Internships

Internship Design

Pursuant to the Regulations for Project Work, Research and Internships of HSE Students approved by the minutes No.07 of the HSE Academic Council dated June 24, 2016, “internships are an integral part of any degree programme; they are designed to enable students to acquire professional skills and experience, get immersed into professional environment and develop non-project professional competencies.”

Students combine their studies with research, conferences and seminars, work in research labs, and paper submission to academic journals and anthologies.

A research internship is the main internship type and an important element of the MPA curriculum. It takes place in Year 2, lasts 8 weeks and amounts to 12 credits. The internship is primarily aimed at preparing the Master’s thesis. It is mandatory for all students. MPA students mainly undertake internships in public bodies, organizations in the public sector of the economy, state-funded institutions, fully or partially state-owned enterprises and non-profit organizations.

Internships help students develop management skills and shape their career trajectories.

The Programme Coordinator is responsible for general oversight of internships.

Internship Status

All internships included into the curriculum are mandatory.

Students who have not completed their research internship cannot proceed to thesis preparation and defence.

Upon completion of the internship, students provide an internship report signed by the internship supervisors at the Faculty and at the host institution (if applicable) as well as a reference from the host institution signed by the internship supervisor at the host institution. Internship results are determined by an interim assessment in the form of an exam.

Supervision of the practical training

The Tutoring Centre arranges internships for the Faculty of Social Sciences, which SPA is a part of. The Tutoring Centre scouts and negotiates internship options and can enter into agreements with organizations hosting student internships.

When a student internship is organised, one of the School’s faculty members is selected as the internship supervisor. The supervisor develops an internship schedule (plan) and outline (to be approved by the Programme Coordinator and agreed with the internship supervisor at the host institution), designs individual tasks for students to complete during their internship, monitors deadlines and evaluates the internship results.

An internship outline defines the following:

• internship objectives and projected outcomes in relation to the projected learning outcomes of the degree programme;
• internship’s place in the overall structure of the degree programme;
• credits awarded for the internship, and internship duration in weeks;
• scope of the internship;
• reporting requirements;
• other relevant information.

Students undertake internships in accordance with the outline and internship assignment agreed with the host institution. Once an internship is over, students prepare an internship report to be signed by the internship supervisors at the Faculty and at the host institution (if applicable), and an internship log containing a review of the student’s performance prepared by the internship supervisor.

Internship Placement

The Programme currently has a pool of organizations and employers that are interested in its alumni and willing to offer internships. These can be not only short-term spring internships but also longer ones over the summer period that could lead to subsequent employment.

There are agreements with key employers to provide internship opportunities in the following public agencies and organizations:

Presidential Executive Office of Russia,

Executive Office of the Government of the Russian Federation,

Federal agencies,

Government of Moscow and other regions and cities.

There are also agreements on hosting internships with a number of subsidiary agencies, non-profit and commercial organizations.

Some students have their internships at HSE research subdivisions, where they contribute to specific projects.

Internship locations of MPA students in 2016-2017