Students in Digital Humanities are encouraged to do an internship in a wide variety of places such as organisations, federations, cultural institutions, libraries, archives or industry in general. Please note that to simplify our text, we have only used the word “company” below.
Internship
The internship has several aims such as: the immersion of the student into the professional world, emphasizing the importance of team work, getting acquainted with a company’s processes and requirements expected from a professional engineer in digital humanities. The internship experience should test the student’s abilities and skills acquired at the EPFL.
The internship should be done in a company or an organization that does not have an academic research component. As its primary purpose is the immersion in a professional environment, the familiarization with the processes of the company and with all aspects of the engineering profession, it cannot take place in a school or in a university.
Models of internships (for students starting the DH Master as of 2022/23 academic year)
- Short internship
minimum duration of 8 weeks and can only be conducted during the summer in Switzerland or abroad - Long internship
duration of 17 to 25 weeks. This option takes place during a semester - Master’s Project in the Industry
integrated with the Master’s Project for a period of 25 weeks
Model of internship (for students starting the DH Master previous to 2022/23 academic year)
- Long internship
duration of 17 to 25 weeks. This option takes place during a semester
Master Thesis project
Duration:
- 17 weeks at EPFL
- 25 weeks in the industry or in another university
Differences between internships and master projects within a company
- Internships are exclusively under the supervision of the company’s Project Supervisor. The supervisor will evaluate the student’s professional skills through a simple questionnaire at the end of the internship. The student will have to provide the section with a short report in the form of a video.
- All internships are regulated by an internship agreement that can be added to the company’s own contract.
- Master projects in a company are under the close supervision of an EPFL professor who will follow the student’s activity at the company and receive reports in order to evaluate the student’s progress. A master’s project at a company always requires a master’s thesis and an oral defense.