to him, the choice presented the student with a golden opportunity to test himself in a very different and modern laboratory.

“During my internship, I was working as a full-fledged researcher: I have been creating anti-ageing and cancer-inhibiting drugs, and doing their analysis. Thus, I had an opportunity to dip my toes into the field of medicine, which is a really popular field of work among chemists. Also, the internship place introduced me to modern machinery and methods of work,” says Skirmantas.

As his internship lasted for two months, it also counted as a mandatory internship.

“I think it is one of the best ways to have an adventure and complete your mandatory activities at the same time,” says Musteikis.

Embark on your next adventure

Where to start if you are interested in doing an internship in another country? It is always good to talk with people who have done this before. For example, chat with any of KTU Exchange counsellors.

“Ask around – don’t search for companies or universities blindly, but go to older students or just ask your classmates who went on Erasmus+. I think this kind of first-hand knowledge is what reveals the true nature of this kind of adventure,” says Skirmantas, who is one of the counsellors himself.

Skirmantas, who is already thinking about his master’s, is also convinced that he will go on another small adventure with the Erasmus+ programme in the future.

Now, multiply all these by an international dimension and picture yourself a career boost that such an experience can provide.

5 steps for getting an Erasmus+ scholarship for your professional internship abroad:

1. PREPARE YOUR CV AND MOTIVATIONAL LETTER (if you need help, register for a consultation via your student profile on KTU AIS with a specialist at the KTU Career and Service Centre).
2. FIND A PLACEMENT. You need to find an internship placement on your own: consult faculty staff, alumni, and career mentors or choose from the KTU catalogue of internships abroad.
3. SEND your CV and cover letter to the organisations where you would like to do your traineeship.
4. If you receive an invitation to the internship, SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION for an Erasmus+ scholarship. The closest registration date is December 1, 2023. We will inform you personally about the selection results by email after 7 December 2023.
5. GO FOR YOUR INTERNSHIP ABROAD with an ERASMUS+ scholarship.