Academic Year:
2021/22
546 - Master in Agricultural Engineering
60572 - Internships
Teaching Plan Information
Academic Year:
2021/22
Subject:
60572 - Internships
Faculty / School:
201 - Escuela Politécnica Superior
Degree:
546 - Master in Agricultural Engineering
ECTS:
6.0
Year:
2
Semester:
First semester
Subject Type:
External Placements
Module:
---
1.1. Aims of the course
The subject and its expected results respond to the following approaches and objectives:
External academic internships constitute an activity of a formative nature carried out by the student and supervised by the University, whose objective is to allow them to apply and complement the knowledge acquired in their academic training, favoring the acquisition of competencies that prepare them for the exercise of professional activities, facilitate their employability and foster their entrepreneurial skills. In this degree program, internships are curricular and, therefore, mandatory for all students.
UNIVERSA, the Orientation and Employment Service of the University of Zaragoza, http://www.unizar.es/universa/, is in charge of the administrative procedures necessary to establish the link between the student and the entity where the internship will take place, as well as all the administrative process related to the internship.
On the Huesca campus, the Universa service is located at:
Vicerrectorado Campus de Huesca
C/ Ronda Misericordia, 5 22001 - Huesca
Phone: 974 239390
At the Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universa service is available on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Secretary's Office located on the first floor of the Tozal de Guara Building.
The University of Zaragoza has signed specific Educational Cooperation Agreements for the External Internships of this degree that can be consulted at: https://eps.unizar.es/academico/conveniosagronomia.
However, they can also be carried out in other entities that have an agreement with the University of Zaragoza or that are proposed by the student as long as they comply with the conditions established for this purpose.
1.2. Context and importance of this course in the degree
This compulsory subject constitutes the "External Internship" module, of 6 ECTS, which has been planned in the first semester of the second year of the degree, to comply with the agreement of June 14, 2011 of the Governing Council of the University of Zaragoza that approves the criteria and procedures for the reordering of the University Master's degrees, which requires the inclusion of the same in the Masters with professional orientation (article 28).
Therefore, it makes use of all the subjects of the plan and develops instrumental, interpersonal and systemic competences that constitute the basis of the performance capacity of the future professional, of the adequate integration in his/her work context and of his own personal development.
1.3. Recommendations to take this course
In order to take it, it is a prerequisite to be enrolled in the 60572 External Internships course linked to the Master's Degree in Agricultural Engineering.
In order to conduct the external internships, students must register online at Universa and, depending on whether they access them through an offer published on the Center's website (specific agreements with the EPS or with the UZ) or by direct contact with the collaborating entity, follow some instructions or others, always established by Universa and available at http://www.unizar.es/universa/practicas/para-estudiantes/.
The application must have the approval of the academic tutor, who will be in charge of monitoring the internship. The tutor must be a Faculty member at the University of Zaragoza, preferably at the EPS and, in any case, related to the Master's Degree in Agronomic Engineering. The academic tutor may be chosen by the student or may be designated by the Center.
In accordance with Article 8, point 2, section c, of Royal Decree 592/2014, of July 11, which regulates external academic internships for university students, it is an indispensable requirement that the student does not maintain any contractual relationship with the company, institution or public or private entity or the university itself in which the internship is to be carried out, unless expressly authorized by the University of Zaragoza.
In this case, the University will study each particular case, since it will be necessary to verify that the department and/or tasks to be performed are different from those that appear in the work contract and that the schedule is compatible with the working day.
It is necessary to maintain contact with the academic tutor of the university during the internship and inform him/her of any incident that may arise during the internship, as well as to hand in the required documents and reports of intermediate follow-up and the final report.
2.1. Competences
Upon passing the course, the student will be more competent to...
Basic competences (section 3.3 of Annex I of Royal Decree 861/2010, of July 2, which amends Royal Decree 1393/2007, of October 29).
- CB2. That students know how to apply the acquired knowledge and problem-solving skills in new or unfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their area of study.
