Internship Office Architecture

Important Notes:

• Please only complete the SELMA registration when you have all required documents complete and the internship has been completed in its entirety.
• The SELMA module registration will automatically register you for the exam, if you do not complete the internship recognition by the end of the semester, the system will automatically grade you 5.0 and another exam attempt will be required.
• The internship recognition can only be completed if the construction or office internship has been registered in SELMA.

Documents to be submitted

• Confirmation letter company/office, with:
  • Company/offices letterhead
  • Internship details (name, address)
  • Internship period with internship duration in weeks
• Internship report
  • please use the obligatory  form
  • details of the assignments, the construction project, and the duration required for it in days (total of all days)
  • The report must be confirmed by the company/office and signed by the student.
  • Partial services (e.g. 30 days for one office) cannot be acknowledged.
  • max. two pages
• Copy of the campus card

Handing in the documents

• Please hand in all documents loose in a folder or envelope, do not staple, so they can be stack-scanned.
• Please drop the complete documents in the mailbox of the internship office in front of room B110 in the BZW.
• Only original documents can be processed.
• Please do not send documents for internship recognition by post.

Exceptions (stay abroad/ illness)

The procedure can only be deviated in exceptional and justified cases (e.g. illness, continuation of studies abroad). In these cases, it is also possible to submit the internship documents by e-mail for recognition.

In this case, please combine the documents as only one PDF file (no loose collections of images or individual PDF files).

Internship Policy (Praktikumsrichtlinie including Baugewerkeliste) (From: 20.12.2022)

Modules:
A-AD710 Baufachliche Praxis
A-AD720 Praxis im Architekturbüro

Accident insurance for the construction internship

Accident insurance for the construction internship
Students are legally insured against accidents in Germany via the employers' liability insurance association of the internship company. In order to avoid misunderstandings, it should be clarified before the start of the internship whether the internship company has registered the intern with the employers' liability insurance association.
If the internship company is not a member of a professional association, there is no accident insurance coverage in this company. Internships in these companies are not recommended.

Accident insurance for office internships
Accident insurance is generally provided by the Verwaltungsberufsgenossenschaft (VBG) of the internship company.

Notice:

• Unfortunately, not all architectural offices are members of a professional association. Registration of the architectural office with the VBG is generally subject to a fee. 
• It should be noted that the benefits of private accident insurance are not always comparable with the benefits of statutory accident insurance. 
• For example, private accident insurances usually only pay for permanent physical and mental damages.
• If the compulsory internship is remunerated via fee and work contracts (=self-employed status), the student must register with the VBG (Verwaltungsberufsgenossenschaft) as an entrepreneur or take out private accident insurance.

Information on entitlement, crediting and allowance can be found on "BAföG Akutell".

The internships to be completed as part of the architecture degree program (construction internship and office internship) are mandatory internships. If students receive payments during their internship, the employer can exempt the student from social security contributions. For this purpose, the Internship Office issues certificates upon request.

Issue of certificates

• Send an e-mail to the Internship Office with the following information:
  • Name of Student
  • Matriculation number
  • year/semester of enrollment
  • complete address of the internship company
• Please as editable text (no scans, images or PDF)
• The certificate will be sent as a PDF and the original can be picked up in the mailbox of the internship office (BZW, B110).
• All certificates are always issued individually for each person and company.

Certificate for Erasmus etc.:

• Submit the original form of the institution to the Internship Office.

You can find a template for a sample contract  here  (without any liability)

Internships abroad can be supported by the Leonardoprogram with a scholarship: : Leonardoprogram-Scholarship

Construction internships offers (that will be approved)
Office internship offers (will be recognized)
Office internship offers (will not be approved)
Job offers for graduates

Publication of internship advertisements
Internship providers (architectural firms) are requested to submit their ads digitally to the Internship Officer ().

The following data must be included:

• Address of the architecture or planning office with phone number or e-mail address.
• Name of internship mentor
• Number of internships
• Job description
• Internship period (min. 20 working days)
• Publication period (max. 4 months)

Please submit as a PDF document (max. 5 MB) by e-mail.

