Welcome to the School of Science's practical training info page for masters’ programmes!

 

Here you can find the practical training (sci.trai and sci.itra) instructions for the following Master's Programmes:

  • Computer, Communication and Information Sciences (SCI majors and ELEC HCI)
  • Engineering Physics
  • Industrial Engineering and Management
  • Information Networks
  • Life Science Technologies (SCI and ELEC majors)
  • Mathematics and Operations Research

This course is not suitable for exchange students.

For Erasmus Mundus Security and Cloud Computing (SECCLO) students, please see instructions in aalto.fi: https://www.aalto.fi/en/programmes/masters-programme-in-security-and-cloud-computing-secclo/planning-your-studies#2-practical-training

 

1. General information on practical training

If at some time during your studies you have a summer job, are employed in addition to studying, or you complete a separate internship, then you may be able to turn your work experience into 1-10 ECTS as an elective study. An internship is not, however, a requirement for a degree. The School of Science does not organize training placements, but you are responsible on finding one yourself. You may work in Finland (sci.trai) or abroad (sci.itra), instructions are the same.

What is the purpose of practical training?

The purpose of getting work experience is to develop and deepen the knowledge and skills gained during studies. Having work experience also helps in discerning the job opportunities after graduation and creating connections to working life.

Getting work experience from abroad is a way of familiarizing oneself with the field of technology in an international environment, getting to know the local culture, and networking within the working community. Working in a country outside Finland will teach you to work in a foreign culture and improve your language skills. Working in a multicultural environment and living abroad will develop your preparedness for working life in a way that working in Finland does not.

What kind of practical training can be approved in a degree?

Not all work you do during your studies can be approved in a degree. You can find general rules from below.

CREDITS: Two weeks of full-time equals one ECTS. For part-time work, 80 hours of work equals one ECTS. Half credits are not granted. You may include 1-10 ECTS of practical training into your degree. If you include course JOIN-A0003 Contributing in Community (3 ECTS) in your Master’s degree, only 7 ECTS of practical training is accepted.

LANGUAGE: You may work in any language. Your training will be marked with the language in which you submit your application (English/Finnish/Swedish).

TIME OF THE PRACTICAL TRAINING: The work needs to be done during your master studies: work done earlier than that cannot be counted to the credits you apply for. This means that you can only count work you have done after you have graduated as bachelor and started your master studies in Aalto University.

If you are a new master student in Aalto, this means, that you can only count work you have done after the start of your first semester (1. August).

For students continuing to a master's programme directly from a bachelor's programme studied in Aalto this means that you can only count work you have done after you graduated as a bachelor. Note! If you have applied for TECH inrernship, this rule does not concern you.

The work may have started earlier but your application must clearly state what duties were performed after the start of your master studies. In order to reflect your practical training to your master studies, you should have finished at least one course in your study plan but other than that you are free to work at any point during your master studies.

ENROLLING TO SEMESTER: To receive credits from practical training you need to be enrolled as attending student when you send your application. You do not need to be enrolled to the semester when you work - we understand that if you take a break to work during your studies you do not necessarily enroll as attending to the semester.

WORK DUTIES: The work duties must be related to your major studies. As a rule, duties performed in the student’s home university, or while holding a position of trust, or student’s own projects (including thesis) are not accepted as practical training. Before starting the job, you need to make sure the workplace has an instructor who is familiar with your duties and knows what is expected of your position. Work can be done as an employee or as an entrepreneur (please see instructions below).

Not accepted: Working as a course assistant or research assistant in Aalto // Working for your thesis // etc.

Accepted: Working at Aalto University may be accepted if you have held a position intended for graduates (and the position was not exclusively offered for students). For example, you could work as an IT specialist if you are studying IT-related subjects. The work at Aalto University should be similar to the type of work offered in companies in your field of study.

WORKING AS AN ENTREPRENEUR: If you work as an entrepreneur, you need to hold a business-ID (y-tunnus) and your business needs to have cash flow (for example a paying customer). If providing a work certificate (työtodistus) is not possible, you may provide a statement from your customer/business partner. The statement has to include all the same information: work duties, if you worked full or part-time, duration (weeks if full-time, hours if part-time) but also your business-ID. Please note that your own projects can not be accepted as practical training even if you hold a business-ID. If you are unsure if your business matches the criteria, please contact student services (contact details below).

Accepted: Working for a paying customer / etc.

Not accepted: Developing a business idea / coding something that will be sold later / providing services for free / working for your thesis / etc.

HOW TO FIND A WORK/INTERNSHIP PLACE: You are responsible for acquiring an internship or a job. Further information about other training programmes and internship grants can be found on Aalto's website: Internships in Finland & International internships.

 

2. How to apply

Please submit your application with the appendices into "Submit documents" as one pdf document by following the instructions below. The credits will be registered within one month from receiving the application. The credits will be registered to the date in which you send in the application and attachments.