- CB3. That students are able to integrate knowledge and face the complexity of making judgments based on information that, being incomplete or limited, includes reflections on the social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
- CB4. That students know how to communicate their conclusions -and the knowledge and ultimate reasons that support them- to specialized and non-specialized audiences in a clear and unambiguous way.
General competences (Section 3 of the annex of the Order CIN/325/2009)
- CG4. Ability to apply the knowledge acquired to solve problems in new situations, analyzing information from the environment and synthesizing it efficiently to facilitate the decision-making process in companies and professional organizations in the agri-food sector.
- CG5. Ability to transmit their knowledge and the conclusions of their studies or reports, using the means that communication technology allows and taking into account the knowledge of the receiving audience.
Specific competences
- CE22. Ability to develop and apply knowledge, technology and skills of the degree in a professional environment (companies and institutions).
2.2. Learning goals
In order to pass this course, the student must demonstrate the following results...
- Is able to apply the theoretical knowledge acquired, putting it into practice in the development of a work outside the educational field, but supervised and directed from it, and linked to the exercise of the activity in a professional environment, public or private, appropriate.
- Is capable of fulfilling the commitments acquired with the collaborating entity and with the university in relation to the external internship.
- Is able to adequately write an Activities Report in which the proposed and achieved objectives are reflected, as well as a detailed description of the activities carried out, explicitly including their contribution to the promotion of sustainable development in any of its aspects, within the framework of the UN 2030 Agenda.
- Is able to establish the relationship with the qualification of the work performed, taking into account both the general and specific competences and the skills and aptitudes specific to professional development.
- Is able to evaluate the process and formulate proposals for improvement.
2.3. Importance of learning goals
Any other subject of the Syllabus involves relevant learning outcomes in the context of a specific area or areas, but in this case, its achievement implies the implementation by the student of the competences associated with the Degree and gives him/her the possibility of entering into the practice of the profession in the workplace in a tutored manner but in a scenario similar to the one he/she will find in his/her next professional future.
3. Assessment (1st and 2nd call)
3.1. Assessment tasks (description of tasks, marking system and assessment criteria)
The student must demonstrate that he/she has achieved the expected learning outcomes by means of the following evaluation activities
Throughout the internship period, the academic tutor will maintain regular contact with the student, in order to verify the adequate development of the programmed activities.
At the end of the internship, the company tutor will prepare a report according to a standardized form established by Universa, evaluating the student's activity during the internship, and will send it to Universa, which in turn will send it to the student's academic tutor at the University.
The academic tutor will evaluate the external internships carried out by filling in the corresponding final Evaluation Report, which must take into account:
- The Report of the Tutor, TR, of the collaborating entity.
- The Final Report of the External Internship, FR, completed according to this template and submitted by the student.
Final grade and evaluation criteria
The final grade will be the result of the weighted average of the grades of the three evaluation activities as indicated below:
Final Grade (CF) = 50% TR grade + 50% FR grade.
In the event that the student has not completed at least 90% of the established classroom hours at the internship site, an unfavorable final report of the internship will be issued and a grade of "failed" in the subject of "External Internships". The numerical grade, CF, will be weighted to the number of effective hours in the collaborating entity, with a maximum of 4.0 that will correspond to 89% of the total.
Likewise, if after the deadline (see established deadlines), the student has not submitted the Final Report of the internship, or it does not meet the minimum standards in accordance with the learning outcomes formulated above, an unfavorable final report of the internship will be issued and a grade of "Fail" in the subject of "External Internships" will be given. The numerical grade, CF, will be the one obtained by applying the formula indicated above with "MF grade" = 0. In case the result is greater than or equal to 4, the Final Grade (CF) will be 4.0.
If a student wishes to know the breakdown of grades that give rise to the CF, he/she must expressly request it to the Academic Tutor who must provide it to him/her for his/her information.
