REGULATION OF TRAINEESHIP

Updated following decisions of the General Assembly of the Department of Food Science and Technology, 14/10-06-2022, 16/29-07-2022 & 7/03-03-2023

1. TRAINEESHIP

The Traineeship is part of the Study Program of the Department of Food Science and Technology (Semester 8) with the code "ΠΡΑΚΤ", it is mandatory, it corresponds to two (2) credits (ECTS), it is not graded (Decision of the 14th General Assembly/10-06-2022) and is mentioned in the Diploma Supplement provided it has been successfully completed by the student. It lasts two (2) months and concerns the presence and performance of students' duties in potential workplaces under the guidance of an executive of the Host Agency and the supervision of a member of the faculty (teacher supervisor). It is implemented in host organizations outside the Ionian University (legal entities of public or private law, businesses, unions, companies, non-profit NGOs) with a professional orientation related to the subject of the Department (https://fst.ionio.gr/gr/students/Traineeships/).

The Traineeship is also implemented through funded projects within the framework of the "Higher Education Traineeship of the Ionian University" Program financed by the European Social Fund (NSRF) and co-financed by National Resources through the Operational Program "Human Resource Development, Education and Lifelong Learning".

Scientific Coordinator of the Traineeship of the Department of Food Science and Technology is Assistant Professor Irini Katsalirou (decision of the Assembly of the Department of Food Science and Technology - 1/ 10.09.2021). Deputy Scientific Coordinator is Assistant Professor Aikaterini Papadaki (decision of the Assembly of the Department of Food Science and Technology 7/03-03-2023).

2. TRAINEESHIP COMPANIES

The traineeship of the students of the Department of Food Science and Technology can take place both in the public and in the private sector:

1. a) in companies or organizations of the students' choice: Students seek companies or organizations of their interest to carry out their traineeship. A basic condition is the relevance of the subject of employment to the subject of the student's studies. If there is a relevant agreement, the steps listed below are followed (see Procedures for starting, preparing, completing a Traineeship) for the organization's approval by the Traineeship Committee and the start of the traineeship.
2. b) in companies or organizations of the students' choice through the "Higher Education Traineeship of Ionian University" Program: The Traineeship of students of the Department can be carried out within the " Higher Education Traineeship of Ionian University " program. The program is financed by the European Social Fund (NSRF) and co-financed by National Resources through the Operational Program "Development of Human Resources, Education and Lifelong Learning"., Related announcements, detailed instructions and everything else regarding the implementation of an Traineeship through NSRF are posted on the website: http://dasta.ionio.gr/internship/
3. c) abroad through the Erasmus+ program: Students of the Department can implement their Traineeship abroad through the Erasmus+ Program (Student mobility for Traineeships ERA-PLACES) (https://sites.ionio.gr/international/gr/ erasmus/). In particular, the students of the university program who are going to carry out their Traineeship abroad through Erasmus+, can request the approval of the Traineeship from the fifth (5th) semester of studies, provided that they have been successfully evaluated in at least 50% of the courses of the Study Program and in 50% of the specialization courses until the specific semester (decision of the General Assembly of the Department 5/ 12-11-2021.

PRECONDITIONS FOR TRAINEESHIP- SELECTION CRITERIA

3.1 University degree program students

Students studying in the university study program carry out their two-month Traineeship under the following conditions:

(a) be attending the 6th semester or longer of studies (exception: when a Traineeship is to be carried out abroad through Erasmus+ they can apply from the 5th semester of studies)

(b) have attended and been successfully examined in at least 50% of all the courses of the first six (6) semesters of the study program (and at least 90 ECTS) and among them in seven (7) of the 14 specialization courses listed below:

1. Food Processing Ι
2. Food Analysis
3. Food Microbiology
4. Food Engineering
5. Food Chemistry
6. Food Biotechnology
7. Food processing ΙΙ
8. Fruits and Vegetables Science and Technology
9. Fat and Oils Science and Technology
10. Milk and Milk Products Science and Technology
11. Industrial Fermentations
12. Instrumental Food Analysis
13. Cereals and Cereal Products Science and Technology
14. Choice of course from Course Group A or B or C

3.2 Students from the former Technological educational Institute

 The students who emanate from the study program of the former TEI, carry out their six-month Traineeship under the following conditions:

(a) be in the 8th or greater semester of studies

(b) have attended and been successfully examined in 2/3 of all the courses of the study program and among them in seven (7) of the 14 specialization courses listed below:

1. Food analysis
2. Food Microbiology ΙΙ
3. Instrumental Food Analysis
4. Food Processing ΙΙ
5. Industrial fermentations
6. Food Chemistry
7. Meat Technology & Quality Control
8. Cereal Technology & Quality Control
9. Fruits and Vegetables Technology & Quality Control
10. Technology and Quality Control of Fish Catch
11. Wine and Spirits Technology & Quality Control
12. Water Technology & Control
13. Milk Technology & Quality Control
14. Olive oil-Fats Technology & Quality Control

4. PROCEDURES FOR STARTING, IMPLEMENTING AND COMPLETING A TRAINEESHIP

4.1. Submission of Applications

Students who meet the above conditions, submit an application (attached) to the Department Secretariat.

In the event that the student wishes to carry out the Traineeship through NSRF:

(a) is registered with the ATLAS Information System (atlas.grnet.gr). For registration/connection to the information system, access codes to the electronic services of the Department are used.

