Longterm academic intership

2025/2026

Content, progress and pedagogy of the module

The module contains the practical reality of visual and digital communications- culture and educational practice in working life. The main component is an internship of minimum 13 weeks in a relevant company, organisation or institution where the student collaborates about a professional task drawing on NoVA related knowledge, skills and competences from the programme. The purpose is to provide concrete experience with and insight into work-life. The student writes a report (15 pages) that reflects the academic intern experience theoretical and methodical. 

The project module revolves around an academic internship or a project and includes methodology, project management and supervision. The project module can form the empirical basis for the master thesis.

Learning objectives

Knowledge

Through the module, the student must gain knowledge and understanding of:

  • How does methods and theory meet practice especially focusing on professional visual communication and/or digital communication and/or art education practices and initiatives in relation to issues in private companies, organisations, institutions and civil society
  • Disciplinary and transdisciplinaryissues related to collaboration in practice
  • The professional competences needed in the field

Skills

The student must through the module acquire skills in:

  • Describe, analyse and evaluate different professional visual communication and/or digital communication and/or art education practices and initiatives in relation to issues in private companies, organisations, institutions and civil society
  • Evaluate scientific and problems and solutions in practice based on theories about and methods for identifying, analysing, conducting and evaluating projects
  • Communicate scientifically based insights to peers and non-peers
  • Choose, decide, plan, conduct and evaluate visual communication and/or digital communication and/or art education in practice related to problems in private companies, organisations, institutions and civil society

Competences

The student must through the module acquire competences for:

  • Initiate, and conduct disciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration for investigating visual communication and/or digital communication and/or art education drawing on creative problem solving in practice
  • Engage in and manage complex and unpredictable working situations and development that requires creative problem solving and unconventional solutions drawing within the field of visual and digital communication and art education
  • Collaborate and communicate with peers and non-peers  
  • Take on a professional responsibility for engaging in professional and transdisciplinary collaboration
  • Reflect critically about the implications of own professional development

Type of instruction

Reference is made to §17.

Exam

Exams

Name of examLongterm academic intership
Type of exam
Oral exam based on a project
The examination is a conversation between the student(s) and the examiner based on a project report produced individually or in a group. The project report/written work will be considered the shared responsibility of the group. Students will be examined and assessed on the basis of the entire project report, and one combined grade will be awarded each student for the project report and the oral performance.
ECTS30
Permitted aids
All written and all electronic aids
AssessmentPassed/Not Passed
Type of gradingInternal examination
Criteria of assessmentThe criteria of assessment are stated in the Examination Policies and Procedures

Additional information

The criteria of assessment are stated in the  Academic Policies and Regulations (Aalto)

Facts about the module

Danish titleAkademisk praksisorienteret forløb
Module codeKANOVA2371
Module typeCourse
Duration1 semester
SemesterAutumn
MA 3. Semester

Location of lecture: Aalto University Finland or Aalborg University Copenhagen
ECTS30
Language of instructionEnglish
Location of the lectureOther location
Responsible for the module

Organisation

Education ownerMaster of Arts (MA) in Visual Studies and Art Education
Study BoardStudy Board of Art, Health and Technology
DepartmentDepartment of Communication and Psychology
FacultyFaculty of Social Sciences and Humanities