International Higher Education Teacher Award ^2024/25

ADRIA Internship Programme started in 2019 with the objectives: (1) to improve professional opportunities for the raw materials students in the ADRIA region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia), (2) to enable early cooperation between the students and the industry, thus familiarising the future young professionals with real-life challenges, and (3) to establish valuable connections between the educational institutions and the industry, thus helping to build more market compliant educational programmes in the future. The following was achieved: (1) Learning outcomes of the Programme have been defined; (2) Online application procedures were developed, including the necessary forms and templates: application form for students can be found at https://www.eitrawmaterials-rcadria.eu/rcadriainternship/application/intern , for organisations at https://www.eitrawmaterials-rcadria.eu/rcadriainternship/application/host; (3) The evaluation and selection procedures were defined, including the evaluation phases, rating system, check lists and procedures related to the communication with the applicants; (4) webinars with instructions for participants have been prepared and published on the Programme website, individually for supervisors and interns; (5) Textual instructions for the supervisors within host-organisations have been written and published; (6) Programme implementation monitoring system has been established within UNIZG-RGNF, including the reporting procedures and templates for the Interns, but also feedback surveys (evaluation forms) for both Interns and supervisors; (7) two permanent annual Calls for applications were launched annually, with additional Call for Virtual ADRIA Internship (as response to Covid19 crises in 2020); (8) Database of students and organisations in the ADRIA region has been created and maintained for the purpose of Internship Programme implementation; (9) 20 students have been successfully matched with 16 organisations in 2019, 24 interns successfully matched with 15 companies in 2020 and 24 interims with 17 companies in 2021, and (10) 100% of participants have expressed satisfaction with the implemented Internships, with major part of them re-applying for the second year in a row.

Methodology

Planing and implementation of the programme followed the route: (1) Learning outcomes of the Programme have been defined (UNIZG-RGNF; Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Zagreb); (2) Online application procedures were developed, including the necessary forms and templates: application form for students can be found at https://www.eitrawmaterials-rcadria.eu/rcadriainternship/application/intern , for organisations at https://www.eitrawmaterials-rcadria.eu/rcadriainternship/application/host (UNIZG-RGNF; technical support); (3) The evaluation and selection procedures were defined, including the evaluation phases, rating system, check lists and procedures related to the communication with the applicants (UNIZG-RGNF; Geological survey of Slovenia; Slovenian national civil enginering institute); (4) webinars with instructions for participants have been prepared and published on the Programme website, individually for supervisors and interns (UNIZG-RGNF; technical support); (5) Textual instructions for the supervisors within host-organisations have been written and published (UNIZG-RGNF; technical support); (6) Programme implementation monitoring system has been established within UNIZG-RGNF, including the reporting procedures and templates for the Interns, but also feedback surveys (evaluation forms) for both Interns and supervisors; (7) Two permanent annual Calls for applications were launched annually, with additional Call for Virtual ADRIA Internship (as response to Covid19 crises in 2020; (UNIZG-RGNF; technical support); (8) Database of students and organisations in the ADRIA region has been created and maintained for the purpose of Internship Programme implementation; (UNIZG-RGNF; technical support).