Preparation

• Module registration in SELMA (construction internship or office internship)

Documents

• Confirmation letter company/office, with:
  • Company/offices letterhead
  • Internship details (name, address)
  • Internship period with internship duration in weeks
• Internship report
  • please use the obligatory  form
  • details of the assignments, the construction project, and the duration required for it in days (total of all days)
  • The report must be confirmed by the company/office and signed by the student.
  • Partial services (e.g. 30 days for one office) cannot be acknowledged.
  • max. two pages
• Copy of the campus card

Submission

• Documents loose in a folder or envelope (not stapled or stapled).
• Drop in the Internship Office mailbox outside room B110 in the BZW.

Pick up

• Processing will take place within 10 days
• After processing, pick up the documents again in the mailbox (BZW B110).
• The documents will be kept in the mailbox for a maximum of 14 days.

Construction internship
at least 4 weeks

Internship in architectural office
at least 18 weeks

Construction internship

• The study documents assume a 7.5 hour workday for the construction internship.
• It is important that the work days, listed in the internship report, add up to at least 20 days.

Internship in the architectural office

• The study documents assume an 8-hour workday for the construction internship.
• It is important that the working days, listed in the internship report, add up to at least 90 days.

Both internships must be credited by the time of admission to the diploma thesis (issue of the assignment) at the latest. 
In the course of study, there are no formal restrictions in the modules as to when the construction or office internship must be completed. However, there are content requirements and recommendations:

Construction Internship

• We strongly recommend that the construction internship be completed prior to the start of the program. Alternatively, it should be completed during the semester breaks of the first two years of study.
• Competencies from the construction internship are required in major study modules (e.g., A-AD934).
• The internship can also be completed in several companies in order to learn about different working methods.

Office Internship

• We recommend that the office internship be completed in the designated semester, the 7th semester, after the "Konstruktiver Entwurf" or "Wissenschaftliche Arbeit" and before the 3rd Major Design.
• The competencies from the office internship are assumed in the content of the advanced designs (A-AD911 or A-AD912).
• It should be noted that at least 6 weeks must always be completed consecutively in an architectural office.

Winter semester: March 30
Summer semester: September 30

Yes, a vacation semester can be applied for the office internship (compulsory internship), according to the matriculation regulations of the TU-Dresden. The application can be created via SELMA.

When deciding whether a vacation semester makes sense, various tactical points play a role (semester ticket, Bafög, child allowance, number of study semesters).

By law, compulsory interns are not entitled to vacation.

However, it is possible for you to negotiate this independently with the employer. Please note that the vacation days are not recognized as working days in the compulsory internship.

This is possible under the following conditions:

• The internship supervisor (mentor) must be a registered architect.
• Work is done on services that are defined for architects in the HOAI. This also applies to internships with project developers or architectural departments of industrial companies (BMW, DB, VW, FraPort) and public planning authorities (city planning office, building offices in municipalities, SIB).

No, the Internship Office is not in communication with the Bafög Office and does not share any documents or information.

Submit a copy of the certificate of vocational training in a craft (journeyman's certificate) to the Internship Office.

Only vocational training in a trade from the trade list of the internship regulations will be recognized. 
Vocational training as a technical draftsman, construction draftsman, real estate agent or similar is not a substitute for the construction internship.

Yes, this is possible.

Please contact the head of the examination board (Prof. Grunewald) with an informal letter with your own signature (application for exemption).

In case of a positive decision by the examination board, you can be exempted from the internship and may acquire and prove the competences in an alternative way.

Tips:

• Construction internships in the summer are easier to find than in the winter.
• In winter, the focus should be on the finishing trades.
• Short-term construction internships are easier to find at larger construction companies/groups than at smaller companies.
• (Large) construction sites usually have a construction sign listing the trades, contact these companies.

Below is a list (sorted alphabetically) of large construction companies in the Dresden area:

Areal-Bau
Ausbauteam
Bam
Bau-Schulze
Bauhütte
Dreßlerbau
FIRA
George Bähr
Hentschke-Bau
Köster-Bau
Wolf&Müller
Züblin