Practical Training

The implementation of the “Internships for AUTH Students” programme at Aristotle University, co-financed by the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs and the European Union, began in the period 1996-1999 (PHASE I), within the framework of the Operational Program for Education and Initial Vocational Training (EPEAEK) of the 2nd Community Support Framework. At the time, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki participated with 13 Schools.

The aims of the Programme are to achieve a two-way interaction between Higher Education and the workplace.

The individual objectives of the action are:

  • To acquire initial experience/work experience related to a profession and/or professional integration at the workplace where the Internship takes place,
  • To achieve a more substantial assimilation of scientific knowledge through the process of professional scientific application,
  • To enhance the skills of the trainees and develop their professional awareness,
  • To ensure a smoother transition of students from higher education to the world of production, business and organizations,
  • To familiarize students in higher education with the workplace and its professional demands, with employment relations and with the pay scale as formulated in Greek reality,
  • To cultivate favorable conditions for a creative meeting of various scientific fields and encourage self-motivation and professional ingenuity in the trainees,
  • To create a two-way channel of information transfer between higher education Institutes and the business world, in order to facilitate their collaboration.

The duration of the Internship for each student is decided by his/her School.
The percentage of students who take part in the internship program after completing their studies is over 10% for Chemical Engineering and ECE (18%), over 20% for Rural and Surveying Engineering (23%) and Mechanical Engineering (24%), and 26% for graduates of the School of Civil Engineering.

The data refer to the participation of students from the Faculty of Engineering in the EPEAEK III programme.

For more information, please visit the following website: http://www.cso.auth.gr/Greek/PA.gr.htm

Any organizations interested in our student internship program, can contact the secretary of the Program, Ms Sofia Gerousi at: 2310 99 8810 or e-mail: sgerousi@agro.auth.gr

The IAESTE Student Exchange Programme

What is IAESTE?

IAESTE (International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience) is a non-political, non-governmental, independent international association for the exchange of students from technical fields, that offers practical training abroad. It was established in 1948 at Imperial College London, in cooperation with national organizations from ten European countries; James Newby was elected General Secretary. It soon spread throughout the world and at present includes 93 member countries and 85 associated institutions worldwide. Up to now, 300,000 students have participated in exchange programmes, which means that there are 6000 exchange students annually, which play a major role both in developing their own undergraduate technical skills and also in supporting the global economy.

IAESTE has an advisory role and is in contact with several international and other organizations, such as the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), UNESCO, UNIDO, the International Labour Office (ILO), the U.N. Economic Council for Africa (ECA), the Food and Agricultural Organisation of American States (OAS), and the Commission of the European Union.

IAESTE is a confederation of national committees which represent the academic and industrial interests of students. Each National Committee is responsible for running the exchange programme in its own country.

According to the IAESTE statute, a country can become a member after establishing a National Committee, and a competent permanent secretariat. The type of secretariat that handles the exchange program can vary according to each country’s national structure, its educational system and financing policies. The most essential requirement is for the national secretariat to be staffed by an adequate number of full-time employees.

The aims of IAESTE

IAESTE offers students the possibility of practical training abroad in their field of science. In this way, university students from technical faculties in their country can work at higher education establishments, research institutes and cutting-edge businesses. Furthermore, students become familiarized with the working conditions of their future profession and get to know a different country and civilization through their daily life. Finally, this exchange promotes collaboration and the exchange of views, with the ultimate aim of creating friendship and mutual respect among people.

At the same time, as regards employers, the offer is equally important. On the one hand, employers come into contact with foreign students, their culture and the technological level of other countries and, on the other hand, they develop contacts with young professionals from other countries, i.e. their professional associates of the present and future. Finally, it is worth noting, that through this particular exchange initiative, employers get to see their businesses under a totally different light.

For information:
IAESTE Thessaloniki
Building D' Faculty of Engineering AUTH
tel.: 2310 99 5829, 99 5839
Website: http://iaeste.eng.auth.gr

The International Organization AIESEC

What is AIESEC?

