1. General provisions

1.1. Purpose of regulation

1.1.1. The Tallinn University of Technology (hereinafter the university) Estonian Maritime Academy (hereinafter EMERA) Internship Organisation Rules (hereinafter the rules) lay down the organisation of internships in all EMERA study programmes and the persons or entities participating in EMERA in resolving issues related to internships.
1.1.2. Internships shall take place in accordance with these rules and the standard manual for each internship, at the time specified in the study programme.
1.1.3. The internship standard manuals shall be prepared by the Programme Director. The internship standard manuals are available on the EMERA subpage of the university website.

1.2. Bases of regulation

1.2.1. The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended (hereinafter the STCW);
1.2.2. Regulation “Training and Qualification Requirements for Crew Members and Procedure for Certification” of the Government of the Republic;
1.2.3. Regulation “Higher Education Standard” of the Government of the Republic;
1.2.4. Academic Policies of the university.

1.3. Definitions and abbreviations

1.3.1. EMERA – Estonian Maritime Academy
1.3.2. university – Tallinn University of Technology
1.3.3. STCW – The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended
1.3.4. ÕIS – study information system
1.3.5. curator – an internship supervisor at EMERA appointed by the Director of EMERA
1.3.6. internship coordinator – a staff member of the EMERA Centre of Academic Affairs who coordinates traineeships
1.3.7. internship supervisor – a specialist appointed by the internship host who works in the relevant field of the internship, who is responsible for supervising the intern during the internship, answering his/her questions and providing feedback on progress
1.3.8. MSA student – a student enrolled in study programmes regulated by the Maritime Safety Act and the requirements of STCW
1.3.9. internship report – a report by the internship host on the activities and tasks performed during the internship. The internship standard manual specifies how to prepare and defend a report.
1.3.10. internship standard manual – a reference document developed by the EMERA Programme Director describing the requirements for the content and organisation of a specific internship
1.3.11. internship host – various businesses, government agencies, ships, etc., where a student is in an internship
1.3.12. internship supervisor assessment form (V2/6.3) – internship supervisor’s assessment of the skills and preparation of the intern. At the end of the internship, the student submits the assessment form filled in by the internship supervisor to the curator (together with the internship report). The completed evaluation forms must be shared by the curator with the internship coordinator to generate feedback statistics. [modified 02.09.2021]
1.3.13. intern – for the purposes of these rules, a person who has been recruited for an internship, has been assigned an internship supervisor and is carrying out an action plan agreed upon with the supervisor
1.3.14. on board training record book – a document approved by the Transport Administration for the formalization of seagoing service completed as part of the study programme of the Shipping Centre [amended 02.09.2021]
1.3.15. internship – practical work performed in the work environment under the supervision of an instructor for the purpose of gaining work experience, which is not declared in the semester individual study plan. Internship is a compulsory part of higher education that must be completed during the study period. Internship volumes are laid down in the study programme.
1.3.16. internship year – the period prescribed in the study programme for completing a year-long seagoing service
1.3.17. Internship applications:
1.3.17.1. seagoing service application – an application submitted to the study information system (ÕIS) by the student taking an internship year
1.3.17.2. internship assessment application – an application submitted to the curator in the study information system (ÕIS) for the defence of the internship

2. Internship organisation

2.1. Internships at EMERA

2.1.1. The following tables (1 and 2) show the internships in the EMERA study programme. [modified 02.09.2021]

Table 1. Internships for MSA students in Shipping Centre study programme

¹ Internship Assessment Application after the internship
² Seagoing Service Application before the internship

Table 2. Internships in study programmes of the Centre of Maritime Studies

2.2. Starting the internship

2.2.1. The intern shall usually find the internship host themselves, taking into account the aims and learning outcomes specified in the relevant internship standard manual.
2.2.2. At the request of the internship host or at the request of the student, a letter of recommendation shall be issued for the internship host, which shall be prepared by the internship curator and signed by the head of the centre.
2.2.3. Before the start of the internship, the curator shall conduct instructional internship training, where he/she explains to the students the internship tasks, how to fill the on board training record book and report, what the course of the internship is like and how to complete the internship .
2.2.4. If a student has the opportunity or a justified need to do an internship outside the time prescribed in the study programme, this is considered an exceptional case.
2.2.5. Medical examinations and compulsory training for MSA students:
2.2.5.1. A maximum of two medical examinations shall be organised for students of the Navigation study programme, and one medical examination for students of the Ship Engineering study programme.
2.2.5.2. The further academic movement of a student who has not passed the medical examination shall be decided on a case-by-case basis by a separate committee consisting of the Head of the Shipping Centre, the Programme Director of the specific study programme and the student.
2.2.5.3. MSA students must complete the mandatory safety training organized by the internship Coordinator during the academic year (courses and medical examinations are only available to the students who need it to complete the seagoing service required in the study programme or whose certificate or medical certificate expires before the internship period has passed).
2.2.5.4. EMERA will not reimburse recurring expenses in the event of unjustified non-attendance or non-attendance without timely notification of courses and medical examinations at the agreed time. In justified cases, EMERA reserves the right to claim compensation from the student or to refuse to reimburse the costs.
2.2.5.5. EMERA does not issue a certificate of learning for applications for a seafarer’s service book at the Police and Border Guard Board. The necessary certificate can be obtained from the employer or the Unemployment Insurance Fund.

