Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the expected length of my Practical Training?

It depends on how many credit points are required in your curriculum and the Practical Training course you are taking.

Each ECTS requires 26 hours of work. 3 ECTS translates into roughly 4 weeks of half-time (20 hours per week) work or 2 weeks of full-time (40 hours per week) work (suitable for summer).

Thus, practical training should last:

• 156 hours or approximately 8 weeks of half-time work for 6 ECTS.
• 312 hours or approximately 16 weeks of half-time work for 12 ECTS.
• 468 hours or approximately 24 weeks of half-time work for 18 ECTS.

NB! You have to make sure that your Practical Training schedule does not collide with your other studies.

2. Should I send my Practical Training plan draft for review before starting the signing procedures

Yes, we strongly suggest that you send your plan to be reviewed by the practical training coordinator before you get it signed by the supervisor and representative of your training base.

The plan must be coordinated with the practice base supervisor and sent to the institute's internship coordinator (by email) for review. Collecting signatures may take additional time after review.

3. When should I register to the Practical Training course, when I wish to complete internship through Erasmus+

You should not register to our practical training courses, when you complete your training abroad through Erasmus+ program (or through other similar programs). You will receive your internship credit points through the Recognition of Prior Learning process instead.

Please read carefully through the university guidelines for Traineeship Abroad and Erasmus+ traineeship grant. If you have any additional questions, contact the traineeship coordinator.

4. What language should I use in my practical training report and defense?

You can write in either English or Estonian. However, if you study in any of our English Master Curriculum (Computer Science or Software Engineering) programs, then we strongly suggest you use English

5. Should the company side supervisor or representative be present at defense?

Supervisors are welcome to come to defenses, but it is not compulsory for the supervisor/representative to be at defense as long as the (signed) supervisor's opinion has been previously submitted.

6. Should I use slides in my defense presentation?

It is not obligatory, but it is strongly recommended. It helps you to remember all the necessary content and allows you to use visual materials. It also makes your presentation easier for other listeners to follow.

7. What are the requirements to be allowed to defend your internship?

You need to have submitted practical training plan, report and signed feedback from the company side supervisor.

8. What happens if I find practice in the middle of the semester? Is it possible for me to complete the practical training course in the same semester?

In this case, there are two options:

1. Start an internship at a company, create the practical training plan, and register for the practical training cours in the next semester.
2. If the internship can be completed before the beginning of the next semester, you can contact the internship coordinator, who is able to enroll students for internships during the semester.

9. What happens if for some reason the practice is not completed by the end of the semester?

If the student has registered for the practical training course, but for some reason the internship period can not be completed by the end of the semester, then you must contact the internship coordinator as early as possible.

10. Can I count work experience obtained prior to enrolling in the Masters program in lieu of the Practice module listed in my curriculum?

Option A

If you register to the courses MTAT.03.206 (Practical Training in Information Technology) and/or MTAT.03.237 (Practical Training in Informatics), you must complete a professional practice DURING your Masters program. In other words, if you register to these courses, you cannot count work experience obtained before officially enrolling in the Masters program. Also, you must achieve the three milestones of these courses, which are:

1. submitting your signed practice plan
2. submitting your signed practice report
3. give an oral presentation (practice defense).

The amount of work completed must be equal to at least 156 hours per 6 ECTS, so if you are completing 12 ECTS this means 312 hours, and if completing 18 ECTS this means 468 hours. The practice may have started (or even completed) before the semester when you registered to MTAT.03.206 and/or MTAT.03.237, but in any case the practice must take place DURING your period of enrollment in the Masters program.

Option B

If you have several years of relevant professional experience obtained BEFORE your enrollment in the Masters's program, you may apply for "Recognition of Prior Learning" and obtain the credits for MTAT.03.237 (6 ECTS) course without registering to theis course. The form for requesting recognition of prior learning (RPL) is available here: https://ut.ee/en/content/recognition-prior-learning

NB! Starting from September 2019, the maximum ECTS you can earn through the RPL process for practical training courses is 6 ECTS. This applies to Software Engineering, Data Science and Computer science curriculum students.

The RPL form must be submitted to the Dean's office, together with documentary evidence of your previous experience, covering at least one year. The RPL form will go through a procedure and you will normally be notified within a couple of weeks if it is approved. The main point that will be checked is whether you have at least one year of (full time) experience if you are claiming MTAT.03.237.

NB! Very important! If you ask for RPL for MTAT.03.237 and your request is approved, you should not register for the course MTAT.03.237. In other words, obtaining RPL for a course means you get the credit points without registering for that course. Conversely, if you register for a course and start it, you cannot claim RPL for that course in the middle of the semester.

To make the ideas clearer, here are a few example scenarios:

• Prior to enrolling in the Masters program, Tiina had one year full-time experience as a software tester at WorkingMouse in London. Tiina can request RPL for MTAT.03.237 by submitting the RPL form and a letter from WorkingMouse certifying her experience. If his RPL is approved, he would still have to complete another 12 ECTS worth of courses listed under the "Practice Module" of his Masters curriculum. For example, he could complete the "Software Entrepreneurship Project" course (12 ECTS) or she could complete an internship of 312 hours in a company during her Masters program and enroll in MTAT.03.206.
• Helen enrolled in the Masters program in September 2014. She had 9 months experience as an analyst in a company prior to enrolling in the Masters program. Helen cannot obtain RPL for MTAT.03.237 . Later on,between April and August 2015, Helen did a software development internship at a company in Tartu called FabulousSoftware. She did not register neither to MTAT.03.206 nor to MTAT.03.237 in the spring semester of 2015 because at the time when registrations were open, she did not know she would get an internship at FabulousSoftware. She worked in total 500 hours at FabulousSoftware during 2015. Helen can register to MTAT.03.206 and MTAT.03.237 in the autumn semester of 2015, submit a practice plan and a practice report and defend her practice whenever the lecturer of MTAT.03.206/237 organizes a practice defense session. If she successfully defends her practice, she will get the 18 ECTS for these courses.

We understand the rules are a bit complicated, especially for those who have worked part-time in the past. In the doubt, please schedule an appointment with the coordinator of the practice course (Pelle Jakovits), to clear up your questions.

In any case, if you plan to ask for RPL for professional practice, PLEASE do so as soon as possible. Do not leave it to the second or third semester because if your RPL request is rejected, it would be difficult for you to find alternative arrangements in the fourth semester!

11.How should the documents be submitted? (Plan, report, supervisors feedback)?

Documents should be sent directly to the Practical Training coordinator by email.

It would be best for the Supervisor's opinion to be digitally signed using the Estonian DigiDoc system. If the feedback is digitally signed through other means or scanned, then the supervisors feedback should be sent directly from the company side supervisor's email to the Practical Training coordinator.

12. Can I move Practical Training in Informatics courses into my curriculum Elective Module?

It depends on the curriculum, but generally you cannot. There is a separate practice module for these courses. In exceptional cases, the curriculum manager may allow any "remaining" practice credits to be transferred to the elective module, but normally they can only be counted for the Optional courses module.