The Internship is an important part of the educational process of the Department of Electronic Engineering since it primarily aims at the direct interconnection of theoretical and laboratory studies with the professional field. Given that the Department’s study content covers the broad scientific and technological field of Electronics and its application in the fields of telecommunications, industrial automation, IT and digital services. Through their internship, students acquire, in addition to experience and skills in technical matters (hard skills), and a series of qualifications-soft skills related to improving their ability to work in a team, to understand the daily operation of businesses , to deal with technical issues in a work environment by developing the appropriate work culture, etc.
A direct result of the above is the increase of their possibility of employment in an organization that meets their wishes, their better professional adaptation as future engineers and, in general, the creation of conditions for the start of a successful professional career.
The internship is optional for students following the HMU Electronic Engineering study program (acquiring 15 additional ECTS credits), it lasts 3 months, and each student can start it once he has successfully attended 35 mandatory or optional compulsory courses of the five-year curriculum.
The internship is mandatory for students following the study program of the former T.E.I. Crete. Its duration is 6 months, its successful completion is accompanied by 10 ECTS credits, and it takes place after the end of the seventh semester of studies. The right to participate is for students who have successfully attended the courses of the study program, so that they remain to successfully pass a maximum of 12 courses of the study program.
For the most successful implementation of the Internship, the intern is supervised both by a designated supervising teacher from the Department’s side (usually the internship manager), and by a work manager from the employer’s side.
The course of the student during the internship is described in the internship Book, which has the form of a diary and is completed in printed or electronic form. There the student records his work on a daily and weekly basis and the labor manager from the employer’s side registers his observations about the intern. At the end of the internship, the internship book is signed by the work supervisor, as well as by the internship Manager and the President of the Electronic Engineering Department.
The body offering internship positions can belong to either the private or public sector in Greece or abroad and must:
• its subject has a direct relevance to the subject of the Department’s studies,
• in its staff to have at least 1 member with training, experiences and knowledge of a recognized Tertiary Institution, in the same or related subject as the Department of Electronic Engineering,
• to have space and high-level technological equipment for the fuller achievement of the objectives of the internship.
For the certification of the above conditions, the institution submits to the internship Committee of the Department a declaration of interest in recruiting students.
Department of Electronic Engineering Internship: A Success Story
The Department of Electronic Engineering cooperates with more than 220 private sector companies and public bodies that have from time to time offered internship positions throughout Greece to its students. At least 50% of the students who did their internship in a private company also remained as employees immediately after the end of their internship (data refer to the period 2012-2022). The above percentage would be higher if there were no factors such as military obligations, requirement for obtaining a degree from the employer, the personal plans of the students, the bad economic environment, etc.
internship agencies can be categorized as follows (in parentheses are indicative internship agencies or their individual activities):
• Manufacturing companies in matters of electronic devices and systems (general electronics, installation of optical communication systems, installation and configuration of security systems, smart homes, installation of renewable energy systems, etc.).
• Production and maintenance units (in marine electronics, automation in various industrial facilities, repairs of mobile telephone devices, energy production companies in Greece, network management centers, etc.).
• IT companies (trade in IT equipment, development of websites and information systems, security of information systems and infrastructure, etc.).
• Telecommunication providers and subcontractors of telecommunication providers (OTE/COSMOTE, INTRACOM, Hellenic TETRAS, INTELSYS, etc.).
• Mass Media Companies (radio and television stations of local and national reach in activities of content processing, program flow, rebroadcasts).
• Departments of Biomedical Technology in public hospitals (General Hospital of Athens “G. Gennimatas”, “Agios Savvas” of Athens, Hippocrates of Thessaloniki, Venizelio-Pananeio General Hospital of Heraklion Crete, General Hospital of Chania, Ilia, etc.).
• Research Centers and laboratories (Institute of Research Technology – Democritos Research Center, Mediterranean Agricultural Institute of Chania – MAICH, Hellenic Marine Research Center – EL.KE.TH.E., laboratories of EL.ME.internship.).
• Units-installations of defense systems (Hellenic Aviation Industry, Crete Range, Crete Navy, 115th Fighter Wing).
• Local Government and its bodies (New Technology Services in Municipalities, telemetry system operation services in Municipal Water & Sewerage Companies).
Detailed information & Communication about the Internship
Information on the procedures, the resulting new internship positions, useful documents, etc. related to the preparation of the internship, are given both through the Internship Office of the Hellenic Mediterranean University (https://praktiki.hmu.gr/), and (after registration of students) on the website https://eclass.hmu.gr/courses/EE203/. In addition, on the oldest internship website of the Department (https://practice-elec.chania.teicrete.gr), students can search for an institution for internship by administrative Region of Greece, be informed about previous experiences of their colleagues through blogs, podcasts, etc.
For additional information you can contact:
Georgios Liodakis, Lecturer, Chairman of the internship Committee of the Department of Electronic Engineering of the Hellenic Mediterranean University, tel. 28210 23047, email: gsl@hmu.gr.
Eleni Zimvragou, Secretary of the Department of Electronic Engineering of the Hellenic Mediterranean University, tel. 28210 23006, email: zimvragou@hmu.gr, and
Internship Committee:
Georgios Liodakis, Lecturer
Ioannis Vardiambasis, Professor
Nikolaos Petrakis, Lecturer
Scientific Officer:
Georgios Liodakis, Lecturer in Applications.
Operating Regulations of the internship (pdf)