Before my internship
You can apply any time of the year when you see a suitable internship on our homepage.
During the main application period in February, there is no “first come- first serve”. All applications which we receive until the end of the application period are treated equally. During the other months of the year, the deadlines are written on the respective offers. We always choose the candidate who fits best the requirements.
We publish most of our internships during the main application period in February. At the beginning of the main application period, you’ll receive an information email from your university. During this period, we usually publish 140-160 internships from all over the world. The internship list is regularly updated during all other months of the year. So there is always a large choice of internships.
We do our best to find an internship tailored to your experience and interests. However, it is also important that you check our website regularly for new offers yourself. We update our website once a week.
IAESTE Switzerland is an independent non-profit organization financed mainly by universities, sponsors, partner companies and employers. The participation fee of CHF 500,- does not cover IAESTE Switzerlands costs for offering an internship abroad.
This fee includes only the following services by IAESTE Switzerland:
· Concrete internship offer abroad (reserved for IAESTE Switzerland)
· Support during the application process (CV check, assessment of motivation letter, etc.)
· Support with administrative questions (preparation tips, help with questions regarding visa, accommodation search, etc.)
Integration in the social network of IAESTE (local IAESTE office, participation in events and activities organized by the local committee in the respective country, etc.) – for this service mainly the receiving IAESTE party is repsonsible.
Please note that all IAESTE countries are individually structured and therefore the services and fee structure differ. For this reason, the fees charged by each committee are different and serve different purposes.
Yes, your flight as well as travel costs and health insurance are at your charge.
Yes, our jobs are published and visible for everybody.
Internships published during the main application period in February are reserved for students who are registered at a Swiss university. If you are selected for an internship offer, only your application will be sent to the employer.
During the other months of the year, students from all IAESTE member-countries are free to apply for all internship offers. The 3 best applications are forwarded to the employer.
The internship durations range from 4 weeks to 12 months – the duration depends on the employer’s requirements as well as your preferences and is defined in the job description.
Some of the jobs have a fixed duration; others let you choose your preferred duration.
Candidates who are available to go abroad within the mentioned time period are preferred. However, in some cases we can ask our IAESTE partners if the duration is flexible. Usually, a solution can be found, especially if the deviation is only 1-2 weeks.
In some countries interns have to be enrolled during the entire internship duration. Please get in touch with us to find out for which countries this applies, as these regulations change constantly.
If you register with IAESTE after you finished your studies, your university doesn’t support you financially anymore, which means you’d have pay a participation fee of CHF 1’300. See > Financial Issues
Yes you can. If your study field doesn’t fit the one(s) from the job description, but you´ve acquired knowledge in the required field(s), you can still apply, provided that you fit the requirements. It’s important that you describe in your application why you are qualified and motivated for the job.
Yes, students who don’t have Swiss nationality can also apply provided that they are enrolled at a Swiss university.
Of course, get in touch with us and we try to obtain more information from the IAESTE office in the foreign country.
We give advice on filling in your visa form and once your internship is confirmed, your IAESTE acceptance papers will facilitate the visa process for you. The rules differ from country to country and every student is responsible for their own visa application with the help of the IAESTE host country.
During the main application period in February, we receive en general twice as many applications as internships available with some internships being more popular and receiving more applications than others. If you are among the lucky candidates who are selected for an internship during the main application period, the employer only receives your application and your chances to be accepted are quite high.
Your likelihood to be accepted increases if you are flexible in time, if you are open to more than one destination and if you submit a complete and convincing application. English speaking countries (such as the USA, Canada, Great Britain and Australia) are very popular, so are Scandinavian countries and Japan. Keep in mind that seemingly less popular countries also have interesting internships and prove to offer great experiences for students who choose to do their internship there. And of course: you are going to practise your English wherever you go!
Yes, we need all your documents in English. However, you can translate the documents yourself and send it to us along with a scan of the original
If you want to apply for jobs in Germany or Austria and English is not mandatory you can send your documents in German.
IAESTE Switzerland selects students based on their profile and will not conduct any interview. Some IAESTE offices choose to interview you to test your English skills. The employers sometimes conduct Skype or telephone interviews, but many students are accepted without previous interviews.