Attachments:

  • Practical training credit application in English, Finnish or Swedish (the language of your application defines in which language your training will be registered with)
  • Report on your work experience (see instructions below)
  • Work certificate (työtodistus), which must state:
    • If it was a part- or full-time position
      • If you worked full-time: Duration of the employment period in weeks
      • If you worked part-time: Durarion of the employment period in weeks and the weekly hours and/or total amount of hours
    • A list of your duties
    • The certificate needs to be dated after the work period from which you apply for credits and signed by your employer.

Report on your work experience

The purpose of the report is to tie your work experience into your studies. The report needs to be written with full sentences (bullet point lists or question-answer lists are not accepted) but can be free-form. The report needs to reflect on the following themes:

  • What skills did your duties require?
  • How did you benefit from the knowledge and skills gained during your studies?
  • What new skills did you acquire?
  • What development areas you now find in your skills based on your work experience (e.g. skills related to the substance of your field, communication skills, language skills)?
  • How are you planning to develop these areas during your studies?
  • How was the work experience relevant to your plans for the future (which direction you want to develop professionally, what do you want to achieve in your career, what kinds of matters and duties you find interesting)?
  • What ideas for development do you have concerning your work duties in light of the things you have studied so far?

The report can be 1-2 pages (A4). Feedback on the report is utilized also in the degree programme’s feedback process.

 

What happens after application has been sent?

Once you have submitted your documents, SCI learning services will check the documents and forward them to academic evaluation. Your application will then be academically evaluated and approved. Once the approval has been done, SCI learning services will register the credits and mark the assignment as completed. After you have submitted your application, it will take in total approximately 2-4 weeks to the credits to be registered. You can find more from the assignment box for your programme.

 

3. Frequently asked questions about practical training instructions

Do I need to apply for all practical training credits in one go? No, you do not. If you want or need to, you can apply for credits in max. 3 parts. Note, that in total you may only receive 1-10 ECTS in total for all practical trainings combined. If you apply for credits in two parts, include the course codes sci.trai and sci.trai01 to your study plan and if in three parts, include code sci.trai02 as well.

I have already received credits from practical training. How can I apply the credits for the 2nd/3rd time? If you applied for the credits during the previous academic year, you can simply enroll to the MyCourses page for the new/current semester. If you want to receive credits in 2-3 parts during the same academic year, please send your application and attachments directly to the Student Services contact person of your programme. Please include the course codes sci.trai and sci.trai01 to your study plan if you apply for credits for two times and sci.trai02 as well if you apply three times. Applying credits in more than 3 parts is not possible. Please note that all the same requirements apply and that in total you can only apply for 10 ECTS from all of your practical trainings.

I worked for an entire semester and therefore did not enroll during that semester. May I still receive practical training credits for that job? Yes, you only need to be enrolled when you apply for the credits. However, please remember that only the work you have done during the validity of your study right can be accepted. This means, that if you do not enroll to the semester at all and lose your study right and apply for readmission afterwards, work done during cannot be accepted. Please remember to enroll to semesters on time.

I have been working during the summer and my summer job ends in August. Can the credits be registered for the spring semester? You can apply for the practical training credits in two parts. Ask your employer for a certificate that states the working hours/weeks completed by 31 July. Date the application and the report on your work experience for 31 July and submit the application with the appendices at the latest on 15 August. The application will be processed in August and the credits will be registered for the spring semester. This is only possible during this specific period of time, when the academic year changes to make sure you can count the credits to the academic year in which the work was done.  To make sure we know to date your application to the spring semester, please click the box “I submit the application between 1.-14.8. and would like the credits to be counted towards spring semester (31.7.) (not possible at other times)” in the application.

I think I need help finding a job or an internship. Where can I find support and job opportunities? You can find support designing your future career from Career Design Lab. We warmly recommend you to also check Aalto webpage for career opportunities and different support sources - Aalto University offers for example a variety of different courses on career design. For employment opportunities we recommend you to check JobTeaser, and to attend recruitment events such as Summer Job Day and Talent Expo. Further information about other training programmes and internship grants can be found on Aalto's website: Internships in Finland & International internships


If you have questions, please contact:
Computer, Communication and Information Sciences: Meeri Heimo (meeri.heimo@aalto.fi)
Engineering Physics: Susanna Ylhävuori (susanna.ylhavuori@aalto.fi)
Industrial Engineering and Management: Jasmin Seppälä (jasmin.seppala@aalto.fi)
Information Networks: Hanna Alve (hanna.alve@aalto.fi)
Life Science Technologies: Päivi Koivunen (paivi.koivunen@aalto.fi)
Mathematics and Operations Research: Susanna Ylhävuori (susanna.ylhavuori@aalto.fi)
SECCLO Erasmus Mundus: Emma Tuomola (emma.tuomola@aalto.fi)

Last modified: Thursday, 3 October 2024, 2:55 PM