Smart Internship
Every Vilnius University student (disregarding study program, degree or year of studies) can do a smart internship. Most important for this internship is your desire to improve your competences, willingness to try out different learning and training opportunities during your studies, and your openness to new things.
2023/2024 academic year spring semester Smart internship
Registration:
Smart internship plan for 2023/2024 academic year spring semester:
02.29 Announcement of teams
03.02 Design Thinking methodology training (Location: VU Career Centre, 9 Saulėtekio Ave., Building III, Room 104)
03.04 - 05.14 Internship duration. Smart internship plan
- student’s motivation;
- student’s priorities (prioritization of cases);
- diversity of the team (students of different faculties/ study programs in one team);
- up to 7 persons in a team;
- gender equality aspect.
Cases proposed by organisation
Deloitte
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CASE: What measures could be implemented to improve the efficiency of a professional services company? DESCRIPTION: Deloitte is a world-leading provider of audit and assurance, consulting, financial, risk management, and tax-related consulting services. Operating in 150 countries and territories with around 330,000 professionals, the organization is a global network of member firms and related entities. A professional services company faces various challenges in operational efficiency and management, including:
The challenges mentioned in the previous points interact with each other, and inefficiencies in one area often spill over into others. The organization expects that the student team, having delved into the challenge and analyzed various best practices, will propose improvements in the company's operations/processes. |
Reiz Tech
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CASE: How to enhance user engagement in an application dedicated to skill and development plan registration and feedback exchange? DESCRIPTION: Reiz Tech, an end-to-end IT consultancy and solutions company, is a global entity with over 300 talented professionals spread across 30 countries. The organization offers comprehensive information technology solutions, starting with strategic planning and implementation, and extending to software development, maintenance, and continuous support. Embracing principles of sustainable management, the company leverages advanced technologies to equip our clients with a superior edge in technological and digital competencies. The challenge revolves around the development of strategies to boost active user participation in a skill and knowledge management application. Despite the existence of various platforms for skill and knowledge sharing, there remains a notable deficiency in user engagement. This issue can be attributed to the lack of effective mechanisms that incentivize users to share their expertise and developmental experiences. The project focuses on understanding user behavior, creating incentives for content sharing, and nurturing a community-driven learning environment. The students team is encouraged to approach this case with innovative thinking and interdisciplinary strategies. They are expected to conduct a thorough analysis of user behavior and motivations, aiming to devise practical and creative solutions that motivate users to actively share their skills and development experiences. The application of theories from relevant fields, such as psychology for understanding user behavior and technology for implementing these strategies, should be considered. The ultimate goal is to produce a set of actionable strategies that can significantly enhance user engagement in the application. |
What is a smart internship at Vilnius University?
Smart internship is organised in interdisciplinary teams of 5–7 students solving real-life organisations' problems. The whole process is leaded by the internship supervisor from the University and a mentor from a company. Students can do a smart internship voluntarily or as their compulsory internship, if it corresponds to the requirements. A note about the performed internship is included into student's diploma supplement. What is more, every student gets a smart internship diploma confirming gained competence, and a recommendation from the company.
How smart internship is smart?
Benefits to students:
- one more opportunity to gain practical experience during studies;
- development of hard skills and soft skills: team-work, creativity, non-standard thinking, adaptability, problem-solving, etc.;
- growth of social network;
- opportunity to take a wider look at the ways of employing professional competences.
Benefits to organisations:
- opportunity to contribute to the training of future professionals;
- selection of talents – future employees at early stage;
- new (fresh) glance to the problem.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
How does a Smart internship work?
Once a week the team meets/calls to discuss the activities carried out individually, together make assumptions and allocate work for the next meeting. At least once every two weeks there is a meeting/call with the organization’s representatives, to whom the team members present the interim results. Responsibilities in the team are shared in order to achieve the weekly task, so the contribution of each participant is very important.
To find out more about the expected activities, take a look at the Smart internship plan!
Does the internship take place face-to-face or remotely?
The format of the internship - online, face-to-face, hybrid - is decided by the team members and the internship supervisor. In the last semesters, teams usually choose to visit the organization at least once in person, with regular team meetings scheduled online and those that require a higher level of involvement scheduled in a contact format.
Where do team meetings take place?
If the team decides to work face-to-face, the participants meet at the organization's premises or in VU spaces (Career centre, Central library or MKIC workrooms) or cafés. In case the team works online, meetings take place on the Teams platform.
Can I combine a Smart internship and a job?
The minimum involvement of a participant is 6 hours per week - 2 hours for the team meeting/call, 2 hours for the team meeting/call with the host organization representatives and 2 hours for homework. Team meetings are organized at a time convenient for all members (after lectures), so if in your schedule you have 6 hours per week for new activity, you can certainly join having other responsibilities!
Do my studies have to meet the Smart internship case?
A Smart internship develops generic competencies, so you can choose to do a Smart internship in an area that's far removed from your professional life.
Can a Smart internship be counted as a compulsory internship?
Vilnius University offers this possibility, but the final decision depends on the internship provisions of the student's department (faculty), for example, whether the practical activities done during Smart internship are related to the study program.
For an individual case, please contact the Internship coordinator Karolina Urban ().
What if I'm not approved?
Next semester, mention in your application form that you have already been applied and your application will be considered in priority order. You may also receive an invitation to swap with a team member in case of a change in the team.
If you are interested in an organization you can contact the representatives by yourself asking about individual internship opportunities.
