Technical Universities
Internships are increasingly part of the higher education programmes across Europe, though the approach and variety can be certainly enhanced, as the available internships are not always fully aligned with the real professional skills they will need in the current and future industrial markets. Moreover, not all the offered internships consider socio-civic issues, particularly in the technological field.
Higher education institutions also have a critical role to play in the achievement of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) defined by the United Nations. Effective academia-industry collaborations with a social responsibility approach are then identified as relevant to contribute to enhancing the engagement of universities with SDGs, while working together with enterprises and other organizations to train committed engineering professionals, with enhanced socio-civic values.
The main target groups of the project are university students, staff members of higher education (university managers, counsellors, researchers) and organizations’ representatives (large companies, SMEs, NGOs, public administration).
The cooperation of academia with industries and other organizations is a meaningful mean for the direction of teaching and research towards specific socio-civic objectives. For students, this cooperation provides an opportunity of professional, but especially personal growth, as they enable real experiential learning.