Postgraduate Practicum

The Career Guidance Centre (COLFI) manages the postgraduate practicum provided in the curriculum of some master degrees.

Master in Information Technologies

Students that have opted for the professional track are entitled to transfer a maximum of 30 ECTS credits divided as follows: a maximum of 20 ECTS for the completion of a professional placement and 10 ECTS for the completion of a practical project.

Professional placements (20 ECTS)

To complete their professional placement, students will be able to choose from the current offers or, alternatively, put forward another employer.

If the applicant decides to join the company on a placement:

• If the UPM already has a partnership agreement with the employer,  applicants should submit a proposal to the COLFI in advance of their pre-placement application for credit recognition, and COLFI will process the respective student annex.
• If applicants intend to propose an employer with which the UPM has not signed a partnership agreement, they should submit a proposal to COLFI with their pre-placement application for credit recognition, and COLFI will process the respective partnership agreement.

Students shall work under the supervision of a internal tutor from the Facultad de Informática, who shall liaise with an external company supervisor.

Procedure

1. Students shall have to submit the following documents to the Registry before starting their placement:
   • Pre-placement application for credit recognition, signed by both internal and external supervisors
   • An up-to-date curriculum vitae
   • Photocopy of employment or placement contract
   • Report by the external supervisor detailing the objectives of the placement, position to be held and job to be performed, signed by the company's director or manager
2. The application will be evaluated by the Postgraduate Academic Policy Committee (COAP).
3. COLFI will notify students of COAP's decision after evaluating the application.
4. At the end of the placement for which students applied for credit recognition, students shall have to submit the following documents to the Registry:
   • Application for Credit Recognition, signed by both supervisors.
   • Certificate (signed and stamped by the employer) stating how many hours the student has worked at the company.
   • A report on the tasks performed at the company during the placement, signed by the external supervisor and bearing the company stamp.
5. COLFI shall check whether the data of the pre-placement application match the details of the application for credit recognition and, if so, shall notify both the Registry and students that their credit recognition application has been accepted. If the data of the pre-placement application do not exactly match the details entered in the application for credit recognition, it shall again be submitted to the COAP for evaluation.
6. The Registry shall issue and mail the respective payment slip to  students for payment.

This procedure shall take effect as of January 2009.

Practical Project (10 ECTS)

Students shall have to draft a report describing on the work they did during their placement, including: introduction, objectives, methodology, results, conclusions and references. After the academic tutor has assessed and graded the report,  COLFI shall notify students and the Registry of the grade. As of then students can enrol for the Practical Project (10 ECTS).

Career Guidance Centre