Information for students
Information for companies
Regulations
It is a formative activity carried out by students and supervised by the university. It is intended for students who have not yet completed their studies and does not involve any employment contract.
Requirements for students who wish to participate in an external academic internship:
Undergraduate students
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By the start date of the internship agreement, the student must have passed at least 50% of the credits of their current degree program.
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Must be enrolled in courses or the Final Degree Project.
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Must have school insurance while the agreement is in effect. For students over 28 years old, the insurance must be provided by the student.
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Must not have an employment relationship with the company where the internship takes place.
Master’s students
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Must be enrolled in courses or the Master’s Final Project.
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Must have school insurance while the agreement is in effect. For students over 28 years old, the insurance must be provided by the student.
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Must not have an employment relationship with the company where the internship takes place.
Maximum number of hours
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In a single academic year, a student may complete a maximum of 900 internship hours.
Additionally, the maximum number of internship hours throughout the entire degree program is:
- Undergraduate degrees (GEI, GIA, and BBI): maximum 1,800 hours
- Master’s programs of 60 ECTS (MCYBERS): maximum 600 hours
- Master’s programs of 90 ECTS (MEI and MAI): maximum 900 hours
- Master’s programs of 120 ECTS (MIRI and MDS): maximum 1.200 hours
The academic year for agreements runs from 16 September of the calendar year in which the course begins to 15 September of the following year.
The internship agreement to be signed must specify the type of internship to be undertaken.
Students can participate in two types of internships: curricular and extracurricular.
Extracurricular internships (undergraduate and master’s programs)
- These are not part of the study plan or the academic transcript. However, they will be included in the student’s European Diploma Supplement.
- Extracurricular internships cannot be recognized as curricular internships.
Curricular internships (undergraduate and master’s programs)
- These are considered academic activities that are part of the study plan.
- They have the same status as any other course and are optional.This means students must enroll, have a tutor, and be assessed and graded.
- They may be linked to the Final Degree Thesis, or not.
Curricular internships linked to a Bachelor's/Master's Thesis
In this case, an Educational Cooperation Agreement must be processed and linked to the registration of the Thesis.
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The minimum workload required for completing only the Thesis through an internship is:
- GEI: 375 hours
- GIA: 450 hours
- MAI: 450 hours
- MEI, MIRI, and MDS: 750 hours
Once the agreement starts, the Final Thesis of modal B must be registered.
If students also want to enroll in the External Internships course, the faculty will pre-register the student, and enrollment must be completed once the agreement is formalized.
Curricular internships not linked to a Final Thesis
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Whether or not they are linked to an Final Thesis, students may enroll in the optional course External Internships, as follows:
- For GEI and GIA, this optional course can be worth 6–12 ECTS.
- For MEI, MAI, and MIRI, it can be worth 6–12 ECTS.
- For MDS and MCYBERS, curricular internships can only be linked to the Final Master’s Project, and the optional course External Internships does not exist. Therefore, no optional credits can be earned through external internships.
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The faculty will pre-register the External Internships course, which must be formally enrolled once the agreement is finalized.
In all cases, 1 ECTS corresponds to 30 hours of work.
Internships at UPC
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These are always curricular.
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Weekly dedication can be 5, 10, 15, or 20 hours.
Faculty Rights
The Faculty of Informatics reserves the right to:
- Refuse a student’s participation in an internship agreement.
- Not renew an existing internship agreement.
This decision will be made if the student’s academic performance is considered below the established minimum. The performance parameter is defined as the ratio of credits passed to credits enrolled and must be greater than 0.50.
The company will pay the student directly the amount agreed upon in the internship agreement.
The amount the student receives cannot be lower than:
- 10 €/hour for undergraduate students
- 11 €/hora for master students
For academic internships at UPC, the financial arrangement will follow the regulations established in the UPC External Academic Internships Policy:
- 5 hours/week: 175 euros
- 10 hours/week: 350 euros
- 15 hours/week: 525 euros
- 20 hours/week: 700 euros
For academic internships at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), the student will receive:
- 8 €/hour for undergraduate students
- 9 €/hour for master students
External academic internships are considered income for the student derived from work performed for a third party and are therefore subject to the withholdings established by the Spanish Personal Income Tax (IRPF) regulations.
During the internship, continuous monitoring will be carried out through reports that must be completed by both the student and the company supervisor. These reports are essential for evaluating the internship.
The university academic tutor will evaluate the internship taking into account:
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The follow-up reports provided by the company or institution supervisor.
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The final report submitted by the student.
Extracurricular Internships
Extracurricular internships will be assessed as “pass/fail” and will be included in the European Diploma Supplement.
Curricular Internships
They are part of the academic record and will be graded with a numerical and descriptive mark, which will count toward the grade point average.
Curricular Internships Linked to a Bachelor’s/Master’s Thesis
Enrollment in the TFG or TFM must be done in the semester following the registration of the TFG/TFM.
The grade for the external internship will be the one obtained in the TFG or TFM, provided that the evaluation of the academic external internship has been favorable.
If the result is unfavorable, presenting the TFG/TFM will not be allowed, and the grades for both the external internship and the TFG/TFM will be recorded as “Not Presented.”
Curricular Internships Not Linked to a Bachelor’s/Master’s Thesis
They will be assessed based on the final report prepared by the academic tutor, and the grade of that report will appear as the grade for the external internship in the academic record.
This final report will be based on the reports submitted by the student and by the company or institution supervisor.
It is important to remember that a TFG or TFM carried out in modality B must be defended in the first tribunal session after the expiration of the agreement with the company where it was conducted.
