For a student to do an internship in a company, there must be a signed Collaboration Agreement for Educational Cooperation and/or an Appendix to this agreement between the company or institution and the University.
The basics of the Collaboration Agreement are regulated by the following legislation:
The relationship between the company and the student intern
According to the regulations in effect, performing internships does not involve any official labour relationship between company and student. The relationship between the two is formalized by signing a collaboration agreement (Convenio Marco) between the UAM and the company. This agreement exempts the company from any contractual obligation or responsibility to the students.
Student insurance
During the internship, the student (if under 28 years of age) is covered by a student insurance policy acquired when he or she registers for the academic year. Thus, the company is not required to pay social welfare benefits (Seguridad Social). If the student is not covered by the student insurance policy, he or she must indicate this clearly when applying for the internships.
Formalizing the internship agreement with the student
Once the Application for Interns is accepted and the candidate selected (for more information on the Procedure for requesting and selecting students in “Information for companies”), the firm must complete, sign and stamp (in triplicate) a Collaboration Agreement between the company and the UAM. This Agreement is the document that provides legal and administrative legitimacy to the internships for all students who collaborate with the company from that time forward.
Each company has an individual Collaboration Agreement. The Agreement remains in effect for one year from the day it was signed and is renewed tacitly for one year at a time, unless any of the signatory parties requests explicitly to discontinue it.
The Appendix
The Collaboration Agreement is accompanied by a signed Appendix for each student who will do an internship with the firm. This Appendix includes the specific conditions and the activities that the student will perform at the company. It must be signed in triplicate by the Vice Dean of Internships, a representative of the company, and the student.
If the firm or institution has previously signed a Collaboration Agreement with the UAM, it need only present the three copies of the Appendix, signed and stamped by the company and the student, following prior confirmation with the Internship Office.
IMPORTANT: The documentation must be submitted to the Internship Office at least 15 days prior to the start of the internship.
Funding for Studies
Although not required, it is common practice and highly recommended for the company to give the student some economic aid for his or her studies, whether a scholarship or stipend.
The company is required to give the intern the time needed to take exams required for his or her study programme, even if this includes free days to prepare for the exams, as long as the student makes up the time if the company so wishes.
Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales · C/ Francisco Tomás y Valiente, 5 · Universidad Autónoma de Madrid · 28049 Madrid · España
