The Host’s Responsibilities

The Host’s Responsibilities

Learning Outcomes

Internships form part of the student’s academic programme of study, and are therefore subject to learning outcomes that must be assessed by the University. Students will be tasked with assessment mechanisms throughout the course of the internship to measure these learning outcomes. The host is asked to commit to providing opportunities and an environment that facilitates students in achieving the learning outcomes. 

Each student will have an academic supervisor to liaise with during their time on Internship. The host partner also assigns a nominee within the organisation to oversee the internship, alongside any programme of work agreed between the University and the host. The academic supervisor (or university nominee) may request a site visit to the organisation to ensure the student can meet the learning outcomes of the module. 

Internship Agreement

The purpose of the BA Humanities Internship is to enhance academic and core skills, attitudes and competencies of students and formally integrate them into practical, work-related experience with an internship host. The host is therefore asked to provide the student with a meaningful and challenging work experience, that adds value to their core skills and competencies. 

Hosts should provide an internship specification outlining the internship responsibilities, as well as any skills and competencies required by students for the role. The Internship Manager will engage and work as needed with hosts with respect to the general work activities associated with an internship position so as to ensure that the activities provide experiences that enable the student to achieve the learning outcomes as set out for their programme. General arrangements relating to the internship (hours, payment, etc.) are usually also clarified in advance. 

The Internship Manager then advertises the internship spec to students on the university’s internal careers portal. Following student applications to internships, student CVs and applications are sent to hosts to review and select students to interview. Once a host has selected a student for an internship position, they are asked to confirm their acceptance of the individual student. Confirmation of the internship activities to be undertaken and the general arrangements for the internship also takes place at this time. 

In conjunction with the selection and acceptance of individual students an internship agreement between the University and the host is set in place before students begin as interns. The agreement specifies the host’s obligations to students and to UCD in relation to Health and Safety legislation, while also safeguarding any intellectual property of the host. The Internship Manager will be in touch with the organisation to issue the internship agreement. 

Hosts are asked to provide interns with details of applicable codes of practice and behaviour such as time practices, dress codes, social media and internet usage codes, etc. They are also asked to provide interns with any necessary health and safety training/instruction and make available applicable health and safety policies or statements.