There are specific internship programs that include associated grants and are carried out through specific calls with their own conditions (requirements, duration, funding, and management procedure).
Check the specific programmes on the Servei de Gestió Acadèmica website.
What is the maximum number of internship hours per week?
Internship hours must not exceed 25 hours per week and should be compatible with properly keeping up with your studies.
What is the difference between curricular and extracurricular internships?
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Curricular internships are academic activities that are part of the study plan, meaning they must be enrolled in, assessed, and graded.
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Extracurricular internships are not part of the study plan and are done voluntarily. However, they will still be included in the European Diploma Supplement.
Can I continue my internship agreement after completing my Final Thesis degree?
Once you have completed your studies, you cannot continue with an internship agreement.
Can I find a company myself and set up the agreement?
Yes. If you find an interested company, an Educational Cooperation Agreement can be formalized even if the company is not on the official internship list.
What should I do if I want to finish my internship before the scheduled end date?
If you want to cancel an agreement, you must contact the Office of Agreements via email at: fib.cce@upc.edu
With external academic work placements, the university gives companies the opportunity to incorporate final-year students for the purpose of professional training.
Given the educational nature of external academic internships, their completion does not create any obligations typical of an employment relationship, nor can their content be used to replace the work normally performed in regular jobs.
To be able to sign an internship agreement with students, the company must take the following requirements into account:
Type of internship:
It is necessary to decide with the student whether the internship will be curricular or extracurricular before formalizing the agreement.
Maximum number of hours:
During the same academic year, a student may complete a maximum of 900 hours of internships.
This limit includes all work placements the student may undertake in that academic year, which runs from 16 September to 15 September of the following year, and this period is relevant for calculating the maximum number of internship hours.
Social Security registration:
It is mandatory that the student is registered with Social Security from the first day of the internship.
The company will pay the student directly the amount agreed upon in the internship agreement.
The amount the student receives cannot be lower than:
- 10 €/hour for undergraduate students
- 11 €/hora for master students
For academic internships at UPC, the financial arrangement will follow the regulations established in the UPC External Academic Internships Policy:
- 5 hours/week: 175 euros
- 10 hours/week: 350 euros
- 15 hours/week: 525 euros
- 20 hours/week: 700 euros
For academic internships at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), the student will receive:
- 8 €/hour for undergraduate students
- 9 €/hour for master students
External academic internships are considered income for the student derived from work performed for a third party and are therefore subject to the withholdings established by the Spanish Personal Income Tax (IRPF) regulations.
At the bottom of this page, you will find the Procedure section, which details the steps to follow for managing internship offers and agreements.
Important Notices
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The internship agreement must be signed electronically.
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Agreements will not be established with companies that have outstanding invoices.
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It is mandatory to submit the agreement to the center at least 15 days before the start of the internship.
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For the undergraduate programs GEI, GIA, and BBI, and the master’s programmes MEI, MAI, and MIRI, students can choose to undertake internships in either curricular mode (which may involve completing the Bachelor’s or Master’s Thesis and/or credit recognition) or extracurricular mode.
During the internship, monitoring will be carried out, in which both the company supervisor and the student must complete reports. These reports are essential for the evaluation of the internship.
The university academic tutor will evaluate the internship taking into account the follow-up reports submitted by the company or institution supervisor, as well as the final report submitted by the student.
What type of relationship is established with the student?
The relationship is non-contractual and strictly educational in nature.
Does the student need to be registered with Social Security?
Yes. The student must be registered under the Spanish Social Security under the General regime
Who monitors the student?
The student is monitored by both a company supervisor and a university academic tutor, who are responsible for overseeing and evaluating the work placement.
What costs are involved in processing an work placement agreement?
Processing a work placement agreement involves paying administrative fees to the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). These fees correspond to 15.7% of the total amount of the student’s grant, plus the applicable VAT.
The company registers the offer in the Work placement Portal. FIB validates and publishes the offer.
Registered companies can access the portal with their credentials. If it is the first time they are offering internships at FIB, they must first register and create an account in the Portal.
The student can view the available offers and submit their application to the Work placement portal of the FIB.
The company contacts the students directly and ultimately selects a candidate. At this point, the process of formalizing the agreement begins. The company must indicate the total number of hours, the hourly rate, the dates, and the details of the company supervisor who will oversee the internship.
The company supervisor must complete a training plan, describing the activities the student will carry out.
Is this your first time as a tutor?
If this is your first time accessing the platform, you do not need to create a new account.
You must recover your password using your email address, as if you had accessed the platform before.
Once you have recovered your password, you will be able to log in to the platform and complete the training plan, which describes the activities the student will carry out.
The student reviews the agreement details in e-Secretaria and completes any missing information. They must also find an academic tutor who will supervise the internship academically.
The academic tutor validates the company’s training plan through Prisma
FIB checks that everything is correct, validates it, and the procedures for signing are initiated.
The agreement must be signed by all three parties: the company, the student, and the Faculty, in this order.
The company must sign the agreement first. The signature must be made by its legal representative and is mandatory to be done electronically.
Once the company has signed, the agreement is forwarded to the student, and finally, it is signed by the Dean of the FIB.
An academic internship cannot begin without the signed agreement.
Midway through the internship, the student fills out a report describing the tasks they have done and what they have learned. They will get an email when the report is ready.
After that, the company supervisor completes their part of the report, confirming that the goals have been met. They will also get an email with the link.
The academic tutor checks the report to make sure everything is going well.
A few days before the end of the agreement, the follow-up report cycle is repeated so that the student and the company supervisor complete the final follow-ups.
The academic tutor will evaluate the internship based on all the submitted responses.