AIESEC is an international network that provides multiple opportunities to young people, enabling them to discover and develop their potential.

It is the largest international student-run organization and the 3rd largest non-governmental organization in the world.

AIESEC was established globally in 1948, in Greece in 1956 and at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1991. It operates in 1100 Universities and 100 countries. The association numbers approximately 23,000 members worldwide.

The vision of the organization is world peace.

The network has the following characteristics:

  • It is international
  • It is educational
  • It is exclusively managed by students
  • It is non-political
  • It is non-profitable

AIESEC is active at the following Universities in Greece:

  • Athens University of Economics and Business
  • University of Piraeus
  • University of Athens
  • University of Macedonia
  • Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
  • University of the Aegean

The international Internship program of AIESEC:

The main activity of AIESEC is its International Internship Program.

Through this program, AIESEC gives the opportunity to young people from around the world to live and work in one of the 100 countries of the AIESEC network, and thus become acquainted with foreign cultures, grow and accept the diversity of people, while breaking down any stereotypes.

More specifically, AIESEC AUTH gives the opportunity to students in their 3rd or 4th year of study, as well as recent graduates, to live and do an internship in one of the 100 countries that comprise the AIESEC network, for a period ranging from 2 months to 1.5 years. The basic salary is always the minimum wage of the country in question.

Students are also given the opportunity to work as volunteers through the developmental program, at a non-governmental organization. In this case, accommodation and food are provided free and a symbolic amount of compensation is paid.

At an international level, AIESEC has organized approximately 4,000 exchanges during the past year.

What do students have to gain through their participation in the International Internship Program of AIESEC?

  • Practical implementation of their theoretical knowledge from University
  • Contact with the international work environment
  • Acquaintance with another country’s civilization, culture and way of life
  • Contact with people from 100 different countries
  • Collaboration with people who share a different mentality

For information:
AIESEC Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
E-mail: auth.gr@aiesec.net
Website: www.aiesec.gr

Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP)/Erasmus

This is a Sectoral Action of the European Programme “Lifelong Learning” 2007-2013, that deals with European cooperation in the field of tertiary education.

Through the Erasmus program, students are provided with two possibilities:

  • Mobility to study at an undergraduate or postgraduate level (at European Universities with which bilateral agreements have been signed),
  • Mobility for practical training.


The duration of studies abroad can range from 3 to 12 months. As a rule, it is a prerequisite of the study program of the University of origin, and thus the latter provides academic recognition of the said period of study.

 

Scholarships are granted to students taking part in the Erasmus program, to cover the additional costs incurred by studying abroad. The amount of the scholarship depends on the destination country.

For information:
Department of European Education Programmes, AUTH
Administration Building, 1st floor
E-mail: eurep-dept@auth.gr
Website: eurep.auth.gr

B.E.S.T. Student Organization

B.E.S.T. is a pan-European, non-profit, non-political student organization. It consists of a network of 57 technical universities from 23 countries of Europe.

Its aim is to promote a European philosophy among students from European universities. In order to achieve this, all member-universities of B.E.S.T. organize numerous activities each year, such as academic seminars, scientific fora, and business meetings, which are attended by thousands of students in every part of Europe.

At present, over 1,000 students from Europe work for the organization daily on a voluntary basis, and address a pool of approximately 500,000 students, who originate from the 57 corresponding universities.

Other members of B.E.S.T. include the National Technical University of Athens, The Faculty of Engineering at the University of Patras, and the Technical University of Crete in Chania.

In Thessaloniki, B.E.S.T. has been operating within the Faculty of Engineering at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, since 1999. It provides its services to the 7,000 students of the Faculty, by informing them about the organization’s activities and the processes involving student participation in the latter.

For information:
Local BEST Group of Thessaloniki, AUTH
tel.: 2310 91 1673, 6972 763841
E-mail: thessaloniki@best.eu.org
Website: www.BEST.eu.org