Internship and Report

It is desirable that students have completed the teaching component of the master’s degree, given that all the knowledge acquired throughout the teaching component is important for the development of the Internship and corresponding Report.

Acceptance of enrollment in the Non-Teaching Component (CNL) is subject to approval in at least 80% of the CE’s teaching subjects.

Given the specificity of this Non-Teaching CU, traditional “Teaching-Learning Methodologies” (MEA) will not be applicable. Therefore, the MEA of the CU articulated with the pedagogical model, are performed by the Supervisor and/or Co-supervisor(s) and Supervisor of the internship host entity, and the student must meet regularly with this/them. These MEA are:

MEA1: Individual guidance sessions for personalized monitoring of the internship development and the Internship Report. These sessions include the discussion of progress in the characterization of the host entity, critical analysis of the activities developed and structuring of the report. They also involve the literature review, data collection and analysis methodologies and the applicability of tools such as SPSS, NVivo, R, Biblioshiny and Power BI to support the analysis of the internship. The approach aims to solve specific internship challenges, promoting the exchange of ideas between students and teachers and the development of critical thinking and analytical skills for the systematization and interpretation of the data collected (LO1 and LO2).

MEA2: Continuous and structured feedback in the writing phases of the internship, sharing of experiences and discussion of good practices in an organizational context and the structuring of the report (preliminary chapters, implementation and final report of the Internship) (OA3 and OA4).

MEA3: Internship defense simulations, allowing students to improve their oral communication and argumentation before the Evaluation Jury (OA5).

Demonstration of the coherence of teaching and assessment methodologies with the learning objectives of the UC

– OA1, OA2 and OA3: Orientation sessions (MEA1) ensure the practical application of theoretical knowledge during the internship.

– OA4: Continuous feedback (MEA2) ensures the development of technical and analytical skills and reinforces the structuring and writing of the Internship, guaranteeing the technical and scientific quality of the report.

– OA5: Defense simulations (MEA3) develop communication and argumentation skills, preparing students for evaluation before the jury.

Assessment:

The combination of written work (partial or total), with the simulation of oral presentation and continuous participation ensures that the objectives are achieved effectively.

OBSERVATIONS:

OBSERVATIONS:

A) INTERNSHIP GUIDANCE AND REPORT:

1. The Internship and Report must be guided by:

a) Professor at ISCAC/IPC holding a doctorate degree

b) ISCAC/IPC professor holding the specialist title conferred under the terms of Decree-Law No. 206/2009 of 31 August

c) By a national or foreign specialist of merit in the respective scientific area, recognized as such by the CTC

d) Professors and researchers with doctorates from other institutions,

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1 c), the ISCAC CTC may consider a specialist to be anyone who holds an academic degree and, cumulatively:

a) Works or has worked in the area of ​​the CE in question, having at least 10 years of professional experience in that area, with effective practice for at least 5 years in the last 10 years;

b) Present a professional curriculum of proven quality and relevance, duly confirmed and accepted by the scientifically competent body of the higher education institution;

c) Do not hold an indefinite-term contract with a higher education institution.

3. The Supervisor must belong to the predominant scientific area of ​​the CE *

4. The members designated in paragraph 1 c) and d) must, preferably, be co-supervisors. If they do not belong to ISCAC/IPC, their Curriculum Vitae must be submitted when preparing the Internship proposal and Report (indicating, if applicable, the ORCID/Ciência ID). *

5. The Supervisor/Co-supervisors are appointed by the CTC upon proposal by the DC-MMNI

6. The supervisor is responsible for:

a) Assess, in a first phase, the Internship proposal and Report presented by the student and suggest changes if necessary;

b) Accompany the student in the different stages of the development of the Internship and Report, providing technical and scientific support and recommending further study of aspects that seem relevant.

* Students can suggest a supervisor, however, it is up to the MMNI Management/Coordination (DC-MMNI) to propose it or not to the CTC for validation.

B) INTERNSHIP SUPERVISION AND REPORT:

1. The supervisor is a professional with competence in the area of ​​project development, including company executives, consultants, auditors and other elements as long as they are duly approved by DC-MMNI.

