PRAXIS — European Centre for Project/Internship Excellence

A project or internship may be a student's first sustained encounter with problems, teams and responsibilities close to professional life. Taking part in another country adds unfamiliar cultural and working contexts that call for adaptability and confidence.

Finding the right opportunity is not always straightforward. The options available to students often depend on their institution's or department's contacts. This limits choice, particularly when they are looking for a field of work with few local opportunities or an international experience.

PRAXIS addressed the need to bring these opportunities within reach and help students choose, prepare for and benefit from them. Providing vacancies was only part of the task: students also needed support to understand what they could learn and recognise the value of that learning.

Through a project or internship, students are encouraged to:

• Apply subject knowledge to situations close to professional, academic or research practice.
• Develop communication and teamwork through participation in real settings.
• Build self-confidence when working with unfamiliar tasks, people and environments.
• Become more adaptable through international experience.
• Recognise the skills they have developed and draw on them in their academic and professional lives.

The practice builds on student-centred learning and the development of skills through participation in projects and internships. Practical experience connects course learning with situations that require action, collaboration and responsibility.

International mobility brings students into contact with other ways of working and learning. Moving beyond familiar surroundings introduces challenges that can support communication, teamwork and self-confidence.

PRAXIS connects three elements: access to opportunities, practical guidance and peer support. Links between higher education institutions, companies and laboratories bring together academic, research and professional experiences. Students' interests and learning needs provide the starting point for choosing an opportunity.

The portal launched in October 2013. During approximately its first three months, before the wider publicity campaign, it registered 110 students and 72 institutions.

Over that period, 44 students applied for international internships. Among registered institutions, 54% received applications, while 40% of registered students found an opportunity suited to their needs. These figures describe access to and demand for opportunities; they do not represent completed internships or employment placements.

The development of PRAXIS also showed the importance of listening to the people involved. Partners tested the prototype and their feedback informed improvements. The team organised its work in annual cycles of planning, action, review and improvement, with external evaluation at key points.

A central lesson for organising the practice is the need to combine relevant opportunities with useful guidance and a support network. The platform connects students with opportunities, while the quality of the experience also depends on preparation and sustained collaboration between partners.

This approach can begin within a course, a school or a small network of institutions. A Europe-wide marketplace is not a prerequisite.

• Start with students' needs. Identify their interests and the skills to be developed, then seek projects or internships that fit these goals.
• Diversify the partners. Bring together opportunities from higher education institutions, companies and laboratories, including international partners where mobility is feasible.
• Make information easy to use. Gather opportunities in one place and provide concise guidance on preparation, participation and making use of the experience afterwards.
• Create peer support. Help students connect with others who are preparing for, taking part in or completing similar experiences.
• Improve the approach with its participants. Gather feedback from students and organisations, test changes on a small scale and refine the approach before expanding it.

Whatever the size of the network, the key is to keep opportunity, learning and support connected.

PRAXIS support materials included an opportunities platform and practical guidance on preparing for, undertaking and making use of projects and internships. The student network complemented these resources through shared experiences.

Further reading on project and internship learning is available in Project work and Internship: Theory and Practice, edited by Nuno Escudeiro and fellow editors and published by the International Center for Entrepreneurship in Poland. ISBN: 978-83-63987-00-8.

ISEP's institutional introduction to PRAXIS provides background on the initiative and its aims.