Tools, equipment, technology used

Innovative aspect of the Programme lies in its several key features, thus making it the only current internship in the RIS region, the raw materials sector, that includes all of the following elements: (a) Clear structure set for the implementation of internship, making the internship experience maximally useful for both participating parties. Basic structure of every individual internship encompasses four steps: training, internship implementation, reporting to the programme managers and evaluation of the intern/supervisor. Training is done online via webinars prepared for both students and organisations, enabling them to be more prepared and maximise the benefits of the experience. The implementation of internship must include a set of clear tasks for the intern, assigned by the supervisor in the hosting organisation. Expected learning outcomes (on a general level) are prepared within the Programme and provided to the supervisors as guidance. Final and mid-term reports are prepared by the students and submitted to the Programme managers, using the pre-designed report templates that follow the structure of the internship. Final step is the evaluation of the intern by the supervisor and vice versa. These results are used to monitor and improve the Programme organisation and implementation. (b) Transparency and matching of the best suited students/organisations. The platform of the Programme ( https://www.eitrawmaterials-rcadria.eu/rcadriainternship/organisations-list) enables a transparent overview of the organisations willing to accept an intern via the Programme. Organisations have their individual profile web pages, presenting their key activities and details on the open internship positions. Each student can read how well his/her profile matches the needs of the company. A student can also see if there are possibilities of permanent employment in the respective organisation, which may impact the choice of the place of internship. An application is done through a profile web page of an organisation, allowing the organisation and the student to see the number of organisations. In case of multiple applications, the Programme includes a set of criteria to filter the applications and crystallise the best match for the company. (c) Financial compensation provided for the students and organisations. Programme includes several categories of scholarships awarded to the interns depending on the place of internship implementation. Scholarships, awarded as lump sums, cover the expenses connected to the internship implementation (meals, transport, possibly accommodation etc.). Compensation for the time invested by the supervisor for the purpose of training (see point (d)) is paid to the organisation admitting a student. It is a one-time payment, motivating the company to enter the Programme. (d) Integrated training as a long-term capacity-building activity. Each participant of the Programme is obliged to complete a training in the first few days of internship implementation. Recorded webinars are offered to the students and to the supervisors. The expected impact of the webinars is to help the student make the transition to the real-life working culture more easily, taking the best from the internship. On the other hand, the supervisors are taught how to approach the students, set tasks and monitor their progress. They are also taught how to make their company an internship-friendly environment, fostering a sustainable collaboration connecting the academia and industry through hosting/educating future young professionals.

Outcomes and outputs, main results

From the beginning of implementation (2019) the following results are achived: (1) 20 students have been successfully matched with 16 organisations in 2019; (2) 24 interns successfully matched with 15 companies in 2020; (3) 24 interims uccessfully matched with 17 companies in 2021; (4) a total of 6 interims were employed by the hosting organization for the duration of the programme - giving the employment rate of 10%, and (5) 100% of participants have expressed satisfaction with the implemented Internships, with major part of them re-applying for the second year in a row.

Lessons learnt

During the programme implementation, the following challenges and related lessons were faced/learnt: 1) Workload – despite of the partial digitalisation, the generated workload by the management and administration of the Programme remained significant and is proportional to the number of students included in the programme. Therefore, careful planning of resources is needed. 2) Visibility and promotion – Programme visibility actions are crucial for the successful recruitment and have to be started at least 6 months prior to the opening of the Call. A detailed communication strategy needs to be prepared and implemented. Careful operational and budgetary planning of these activities has to be included in the preparation period. To maximise the impact of the communication activities, a help of external parties is needed and should be sought in the early phases of the project. It includes a network of public organisations, companies, associations, and individuals with a potential reach in the EU member states and beyond. Digital marketing should not be the only mean of communication, a personal engagement of the „programme ambassadors“ is crucial. 3) Recruitment of organisations – communication towards the hosting organisations should be as straightforward as possible, clearly stating the added value for the organisations (why this Internship, not any other). Internships should be organised and promoted in a way to support the business objectives of the involved hosting organisations, not adding additional workload. Help in branding and promoting the hosting company itself should be offered by the Programme managers. 4) Legal considerations (tax, insurance...) – in an international environment, national rules and legislations should be taken into consideration when suggesting and implementing an internship. Exploration of the national conditions and context should be carried out prior to the Calls for applications. 5) Quality standards – Programme should be implemented consistently to the set standards. These standards should be clearly communicated to the organisations and students involved in the programme, before the internship contracts are signed. 6) Dissemination – various marketing strategies should be implemented in order to promote the conducted internships and the interns as potential employees after entering the labour market. Storytelling is a strategy showing the best results.

Adaptability and sustainability of the best practice (for other institutions)

Publicly available written procedures and on-line webinars are available for use by external institutions. Set of documents at https://www.eitrawmaterials-rcadria.eu/rcadriainternship programme can be easily implemented by external institution also in other, non-raw materials related sectors with minimum adaptation in the Call documents (procedures and training materials are nonspecific).

