The Chase is on for the Best Internship of the Year

Danish version: Jagten på årets bedste praktikophold er i gang

Cphbusiness Internship of the Year 2016/2017 is live, and until 31 March interns from Cphbusiness can nominate their internship as the best of the year and thus give credit to their place of internship.

The idea of the award is to pay tribute to the interns, the internship companies and not least the mutual benefit that comes from more than 2,200 annual internships by students at Cphbusiness. The work experience the students get through the internship is a valuable part of the education.

 - The internship is a central part of our study programmes and it is invaluable in providing the students with the skills they need. The internship is a great way to start a career, a fact that we want to highlight again this year, says Ole Gram-Olesen, President, Cphbusiness.

The internships are mandatory on all Cphbusiness’ study programmes, but the students are not the only ones to benefit. The companies get to see their business from a fresh point of view, the President explains.

- With this award, we also aim to inspire companies to harness the potential of having a student of a higher education programme as an intern, Ole Gram-Olesen says.

A pat on the back for the companies

Every year the internship companies contribute to assemble good and educational internships that provide great professional and personal benefit. Cphbusiness wants to give the students an opportunity to acknowledge that effort, and therefore it is the students who nominate their place of internship.

The students have used this opportunity, and every year more than 100 students nominate their internship for the best of the year.

- It means a lot to us that the students embrace the opportunity to acknowledge the effort the internship company has put forth. And, not least, it is a gratifying experience to read the thorough descriptions of internships that have helped students grow, says Ole Gram-Olesen.

A great day for the professional competence

The winner of Cphbusiness Internship of the Year will be found at Cphbusiness City 24 April by a jury consisting of:

• Nikolaj Lubanski, Director of Talent Attraction, Copenhagen Capacity
• Jørgen Andersen, Head of Network, NOCA – Network of Corporate Academies
• Ole Gram-Olesen, President, Cphbusiness
• Frank A. Mathiasen, Head of Innovation and Development, Cphbusiness

Prior to the event, a jury of student counsellors and internship coordinators from Cphbusiness have gone through all the nominees and assessed the academic benefits, personal benefits and the match between company and intern. The jury will then determine the five nominees that make it through to the final round.

- Last year, some very different companies and internships made it to the final. But they all had in common that they succeeded in providing their interns with safe environments while at the same time pushing them enough to force professional growth. The balance is a difficult one to strike, and it requires great attention and effort of the companies when they accept interns, says Søren Meyer, Head of Study and Career Guidance at Cphbusiness and part of the jury.

The winner of Cphbusiness Internship of the Year 2015/2016 was Timea Kiss and the IT company Praqma, her internship company.

Big, national final

The winner of Cphbusiness Internship of the Year goes through to the national final on 16 May, where the winners from all the business academies in Denmark battle for the title as Business Internship of the Year 2016/2017 in the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen.

The winner is selected by a jury consisting of:

• Søren Pind, Minister for Higher Education and Science
• Christine Antorini, Chairwoman, The Danish Parliament’s Education and Research Committee
• Stina Vrang Elias, CEO, The Think Tank DEA
• Kim Simonsen, President, HK
• Anne-Mette Stender, Head of HR, Home

Mads Fuglsang Hedegaard and Dansk Supermarked Group won Business Academy Internship of the Year 2015/2016.

Facts: Cphbusiness Internship of the Year

The students nominate their internship company and asses the stay in the fields of:

• Personal and professional growth
• Social experience
• Turning knowledge into value

Nomination is non-compulsory for Cphbusiness’ students.

The students have taken their internship as part of an AP or professional bachelor’s degree programme during the fall semester of 2016 or spring semester of 2017.

The nomination window closes at 31 March at 9.00 a.m.

The winner of Cphbusiness Internship of the Year 2016/2017 is chosen by a jury on 24 April.

The winner from Cphbusiness advances to a national competition that all 9 Danish business academies participate in. A national winner will be chosen on 16 May.