Study Guide

Objective

The placement period’s main objectives are for students to experience the environment of a real, international workplace, develop interpersonal skills, acquire and develop technical skills associated with the nature of your work and acquire knowledge that will help students to plan and evaluate their future study and career development.
Students should become acquainted with working life in general and with the placement company’s area of business. During the placement students should take on “real employee” responsibility and learn how to apply theory in practice. The placement period is a good opportunity to explore the particular career option and make plans for future development.
Appropriate work duties are among others; sales- and purchasing duties, consultation and specialised professional tasks, planning-, development- and reporting duties, statistics-, research- and other exploratory related tasks, fairs and tradeshows in addition to sales and marketing planning related duties.
The objective of the placement is to give the student an opportunity to apply theory in practice and to develop skills in practice. When planning for the placement it is important to notice that it supports and enhances the student’s professional growth. The placement needs to be diverse and it should become more challenging as the internship proceeds.

Content

The Work Placement is a compulsory part of the Bachelor’s degree programme. The idea of the placement is to give the student an opportunity to get acquainted with the placement company, their area of business and in real-life company practices.
The aim is also to acknowledge and identify business as a process. The student becomes acquainted with the company and its area of operation. The student identifies the context in which the company operates.
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The students of IBL are encouraged to do their placement abroad. The placement can be completed also in the student’s home country but then the tasks should be international. The placement can be completed in a company, in a public institution or in any other appropriate organisation such as in a community or association. Self-employed work can also be accepted if other conditions for the internship are fulfilled.
The placement period 2 is completed by working in a placement company for 3 months (approx.), reporting and analyzing the learning outcomes as required in the placement guidebook. The trainee’s tasks are related to international business, administration, marketing and logistics or to other study subjects of IBL programme. Tasks are accepted by the Placement Coordinator before the placement starts

Prerequisites

Core business studies, the student has begun her/his professional major

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

Students have achieved the course objectives fairly. Students will be able to identify, define and use the course subject area’s concepts and models. The student understands the criteria and principles of the expertise development.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

Students have achieved the course objectives well, even though the knowledge and skills need improvement on some areas. Students are able to define the course concepts and models and are able to justify the analysis. The student is able to apply their knowledge in leisure, study and work situations. The student understands the importance of expertise in the field of business and is able to analyze his/her own expertise.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Students have achieved the objectives of the course with excellent marks. Students master commendably the course subject area’s concepts and models. Students are able to make justified and fluent analysis and to present concrete development measures. The students are well prepared to apply their knowledge in leisure, study and work situations. Students are able to analyze the business sector expertise and the evolvement of their own expertise.

Assessment criteria, approved/failed

The grading scale of the course is pass/fail.

Students have achieved the course objectives fairly. Students will be able to identify, define and use the course subject area’s concepts and models. The student understands the criteria and principles of the expertise development.

Further information

The placement period contains the actual training in the company, reporting and assessing the student’s performance. The placement is recommended to be completed in one part and in one company at the end of the studies.
Students can still choose to do the placement in two different periods already during the summer breaks. In this case one placement is approx. 3 months long and the study points will be 15 credits for each placement period.
If the student does the placement in two separate parts, the first placement is called Placement 1 (general) and the second part is called Placement 2 (based on the professional major).