The deadline established for the delivery of all the necessary documentation so that the student can be evaluated in each of the official exams of February, June and September will end seven calendar days before the deadline for the delivery of grades in each of them. However, in extraordinary situations and given that it is possible to generate independent reports, the student may also submit the internship report throughout the academic year in order to be evaluated at any time during the same.
In the case of requesting credit recognition for work experience, the corresponding form must be submitted to the EPS Registry, addressed to the President of the Quality Assurance Committee of the degree within the deadlines established for this purpose.
4. Methodology, learning tasks, syllabus and resources
4.1. Methodological overview
An active methodology is used in this course, in which the student takes responsibility for his/her own training through autonomous research, direct contact with reality and the experiences shared with the working group in which he/she gets involved. This method is based on:
- A strong motivation for learning.
- Tackling increasingly difficult challenges.
- Creating a bridge between the theoretical academic abstraction and the practical reality.
- Facilitating the self-detection of errors.
- Promoting the student’s personal autonomy
- Developing the acquisition of information search and research skills.
With regard to the organization and the implementation protocol of the learning activities corresponding to the Internships, the students who meet the academic requirements may apply through UNIVERSA –the Orientation and Employment Service of the University of Zaragoza (http://www.unizar.es/universa/)– to any of the offered internships that matches their profile. This service is responsible for the administrative steps required to establish the link between the student and the entity in which they will do their internship.
A list of Educational Cooperation Agreements already signed by the University of Zaragoza for doing Internships associated with the Master’s in Agronomical Engineering can be found at: http://eps.unizar.es/academico/practicas
Nonetheless, the Internships may also be pursued in any of the other entities with which the University of Zaragoza has signed agreements or in any other entity proposed by the student that fulfils the requirements established for this purpose.
The Internships will be allocated on a first come first served basis, ensuring that the demands of the collaborating entity are met (which may be established through an interview and, in case of competition among students, by their academic records).
Those students who are finally selected by the collaborating entity must express their acceptance and commitment to pursue the Internship, filling the forms that they will be provided with.
4.2. Learning tasks
The course includes the following learning tasks:
- Tutorial sessions.
- Working hours adapted to the circumstances of the collaborating entity and the student.
- Autonomous student work.
4.3. Syllabus
There is no syllabus for this course because the contents depend on each individual case.
4.4. Course planning and calendar
This course has 6 ECTS, which involves 150 hours of student’s dedication. Their distribution will be decided on a case-by-case basis, by mutual agreement between the collaborating entity and the student, with the approval of the academic supervisor. An estimate of the workload distribution would be the following:
Activity
|
Dedication (hours)
|
Face-to-face sessions in the collaborating entity
|
142
|
Office hours with the academic supervisor
|
2
|
Preparation of the final report
|
6
|
Total
|
150
|
It is recommended that the student contacts the Professor to whom they wish to propose that he/she performs the functions of Academic Supervisor. If the student does not have any preferences, the Academic Supervisor will be designated as indicated in the following section of this guide.
Simultaneously, the student should contact UNIVERSA –the Orientation and Employment Service of the University of Zaragoza (http://www.unizar.es/universa/)– that will be in charge of the administrative procedures necessary to establish the link between the student and the entity where he/she will conduct the internship as well as the entire administrative process related to it.
Once the Academic Supervisor and the collaborating entity have been specified, the student must adequately perform the functions assigned to him/her in the established time and prepare a Final Report of the Internship according to the model available here.
Academic Supervisor
The teacher in charge of this course, henceforth the Academic Supervisor, may be different for each student and will be designated according to the following procedure:
- He/she must be a Faculty member of the University of Zaragoza, preferably of the Escuela Politécnica Superior, and, in any case, related to the Master's Degree.
- If there is a prior agreement between the student and a faculty member, the latter will be the Academic Supervisor of the internship. If not, and at the request of the student, the Degree Coordinator, who serves as the internships Coordinator, will designate an Academic Supervisor.
- In the case of international internships, the Academic Supervisor will be the Mobility Program Coordinator.
4.5. Bibliography and recommended resources
No specific bibliography is provided because the contents of the Internship are diverse.