Pre-study internship

The University of Stuttgart requires a Pre-study internship for the degree programmes in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Automotive Engineering and Technology Management. This is intended to give you an insight into the practical aspects of metal and plastics processing.

You are unlikely to spend a whole day filing away at a small metal block in your future career. Nevertheless, it makes perfect sense to have already drilled a hole, cut a thread or turned a shaft before you are required to design such components as part of your degree. To fulfil this requirement, you must spend 4 or 6 weeks (depending on your degree programme) at an industrial company with at least 30 employees. The company should be an approved training organisation. The content of the work placement depends on the work placement guidelines for your degree programme; you should read these through before you start looking. Generally, however, you must spend at least one to four weeks in each of three different metalworking departments. It may also be a good idea to send the guidelines to the company before your work placement begins, to ensure that you are scheduled to work in the various departments and can thus fulfil all the criteria.

As proof that you have completed the work placement, you must document your activities in a work placement report. In addition to the written text, you must also produce technical sketches. Here too, certain criteria apply, which you can find in the guidelines issued by the work placement office.

Deadlines

You should complete the pre-degree work placement before you start your degree, but no later than during the break between lectures in the first semester. Bear in mind that, once your degree begins, you will have plenty to do during both the lecture term and the break between lectures, such as attending lectures, studying or preparing for exams. We therefore recommend that you complete the work placement before you start your degree, if possible. If you are unable to complete the pre-degree work placement entirely before starting your degree, you can also split it up and, for example, complete four weeks before starting your degree and two weeks after the first exam period (around March).

You must submit the completed report, confirmed by the company, to the Work Placement Office by mid-August of your second semester. If the placement has not been completed by then, you may, in exceptional cases, submit a (reasoned!) application for an extension to the Examination Board for your degree programme. Please also check the exact deadlines here!

Tips on applying

As some companies tend to take their time in replying, you should apply to as many companies as possible as soon as you can. The Internship Office provides a list of potential companies on its website under ‘Job Vacancies’. Of course, you are also free to apply to any other suitable training organisation. On the website, you will also find the guidelines and all the necessary forms, such as the templates for the work placement report.

The Internship Office is your first point of contact if you have any problems or questions. If you completed a vocational training programme, worked, or attended a technical sixth-form college before starting your degree, you may be able to have some or all of this recognised as a pre-internship. There is also a form on the Internship Office’s website that you can use to apply for recognition.