(b1) For University students: At the time set by the Traineeship Office (a relevant invitation is issued), students should send an e-mail to Traineeship@ionio.gr, from their institutional account, the completed and signed the expression of interest form available on the website of the Traineeship Office (http://dasta.ionio.gr/internship) as well as all the necessary documents (in pdf format).

(b2) For students of the former T.E.I.: At the time set by the Traineeship Office (relevant invitation is issued), students should send by e-mail to internshippstei@ionio.gr, from their institutional account, the completed and signed expression of interest form available on the website of the Traineeship Office (http://praktikiteiion.ionio.gr) as well as all the necessary documents (in pdf format).

4.2. Evaluation of Applications - Selection Process – Objections

4.2.1 Application Evaluation and Selection Process

The Department's Traineeship Committee checks whether:

(a) The student meets the conditions (see par. 3.1 & 3.2)

(b) The organization is suitable for carrying out the student's Traineeship (relevance of Traineeship subject to the Department's subject of study) and approves or not the placement of the student in the respective organization. It then submits its decisions to the Department's General Assembly, which approves the start of the students' Traineeship.

In addition, for the preparation of a Traineeship through the NSRF, applications are evaluated according to the selection criteria of the NSRF. Specifically, the selection process is as follows:

(a) For students of the University: The selection of students of the university program, for the preparation of an Traineeship through NSRF, are graded based on the selection criteria posted at the following link https://Traineeship. ionio.gr/gr/management/criteria/fst-dpt/

(b) For students of the former TEI: The selection of the students of the former TEI, for the preparation of a Traineeship through NSRF, are scored based on the selection criteria that were defined for the former Department of Food Technology of TEI [based on the ELKE TEI of the Ionian Islands No. act 29/2018 - ADA:78ΠΨ4691Ο5-XΕΣ] are still applicable/valid, and are as follows:

1. Semester of Studies: The semester of studies that the student is attending at the time he submits the application for the Traineeship.
2. Average of the Specialization Courses: The average of the student is calculated in the Specialization Courses in which he has been successfully examined up to the time he applies for the Traineeship.
3. Type of institution for the implementation of the Traineeship: If the institution chosen by the student to carry out the Traineeship is Public or Private.

In detail, the grading of the individual criteria is carried out with the help of Table 1.

Table 1. Definition of the weighting factor and grades of each selection criterion for the preparation of a Traineeship through NSPE for the students of the former TEI.

Finally, the Traineeship Committee recommends the results of the evaluation for approval by the General Assembly of the Department, which are validated by the relevant Institutional Committee defined by a decision of the Senate. The results are posted for the information of the interested students.

4.2.2 Objections

Following the posting of the results, the students who have not been selected (and if there is a reason) have the right to lodge an objection with the Higher Education Traineeship Office of the Ionian University within a certain number of days from the posting of the results, according to the conditions of the invitation. Objections are examined by a three-member Traineeship objection committee, which is defined by a decision of the Foundation.

4.3. IMPLEMENTATION AND COMPLETION OF TRAINEESHIP

(a) The Secretariat issues the Traineeship approval certificate which the students present to the company.

(b) The Special Employment Contract is signed between the employment agency, the Head of the Department, and the intern student.

(c) The student begins his/her Traineeship for which he/she keeps a diary (Traineeship book), in which he/she continuously records his/her activities in the context of the Traineeship.

1. d) The Traineeship is completed at the end of the two months, provided that the student submits to the Department Secretariat:
2. i) the traineeship book completed
3. ii) certificate of completion of the traineeship from the employment agency

iii) certificate of social insurance stamps

It is noted that the students who will be selected to carry out the Traineeship through NSRF, should follow the instructions given to them by the Traineeship Office and at the end of the Traineeship send to the Traineeship Office the deliverables as defined by the relevant invitation of interest (Relevant instructions/information can be found on the relevant Traineeship websites of the Ionian University).

5. OBLIGATIONS – RIGHTS

The intern at the workplace is obliged to follow the opening hours, safety and work regulations as well as everything else that applies to the host institution's staff. Daily employment will not exceed eight (8) hours.

When the intern does not comply with the above, the supervising teacher is informed, who informs the Department accordingly in order to ensure compliance.

In case of relapse of the intern, the company or service can unilaterally terminate the special contract and terminate his employment. Then the student is obliged to repeat the same process the following year to find a new position, in order to complete the remaining time of his Traineeship.

During their Traineeship, apart from their compensation and occupational risk insurance, students do not acquire any other employment or pension rights.

Students are only insured against occupational accidents at the host institution and for the duration of the Traineeship. From the moment the student is selected, he/she will have to issue a personal AMA IKA, if he/she does not have one.

The intern is entitled to be absent from the institution one (1) day/month during the Traineeship (partially or in total). These days can be either for personal reasons or for educational obligations. If for reasons of necessity he/she must be absent from the host institution for more days, he/she must make up the hours of his absence within the Traineeship period and inform the Traineeship Office two (2) days in advance by e-mail (Traineeship@ ionio.gr) and of course his supervisor at the Agency.

In the case of carrying out a Traineeship through NSRF:

(a) if the student cancels his/her Traineeship for personal reasons, he/she cannot apply for a Traineeship again through NSRF.

(b) The intern's payment is implemented once after the end of the Traineeship, if all the obligations arising from the Program and the relevant invitation have been completed. Payment is made by deposit to the bank account declared by the student. The amount of the total (gross) remuneration of the students for the two months of employment is defined per academic year.