It is important that you provide us with a complete registration form, a convincing application file (carefully prepared documents) and a profile that fits the internship requirements. Grades are of secondary importance and will only be considered if there are two equally fitting candidates for a position.
Yes, it is mandatory to include a language certificate. In case you don’t have your own certificate get in touch with us. We will provide you with an IAESTE-approved language evaluation sheet that has to be filled in and signed by a trusted person of your choice (professor, lecturer, or the like).
As soon as you are accepted by your employer, we suggest you to get in touch with them to check back about the job specifics: preparatory reading, the first day of work, possible dress codes etc.
The communication during the application process is organized via IAESTE.
In the acceptance confirmation email we send you, you will receive the contact details of the IAESTE office in the country of your stay. You can approach them anytime with questions regarding the preparation and stay in their country.
During my internship
It is important that you tell us immediately when problems arise during your stay which you can’t solve yourself. You can write an email to us and the IAESTE office in the foreign country. As soon as we agree on the next steps, an IAESTE representative gets in touch with the employer and tries to find a solution with them. We can help in most of the cases. Hence, it is important that we are notified as soon as possible. Should there be problems which you don´t want to share with us or the IAESTE foreign country, you have the possibility to contact our independent ombudsperson: ombudsman@iaeste.org
All of our internships are paid; that means you will get a salary which allows you to cover your cost of living during your internship. In some cases the employer provides you with accommodation, which usually comes with a lower salary. The salary differs from country to country. Converted to Swiss Francs the salary might be much lower than what you’re used to but bear in mind that the cost of living in these countries is lower too.
The local IAESTE office abroad arranges the lodging and a pick-up service. In most cases, this is organized by a member of a local committee and you’ll be informed before you leave for your internship. Unfortunately, in some cases (especially in big countries like the USA/Brasil/Australia) a pickup cannot be arranged, but you will receive all necessary information via the local IAESTE office.
IAESTE arranges the lodging in most cases. Usually, a member of the local committee is in charge of that and you will be informed before the start of your internship. Unfortunately, in some cases (especially in big countries like the USA and Brazil) lodging cannot be arranged. In these cases, the employer is responsible for your lodging. In some rare cases you’ll have to find your own accommodation with the help of the local committee.
After my internship
Most Outgoer receive credit points from their university for their internships. However, please make sure you clarify this point with your university before you apply for an internship.
You can require a detailed recommendation letter at your workplace. We can issue an internship confirmation with the most important facts about your internship.
After you´ve finished the internship, we will send you an evaluation sheet (trainee report), with which you can evaluate your internship and your stay abroad in detail. Your feedback is very valuable to us because IAESTE aims to improve continuously the quality of internships on an international level. Your report is sent later to the IAESTE partner country who draws conclusions from it and takes the necessary measures to improve their offer.
There are different possibilities to share your experiences with other students:
Write an experience report: After your internship you will be asked to write an experience report in which you can relate your experience abroad in detail. Such reports are very important for us in order to provide information to any future Outgoer. Your trainee report will be published on our webpage.
Presentation of IAESTE internship: We are always grateful if former Outgoer present their experience at our info event in autumn. If you agree, you’ll be invited to give a 10 min. Power Point presentation for which you will receive a voucher as a thank-you.
IAESTE trainee award: IAESTE Switzerland holds their general assembly at the ETH Zürich every year in November. During the event, various trainees hold a poster presentation and the invitees vote on the best poster(s). There are fabulous prices to be won!
Our IAESTE incoming interns are taken care of by our amazing local committees in Basel, Bern, Lausanne and Zurich. Thanks to their tremendous commitment and hard work, our incoming interns feel immediately at home here in Switzerland. If you are interested, please write to outgoing@office.iaeste.ch and we will forward your message to the local committee of interest.
Different networks and platforms will help you stay in touch with IAESTE:
Become a member of the association IAESTE Switzerland
Become an IAESTE employer after settling in your new job
Contact
If you have further questions, we are happy to help!
E-Mail: outgoing@iaeste.ch
IAESTE Switzerland
Weinbergstrasse 41
8006 Zürich
Phone: +41 43 244 95 07