2. The supervisor will be invited to attend the public tests, but will not be a member of the jury.

The Internship is one of the 3 devices for carrying out the Non-Teaching Component (CNL) of the CE.

The main objective of this curricular unit (UC) is to develop a work with an innovative approach, with relevance to society and organizations and that contributes to the evolution of knowledge in the scientific areas of the Study Cycle (CE), namely in Marketing and International Business Management. By developing the Internship and Report, we seek to enhance professional development and, at the same time, stimulate in the student the capacity for initiative, autonomy in research and the ability to apply the knowledge acquired by the master’s student in the academic part of the master’s degree.

Learning Objectives (LO):

OA1 Apply theoretical knowledge in practical situations in the organizational context.

OA2 Develop critical analysis skills to solve complex organizational problems.

OA3 Integrate tools and techniques to improve organizational processes or strategies.

OA4 Write a structured report, presenting results, conclusions and substantiated recommendations.

OA5 Effectively communicate internship outcomes in presentations and discussions.

Skills/Abilities/Aptitudes (C):

C1 Carry out critical analyses of real problems, proposing well-founded solutions (OA1 and OA2).

C2 Demonstrate autonomy and responsibility in developing tasks in an organizational context (LO3).

C3 Write and present results with technical and scientific rigor (OA4 and OA5).

Program Contents (CP):

1 Introduction to the organizational context of the internship

2 Organizational diagnosis: identification of problems or opportunities

3 Planning and implementation of actions in a practical context

4 Collection and analysis of data relevant to the internship

5 Structuring and writing the internship report

6 Preparation and presentation of the report for evaluation

Note: In the context of a non-teaching Unit, the traditional “Program” does not apply, as each student will focus their activity on a specific topic, different from the topic of the other students.

Demonstration of the coherence of the program contents with the learning objectives of the UC:

CP1 and CP2: They are related to OA1 and OA2, by allowing the introduction to the organizational context and the diagnosis of real problems or opportunities in the internship.

CP3: Aligned with OA3, it focuses on the planning and implementation of practical actions that promote the development of technical and analytical skills.

CP4: Supports LO3, enabling the collection and analysis of relevant data to support organizational decisions.

CP5: Relates to OA4, by providing the basis for structuring and writing the internship report.

CP6: Aligned with OA5, by preparing students for the presentation and public defense of the report, developing communication and argumentation skills.

OBSERVATIONS:

A) INTERNSHIP PROPOSAL AND REPORT:

1. The Internship proposal and Report and the documents required for its preparation must be submitted for consideration by the Scientific Committee of the CE (DC-MMNI), by the last day of the special CE examination period. These documents must be submitted through the Academic Management Platform – Academic Services, by means of a request addressed to the DC-MMNI, respecting the specific forms that are published on the online page of those services, namely:

– Internship Proposal and Report of an original scientific nature and specially prepared for this purpose

– Supervisor/Co-supervisor Acceptance Term

– Curriculum Vitae of the Supervisor/Co-Supervisor (preferably including ORCID or Ciência ID) if not a professor at ISCAC/IPC.

– Curriculum Vitae of the Supervisor of the Entity where the Internship will take place and Report, if applicable (preferably including ORCID or Ciência ID, if applicable).

2. The DC-MMNI must pronounce itself on the master’s student’s proposal:

– In case of negative assessment by DC-MMNI, the student must submit a new proposal and will be notified of the decision through the Academic Services.

– In case of positive assessment by DC-MMNI, the process must be submitted for approval by CTC.

