Information on organisation and preparation
Tips for finding an internship
You can use the following chronological checklist to plan your internship abroad step by step:
- Initial considerations and motivation for the internship abroad
- Research and select a company/organisation where the internship is to be carried out
- Contact the company/institution for a provisional confirmation of the internship placement
- Coordination with the faculty and the International Office
- Apply to the relevant funding organisations or the International Office for financial support for the internship.
The following options are generally available
- Applying for an Erasmus+ grant
- Application to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for a short-term grant for internships as part of study programmes abroad
- Application for a travel grant from the DAAD
- Application to the DAAD for a short-term scholarship for internships as part of study programmes abroad
- Application for a PROMOS grant
- Teaching internship within the EU:
Applying for an Erasmus+ grant
Applying for the Foreign Language Assistance Programme
- Teaching internship outside the EU:
Application for the Foreign Language Assistance Programme
For information on teaching internships abroad, please refer to the page: Internationalisation of Teacher Education.
What else should I bear in mind?
To make the start of your internship abroad easier, you should regularly study the language of instruction and, if different, the national language of your destination country at least in the semester before your departure.
There are also numerous opportunities to learn foreign languages at the University of Wuppertal. You can find a list of offers within and outside the university in the section "Language preparation and language certificates"
Students completing an Erasmus internship are obliged to have adequate health, liability and accident insurance cover.
Health insurance in the case of a paid internship
As soon as you take up (even marginal) employment in your host country or receive a salary as part of an internship, the social security law of that country applies. This means that you must take out health insurance in the host country.
Please contact your internship organisation for more information. Contact your (statutory) health insurance fund in Germany and inform the relevant social insurance institution in your country of residence that you are taking up employment/self-employment.
Further information on statutory health insurance during the internship can be found at the German Liaison Centre for Health Insurance - Abroad.
Other insurances (liability and accident insurance)
Please note that during your stay abroad you are not insured through the University of Wuppertal for accidents that occur on your way between your place of work and your home or on the employer's premises. Therefore, please check with your employer whether you are covered by their accident insurance. If you are not covered by your employer's accident insurance, you should take out adequate insurance cover privately.
It is generally recommended that you have the following insurance policies in addition to health insurance:
- Liability insurance with cover abroad
- Accident insurance with cover abroad
As an Erasmus intern, you can take out combined health, accident and personal liability insurance through the DAAD, for example(DAAD "Insurance abroad").
It may also be advisable to take out additional insurance in your host country. You can find more information about your host country in the DAAD's country information.
When planning a trip abroad, you should also consider the issue of safety.
It is therefore essential that you subscribe to the travel advice issued by the Federal Foreign Office for your destination country or install the "Sicher Reisen" travel app on your smartphone.
Please also sign up to the "Elefand" crisis preparedness list. Don't forget to unsubscribe after your stay!
Further useful information
