The University of Vaasa is engaged in broad research collaboration with companies, public organizations, research institutes and other universities. Internships are an integral part of developing a professional identity, and a means to establishing working life connections. During the internship, you gain valuable experience of working life by engaging in the typical tasks of your field. If this internship is close to the end of your studies, it will have a positive effect on employment after graduation.
The internship is both a part of your studies, and an opportunity to work in positions that match your education. The employer discovers your potential as an employee, while you as an intern have an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and skills. Businesses may advertise their internships, vacant positions or thesis opportunities through the Job and Internship announcements listing.
The University Career Services answer your questions about working life practices, internship placements and the subsidized internship vouchers. For more advice on jobs, working life, the job application process, and trade union activities, contact the University’s Career Services.
Any discussions concerning a potential internship are held between the employer and the student. The working hours and salary are set by the collective employment agreement of the sector.
A Master's thesis carried out in cooperation with a company can also be done as an employee hired by the company. In this case, the student preparing the thesis is employed by the company.
It is also possible to do a Master's thesis for a company with the support of scholarship funding. In this case, the company can make a donation of an agreed amount to the University of Vaasa Foundation, from which the student can apply for a scholarship to complete the thesis. The University of Vaasa Foundation accepts donations, which it grants as scholarships and grants to the university's students and researchers for, among other things, the completion of final theses (Master's and diploma theses) and doctoral dissertations or other research work and projects.
Companies and organizations can also donate through the university foundation to support the activities of the University of Vaasa. Donations of 850 – 50,000 euros made by organizations and companies are tax-deductible (this does not apply to general partnerships or limited partnerships).
If you are interested in scholarship funding, contact the supervisor of your Master's thesis and the partner company, and inform them that you are interested in scholarship funding for your thesis. You can also ask your supervisor and the company's contact person to contact the foundation's secretary, who will guide you in making the arrangements and applying for the scholarship.
If you wish to complete your thesis in collaboration with, or on commission from a company, please discuss this first with your thesis supervisor.
Discuss your aims with the company and then confirm with your thesis supervisor that the research frame matches the requirements of your thesis. After approval, you may begin drafting a commission agreement. There are different formats for these agreements, for instance some companies will have their own commission agreement formats. Example Word
When collecting data, ensure that the materials collected, produced or utilized fulfill the correct contractual obligations, such as ownership rights, immaterial rights, and rights of use. Furthermore, you should have reached an agreement on the use of information, and data protection must be included in the contract.
Please note that a thesis is always a public document. This means that the University must, upon request, grant access to the thesis to anyone. Therefore, do not include any confidential information in your work. Confidential information should be a part of the background information and is not included in the thesis.
The commissioning company might require that a part or all of the thesis is made unavailable to the public, due to professional or public secrets contained there. In this case, business or professional secrets should not be included in the part of the work which is assessed, but instead be included as separate background information. The format of the confidential background information must follow the University writing guidelines, and it should be submitted simultaneously and in as many copies as the thesis itself. The confidential background information is not archived in Osuva. It is stored as a print version with its own front page. The title page must be clearly titled CONFIDENTIAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION. However, the information contained there must be paraphrased on a general level in the body of the thesis.
The thesis must contain the theoretical framework, research methods, the data, an analysis of the results and a list of sources (references). The thesis should be an independent and readable textual whole. The thesis is graded as a single work, which includes both the text and the confidential background information. Unlike the public thesis text, confidential information is stored in a locked archive.
Discuss how to use confidential background information with your thesis supervisor, well in advance of writing.
The University of Vaasa model contract is coming soon.