3. The Internship Proposal and Report must contain at least the following elements:

i) Cover (Title of the report, Name of the student, identification number and course, Name of the supervisor(s)/co-supervisor(s)/institution and date of submission)

ii) Executive Summary (Concise summary of the activities to be developed during the internship and their connection with the theoretical body of the master’s degree, objectives, methodology and justification for the choice of the host entity and the relevance of the proposed activities for the entity’s performance)

iii) Introduction (brief presentation of the host entity, contextualization of the internship and its importance for the student’s training and for the performance of the host entity, general and specific objective(s) of the internship aligned with the course’s skills, etc.)

iv) Characterization of the Host Entity (Name, sector of activity and main areas of activity; Organizational structure and main functions that will be performed in the context of the internship)

iv) Brief theoretical framework* (Preliminary theoretical framework that will support the analysis in the final report: Main theoretical concepts and studies relevant to the topic, Identification of gaps in the literature and justification for the internship [relevance of the chosen topic and expected contributions])

v) Proposed methodology (Ways of monitoring and evaluating performance during the internship. Example: Methodological approach (quantitative, qualitative or mixed), Data collection and analysis methods, Tools and techniques to be used, among others.)

vi) Expected Results (Expected impact of the internship on the entity and on the student’s training)

vii) Planned Internship Structure and Report

viii) Work schedule (Stages and detailed schedule of the internship and report [Main activities to be developed and their schedule])

ix) Conclusion

x)References(following APA7th standard) ***

B) INTERNSHIP AND REPORT

If the proposal is approved, the student will be notified by the Academic Services via Inforestudante of this decision, and may, from that moment on, complete the proposed work plan. The Internship and Report may be prepared individually or be an integral part of a larger project, as long as the individual projects are clearly identified and complementary. However, all projects must be presented and defended independently.

THEInternship and Report can be developed in partnership with institutions and companies.

THEInternship and Final Report must include at least the following parts, following the template available on the Academic Services website:

i) Cover / Title Page (Project title, Student’s full name, identification number and course, Name of supervisor(s)/co-supervisor(s)/Institution and submission date)

ii) Declaration of non-plagiarism (disclaimer)

iii) Abstract and Keywords (Summary of the work, highlighting the main objectives, methodology, results and conclusions) [in PT-PT and EN]

iv) General Index

v) Index of Figures, Index of Tables, List of abbreviations, acronyms and acronyms (if applicable and on separate pages)

vi) Introduction (Brief reference to the theoretical topic that frames the work, brief presentation of the entity for which the internship was developed, Relevance of the Internship, objectives of the report and methodology used in its preparation and Structure of the written text)

vii) Literature review* (Review of scientific and technical literature on the theoretical topic (Definition of adopted concepts, In-depth discussion of theoretical and technical concepts, relevant studies, conceptual models, applicable techniques, etc.), Link between the literature and the objectives of the main activity(ies) of the Internship, summarization of the main conclusions drawn from the literature review)

viii) Methodology (Ways of monitoring and evaluating performance during the internship. Example: Methodological approach (quantitative, qualitative or mixed), Data collection and analysis methods, Tools and techniques used, Justification of the methodological choice)

ix) Framework of the Host Entity (narrative of the company’s history and positioning in the market**, organizational structure and main areas of activity, organizational reality, strategic, functional and inter-relational analysis focusing on the predominant functions in the company’s activity);

x) Description of Activities Developed (Description of activities developed during the internship, Application of methodologies and tools described, comparison of views from the literature in comparison with the organizational reality/internship activities, contribution of the internship to the entity and to the student’s training, critical reflection on the challenges faced and skills developed, suggestions for improvement for the entity and for the internship itself, etc.),

xi) Conclusion (Summary of the main objectives versus main results of the activities developed throughout the internship, contributions to theory, contributions to marketing/management practice, contributions to the entity for which the internship was developed and to the intern, limitations of the internship, suggestions for future editions of the internship or improvements in the process)

xii) References (following APA7th standard) ***

xiii) Annexes/Appendices (if any) [e.g.: Supplementary documents, such as internal reports, materials developed or evidence of work carried out, data collection instruments, extensive tables, among other supplementary materials]

Notes:

* The student, when preparing the Theoretical Framework/Literature Review, must give priority to the use of references published in the last 5 years included in academic databases such as Scopus and Web-of-Science.

** To describe the economic and financial structure of the host institution, the student can, for example, use databases such as ORBIS or SABI.