Promotion of best practice

1) Web page: https://www.eitrawmaterials-rcadria.eu/rcadriainternship 2) LinkedIn page https://www.linkedin.com/in/eit-rawmaterials-hub-regional-center-adria-a64313175/ 3) Youtube chanell: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe08uss_qX18UkpxOluS8yQ Facebook champaign https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj7qYWglff0AhWG6aQKHVFbAGEQFnoECAcQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2Fcategory%2FEducation%2F2021-ADRIA-Internship-Programme-110094677222255%2F&usg=AOvVaw3NE4fW9z4h9IFXj5D0Drg8 4) Electronic newsletter of the HUB ADRIA to 2000 adresses subscribed to HUB ADRIA 5) Direct communication with University partners and industry partners in the ADRIA region 6) Promotional events and info days https://www.eitrawmaterials-rcadria.eu/events/infoday-adria-internship-program-in-2021 7) Promotional interviews of the interims and companies https://www.eitrawmaterials-rcadria.eu/rcadriainternship/internship-news/meet-the-interns-vlaho-przic; https://www.eitrawmaterials-rcadria.eu/rcadriainternship/internship-news/meet-the-interns-danilo-bozic; https://www.eitrawmaterials-rcadria.eu/rcadriainternship/internship-news/industry-perspective-mr-pero-ruso-from-colas-mineral-ltd etc.

Scope and impact

• Cross-institutional level
• National level
• EU/EHEA/International level

National higher educational and science strategies of the EU 27 member states are allied with the following EU level documents: EUROPE 2020 - A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, Education and training within Europe 2020 strategy, Education and Training Monitor 2012 - Rethinking education: investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes, Summaries in European legislation, Modernising universities, and Internationalisation in European higher education: European policies, institutional strategies and EUA support. Several joint elements within all national education strategies are aligned with Internship programme: (1) increasing international mobility of the students. Internship result in a total of 120 months of the student mobilities. (2) increase amount of English language courses at the Universities programmes. Internship programme lasts from 1-3 months and is conducted exclusively in English (application mid-interim report, final report, evaluation). As a part of the curricular or extracurricular activities, Internship programme benefits to the existing raw materials programmes, and the students. (3) facilitate activities exploring synergies of the knowledge triangle. Internship supports and facilitates University-Business cooperation as a part of the Knowladge Triangle Integration activities. (4) alignment with the Smart Specialization. Hosting organisations will be able to transfer gained knowledge on the state-of-the-art mining, processing, extraction, and waste management technologies to the interims.

6.1 Digitalization

• Novel digital solutions (tools, frameworks, devices, tasks to enhance efficiency and motivation)

Reasoning: ADRIA Internship programme also resulted in a development of an online tool, designed to foster smooth and transparent matching of best-suited students and organisations. A platform (https://www.eitrawmaterials-rcadria.eu/rcadriainternship/organisations-list) enables the approved organisations to present the company, internship opportunities and related details. Students can apply for internship directly via the platform, seeing how many applicants have already applied for a particular company.

---

6.2 Internationalization

• Developing students' multicultural awareness
• Innovative practices of blended mobility
• Students engagement in international projects
• Courses offered to international multicultural students both online and offline
• International projects/research results embedded into course development and T&L

Reasoning: The exposure of students to different cultures occurs during their internship, through close collaboration with the assigned team and supervisor – both in domestic and international internships, since some companies are multinational. Within the internship, a part of students are directly involved in international projects, providing a report as evidence. Online courses advising students and mentors on how to implement the internship are offered in English to all participants.

---

6.3 Inclusion and diversity, universal design

• NOT RELEVANT

Reasoning:

---

6.4 Sustainability

• Extra-curricular student activities for sustainability
• Environmental attitude, skill development and assessment either general or profession-related
• Sustainability aspects are considered in all phases of the learning practice - "hidden curriculum"

Reasoning: Within this structured internship, students have an opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge gained through the studies, but also to develop and strenghten the skills needed to enhance their competitiveness on the labour market. This includes also the skills related to envionmental topics. The RawMaterials strategy is strongly focused on the sustainability of the sector, especially circular economy, thus requiring an alignment of each implemented ADRIA internship with Strategy priorities.

3.3 Public contact datas

Name	Email address	Website
Sibila Borojević Šoštarić	rcadria@eitrawmaterials.eu	https://www.eitrawmaterials-rcadria.eu/rcadriainternship