Internships

Domestic internship

The course ‘practice theory and internship’ focuses on practising “professional skills”, but also explicitly aims at applying the practice as experienced during the internship to theory and research. This interplay of theory and practice is essential in the internship concept and is linked to the entire programme. The internship is thus not an island of practice within the programme. This part of the programme is not based on a separate theoretical basis, but is designed to make the insights into abstract social pedagogical concepts more tangible from a concrete practice. The reporting and discussions will focus on developing a vision of social work and underpinning the professional activities of social workers. Concrete problems and the attitude of the social workers themselves are looked at. As social workers, the students do not concentrate on their own work type or person. Their own work type is not the endpoint of their work. The meaning and legitimacy of their work at the individual level (what does this mean to people’s everyday existence and to their sense of meaning?) and at the societal level (what does this mean for public debate and for a more just society?) is what counts.

The above described insights are central to our programme. They remain abstract for many students. The content of our programme must also be meaningful in very diverse contexts. These abstract insights become more tangible during the internships, as they are visible in the specific and authentic context of social practice. This is called experiential learning, in which practical experience is key. The social component is crucial: during the internship, you also learn through observation and from conversations with colleagues.

• The internship is destined to students with an academic bachelor's degree and lasts the entire academic year. It starts each academic year in October and ends early May.
• For students with a professional bachelor's degree, the internship in the transition programme is limited to about two days a week, holiday periods excluded. This aims at exploring social work practice, also focused on the link between the social problem definition and pedagogical action.

For examples of internships during the past years, see http://www.star.ugent.be

Contact: Filip Coussée