*** The student must ensure the correct application of the APA7th citation standard in the body of the text of the work and in the final List of References, for which it is strongly recommended to use a reference manager (e.g.: Endnote or Mendley). For example, at the end of the body of the work and before the annexes or appendices, the references must be listed in general alphabetical order of the first author’s surname, ordered regardless of whether it is an article, book, book chapter or web page (https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references).

**** All figures and tables must be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals in the order they appear in the text. A caption must be included in the case of and figures. Tables must have a title. All figures and tables must indicate the bibliographic source. The APA7th standard does not cover elements such as graphs, charts, etc.

***** The written work may be written in Portuguese from Portugal (PT-PT) or in English (EN-US), and the student must take care to use clear, technical-scientific language, without spelling and/or sentence construction errors (for which it is recommended to use a spell checker, e.g.: Microsoft Word Corrector, Grammarly, Deepl, etc.). All terms in a language different from that of the rest of the text must be marked in italics.

Internship Type and Report:

Within the areas of marketing and international business, each master’s student will undertake a curricular internship that aims to apply the knowledge acquired throughout the course in practice. The internship should contribute to the professional development of the student, allowing immersion in real organizational environments and the development of strategic and operational skills.

The results of the internship will be consolidated in the preparation of an Internship Report,which must include a critical analysis of professional experience, supported by theoretical concepts and scientific methodologies. The report may take different approaches, depending on the nature of the host institution and the activities carried out by the student.

Thus, the internship may assume, among others, the following typologies:

a) Internship in Brand Management and Marketing

    Application of branding, communication and market positioning strategies.

    Development of digital and offline marketing campaigns.

    Implementation of relational marketing and customer experience strategies.

    Analysis of performance metrics and strategic recommendations.

b) Internship in International Business

    Management of companies’ internationalization processes, including market studies.

    Development of entry strategies into foreign markets.

    Analysis and adaptation of the marketing mix to different cultural and regulatory contexts.

    Implementation of logistics processes and global value chain management.

c) Internship with a Focus on Digitalization and Innovation in Marketing

    Application of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, marketing automation and big data.

    Development of digital marketing and e-commerce strategies.

    Personalization of brand experiences based on analytics and machine learning.

d) Internship in Sustainability and Business Ethics

    Development of sustainable practices and communication of corporate social responsibility.

    Reputation management and mitigation of risks associated with greenwashing.

    Integration of ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) principles into branding strategies.

e) Internship in Strategic Management and Marketing Consulting

    Organizational diagnosis and recommendation of rebranding, co-branding and ingredient branding strategies.

    Defining new strategic approaches for transforming markets.

    Creation of marketing plans and proposals for reorganizing internal processes.

Regardless of the type, the internship must allow the student to integrate theoretical knowledge with professional practice, consolidating analytical, strategic and operational skills aligned with the contemporary challenges of marketing and international business.

Given the specificity of this UC, the only evaluation methodology (MA) will be the following:

MA: Public Internship Defense and Report Exam

When evaluating the Internship and Report, the following elements must be taken into consideration:

- Technical and scientific quality of the final internship report

- Quality of argumentation and oral presentation in the public defense of the Internship Report, evaluating clarity and justification of the argument

- Participation in guidance sessions and delivery of the Internship Report components, reported by the Supervisor.

The classification is assigned by the Jury of the public test on a numerical scale from 0 to 20 points.

Approval Criteria:Final grade equal to or greater than 10 points

OBSERVATIONS:

Relevant aspects related to the Evaluation of the Internship and Report UC, under the Academic Regulations of the 2nd Cycle of Studies of the IPC, Regulations of the Courses of the 2nd Cycle of Studies (Masters) of the ISCAC and Order on the Procedure – CNL of the Masters courses of the ISCAC **:

A) Request for CNL Assessment Tests:

Once the Internship and Report have been completed, the student must request the President of ISCAC to take the tests by submitting the following elements to the Academic Management Platform - Academic Services (via inforestudante - Submission of Dissertations/Theses):

- the Internship and Report of an original scientific nature and specially prepared for this purpose, in PDF version, which will be submitted for consideration by the Jury.

