Internship / Project work

Scope and Purpose

The curriculum includes an individual practical activity worth 20 credits, equivalent to 500 hours of work.
The activity aims to put the concepts learned in the Master's program into practice in a real-world professional context.

Implementation 

There are two alternative ways to complete the individual activity: internship and personal project.

Internship

The internship takes place at one of the partner companies, all of which can guarantee placement in divisions specifically dedicated to cybersecurity.

  • Between December and January, companies will present their activities and specific placement proposals for interns.
  • Between January and February, students will express their placement preferences to the teaching secretariat of the Master's.
  • In February, the parties will be put in touch and arrange interviews. After these interviews, the companies will assess the candidates' suitability for their positions and determine the order of attractiveness among the interviewed candidates.
  • In March, placements will be finalized, training plans will be developed, and activities will begin.
  • The activities will take place on days off from classes, according to procedures agreed upon between the intern and the company.
  • The activities will preferably conclude by the summer.

Personal Project for employed students

Students who are unable to undertake an internship because they are already employed may replace it with a personal project.
If the project is coordinated with their company, so that it can be carried out, at least to a large extent, as part of their job duties, it fully replaces the duty to acquire the required 20 credits. This is not only recommended to accommodate the significant time commitment with their regular work schedule, already burdened by the 12 hours of lessons per week, but also beneficial for both parties, providing the intern with a real-world case to apply their knowledge, and the company with an injection of new skills into an ongoing project.

Integrations needed for specific conditions

Students who are not employed, yet choose not to undertake an internship, can replace it with a pair of activities:

  • a personal project, that shall not exceed a burden of 12 credits (300 hours of study or work)
  • participation to additional practical activities, to be defined and agreed upon, valued by the Master's scientific committee as worth 8 credits, to reach the threshold of 20 credits needed by the teaching plan