CAPQI

An EU funded project that created a standard and a certification scheme defining quality internships.

Started: 2016

Funding: Erasmus+ Key Action 2

Project budget: 179,450 €

Length: 2 years

Partners: 7

www.capqi-project.eu

The European Union has encouraged students to embark on a work-based learning experience abroad through one of its most well-known mobility programmes, Erasmus+. Despite the increase in opportunities and awareness about the importance of internships during academic studies, the quality aspect has been largely ignored in the policy discussions at European level.

CAPQI, the Collective Awareness Platform for Quality Internships, aimed at remedying the situation by creating sustainable transparency in the European internship market. During the 2-year project, the partners further developed a central platform (transparencyatwork.org) to allow students undertaking a placement abroad to evaluate and share their views on their host institutions and contribute to a large database of ratings.

The goal of the Strategic Partnership was to support the transition of students and graduates to the labour market by rendering internship programmes in Europe more transparent. The technology developed, including the T@W plug-in, supports students, as well as enterprises, to implement an internship quality framework and improve their practices, notably with regards to the remuneration and the policy and legal aspect.

Partners: University of Alcalá, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Fulda University of Applied Sciences, Institute inter.research e.V., InternsGoPro, Erasmus Student Network, European University Foundation