Internship
WHAT IS IT?
The internship consists of an experience similar to service learning, in which the student offers his or her collaboration to a public service, a third sector organisation or a local community in order to conceive, organise and implement a participatory intervention project on relevant issues of common interest.
Internships are a peculiarity of the degree programme in Social Work and Services for Families, Minors and Communities at Università Cattolica, an excellence that has no equal in Italy, and has similarities with some significant international experiences in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Social work, social research or middle management internships can be carried out. For example, the internship project may concern the development of a collective project, the accompaniment of teams or working groups for the experimentation of new methods of Social Work, or the study and in-depth study of a topic relevant to Social Work through empirical research.
The internship can also be carried out abroad as long as it maintains the expected characteristics of co-design and autonomy of the student. This generally implies the absence of major language barriers and a good knowledge of the territorial context and welfare services of the host country
In the construction and implementation of his/her internship project, the student is helped by:
- the supervision of a social worker who is a university tutor (lecturer of the course);
- from a small group course ( Internship guide workshop);
- an organisational contact person who takes care of the necessary administrative formalities;
- the supervision of an experienced social worker belonging to the design team of the internship project
REFERENCES
Internship Coordinator
Prof. Valentina Calcaterra, e-mail: valentina.calcaterra@unicatt.it
INS AND OUTS
Duration: The internship includes 40 hours of classroom work and 210 hours of fieldwork and the final report. At the student's choice, it is possible to include in the Study Plan additional training credits for the realisation of the Internship in the amount of 3 or 6 credits, equal respectively to an additional 75 or 150 hours of Internship. The internship, with the classroom activities connected to it, takes place approximately from November to June. The specific timetable depends on the individual student's project.
Obligatoriness: Attendance is compulsory for the entirety of the 210 hours of the Internship and for 2/3 of the 40 hours of the Internship Guide Workshop.
N° ECTS assigned to the Internship: 10 ECTS in total for the Internship and the Internship Guide Laboratory.
Method of awarding ECTS: ECTS are awarded following a specific exam, with a mark expressed in thirtieths. Evaluation criteria and methods are indicated in the Internship Activity Regulations (available at the link below).
ACTIVATION PROCEDURE
The procedure for activating the Internship is set out in detail in the Internship Activity Regulations (available at the link below).