2.3. Internship documentation

2.3.1. If necessary, a tripartite internship agreement in Estonian or English shall be entered into by the university, the student and the company. The intern is obliged to inform the employer of EMERA’s expectations of an internship host and to introduce an internship standard manual of their study programme.
2.3.2. The Programme Director shall ensure the availability of updated internship standard manuals in Estonian and English on the EMERA subpage of the university’s website and/or in ÕIS by the beginning of each academic year.
2.3.3. In order for MSA students to have their internships assessed, it is necessary to submit a Seagoing Service Application in ÕIS before going to seagoing service and an Internship Assessment Application before the defence of the internship.
2.3.4. In order for internships at the Centre of Maritime Studies to be assessed, it is necessary to submit to the curator an Internship Application (form V2/6.2) before the start of the internship and to submit a Internship Assessment Application in ÕIS before the defence of the internship. [modified 02.09.2021]
2.3.5. MSA student on board training record books shall be ordered by the internship coordinator. The on board training record books shall be distributed to the students admitted to the internship by the internship coordinator or the student counsellor.
2.3.6. Within the framework of the Erasmus+ program, it is also possible to go abroad for an internship. It is possible to apply for the internship all year round, the documents must be prepared no later than 1 month before the start of the internship at the Mobility Centre of the university.
2.3.7. The documentation related to the internship shall be stored in accordance with the procedure established in the list of university documents.

2.4. The course of the internship

2.4.1. An intern who has been issued an on board training record book must fill it in accordance with the tasks performed.
2.4.2. The internship shall end with the submission of the properly filled documents (assessment form, internship report, on board training record book) to the curator and with a public defence. The evaluation form and the practice report shall be submitted digitally.

2.5. Evaluation of the internship

2.5.1. The student shall submit to the curator the properly filled documents with original signatures from the internship hosts in accordance with the internship standard manual for a specific internship and submit an Internship Assessment Application in ÕIS not later than 1 week before the defence of the internship.
2.5.2. The student shall defend his/her internship in a public defence of the internship report, which shall be conducted by the curator. If necessary, the curator will involve specialists and/or lecturers in the field in the assessment and defence.
2.5.3. The public defence of the internship report shall take place according to the schedule submitted by the curators. The times of public defenses will be announced on the EMERA website by Friday of the first week of the semester.

2.6. Settlement of internship disputes

2.6.1. The procedure for contesting decisions is laid down in the Academic Policies of the university.
2.6.2. The student is obliged to immediately inform the internship curator about any problems that have arisen during the internship.

3. Rights and obligations of the parties

3.1. The student is obliged to:

3.1.1. submit the internship standard manual to the internship supervisor at the internship host;
3.1.2. comply with the deadlines related to the start of the internship, the performance of the internship tasks and the submission of the internship report;
3.1.3. inform the internship supervisor and the EMERA curator of any problems encountered during the internship;
3.1.4. follow the instructions of the internship supervisor at the internship host conscientiously and correctly, as well as other persons authorised to manage the work and to be responsible for the results of their activities on an equal footing with full-time employees;
3.1.5. keep the business and professional secrets of the internship and the good reputation of the internship and the university.

3.2. The internship coordinator is obliged to:

3.2.1. provide practical advice to students, curators and internship supervisors;
3.2.2. if necessary, arrange tripartite internship agreements;
3.2.3. participate in the defence of internship reports;
3.2.4. issue certificates of seagoing service to MSA students;
3.2.5. organise medical examinations for MSA students prior to the start of seagoing service in order to obtain a seaman health check certificate and to organise the following courses: basic safety training, survival craft and rescue boat training, extended firefighting training;
3.2.6. manage the EMERA internship organisation subpage on the university website;
3.2.7. pass on practical information (incl. internship companies) to students, using various communication channels;
3.2.8. analyse the feedback reflected in the evaluation form of the internship supervisor.

3.3. The curator is obliged to:

3.3.1. organize the possibility for students to submit digitally the properly filled documents (assessment form, internship report) necessary for obtaining the internship assessment. Receive on board training record books from students;
3.3.2. ensure that the internship coordinator has access to digitally submitted internship reports and assessment forms;
3.3.3. if necessary, prepare a letter of recommendation for submission to the internship host;
3.3.4. conduct instructional internship training for students before the start of the internship;
3.3.5. carry out the public defense of the internship report;
3.3.6. arrange for the transmission and entry of the results in the ÕIS within 1 week after the defense of the internship.

4. Executors and responsible persons

4.1. Rule Management – Internship Coordinator
4.2. Rule Inspection – Study Director