- Written opinion issued by the supervisor and co-supervisor(s), when applicable, certifying that the Internship and Report meets the conditions to be subject to evaluation by the jury

- Written opinion issued by the supervisor, if the latter exists

- Declaration of knowledge of the mandatory deposit of the Internship and Report in the RCAAP - Open Access Scientific Repository of Portugal,

- Curriculum vitae

Forms and Templates:

- The abovementioned documents (Internship and Report, Supervisor/Co-supervisor Opinion, RCAAP Declaration) must comply with the specific forms that are published on the Academic Services website.

- The standards set forth in the Internship and Report formatting must be followed, except in cases where existing protocols provide otherwise.

Notice:

B) Jury:

1. The jury is made up of three to five members, one of whom must be the supervisor.

2. Whenever there is more than one supervisor, only one may be a member of the jury.

3. The members of the jury must be specialists in the field in which the Internship and Report are included and are appointed from among nationals or foreigners holding a doctorate degree, holders of the specialist title conferred under the terms of Decree-Law No. 206/2009 of August 31, or by specialists considered as such by the CTC.

The members of the jury must be experts in the field in which the Internship and Report are included, appointed from among professors holding a doctorate, a specialist title conferred under the terms of Decree-Law No. 206/2009 of August 31, or experts of merit, recognized as such by the CTC, national or foreign.

4. The jury will be chaired by the president of the CTC, who may delegate this power to a professor in the dominant scientific area of ​​the CE, preferably holding a doctorate.

5. The jury for assessing the Internship and Report is appointed by the CTC upon proposal by the CCM, after submission of the request for taking tests.

6. After notification of the jury by the CTC, it will decide on the acceptance, reformulation or rejection of the Internship and Report.

7. In the event of a decision to reformulate, the student is given a single opportunity to submit the reformulated version that will be subject to testing on the academic management platform. To this end, the student has up to 30 consecutive days after notification by the Academic Services through the Academic Management Platform to submit the reformulated version on the academic management platform.

8. If the jury rejects the revised version of the Internship and Report, mentioned in the previous point, the process ends and the respective agenda must be released with the mention NRC (does not meet the conditions)

8. Jury meetings may be held by videoconference.

C) Public Test

1. The public act of discussion of the Internship and Report takes place after the delivery of the complete process of requesting evidence and can only take place with the presence of a minimum of three members of the jury, with the presence of the president and the main examiner being mandatory.

2. The public discussion is led by a main debater, although all members of the jury may participate.

3. The public discussion cannot exceed 90 (ninety) minutes, distributed as follows:

a) An oral presentation by the student, summarizing the content of the work carried out and highlighting its objectives, means used to carry it out and main conclusions, with a maximum duration of 20 (twenty) minutes;

b) The remaining time must be distributed equally between the jury and the student.

4. The defense test for the non-teaching component may only be taken after passing all the teaching subjects.

5. The conclusion of the CNL, with the completion of the respective public test, must not exceed December 31st of the calendar year in which the regulatory deadline defined for such conclusion (of the non-teaching component) ends or resulting from its possible extension.

6. In the public act of defense of the Internship and Report, the president of the jury may authorize the participation of any number of members via videoconference, provided that there are technical conditions for their full participation in the work.

7. In the event of approval in public examinations, without prejudice to the decision taken, the jury may determine, in writing, that the candidate introduces minor changes to the Internship and Report, which improve it and which have resulted from the public discussion. To this end, the candidate will have a maximum period of 15 consecutive days to submit the final version of the document, with the president of the jury being responsible for confirming the respective changes before the final classification is released.

8. The presentation of medical certificates does not count towards failure to meet the deadline for submitting the Internship and Report.

9. In cases of hospital admission, parental leave, or contagious disease, which implies exclusion from school, the student may request a postponement for the period corresponding to the hospital admission, the duration of the period of parental leave taken by the student up to a maximum of 120 days, or the duration of the aforementioned illness, upon presentation of proof of hospital admission, parental leave, or a medical certificate issued by the Health Delegate of the area of ​​residence, proving that the student suffered from a contagious disease implying exclusion from school.

2. The supervisor will be invited to attend the public tests, but will not be part of the jury.

SIM