Occupational Therapy

Our students and lecturers get to all corners of the world. International cooperation includes internships abroad and also shared teaching and joint projects with partners within and beyond Europe and especially with our partner universities. This particularly encourages language skills and intercultural and global awareness among our students.

The international activities of the Occupational Therapy Institute benefit all our students. Our international cooperation enables us to keep up with global developments in the field of occupational therapy and thus improves the quality of teaching and research in Austria. We train our students to be global professionals.

The internship and/or semester abroad extends the professional and personal horizons of our students. Intercultural learning is at the core of the period spent abroad, along with the improvement of language skills and the development of personal contacts. A spell in another country is also a useful addition to our students’ CVs.

From the fourth semester onwards students can opt to spend a period abroad in the form of either a whole semester of study or an internship. At present the Institute of Occupational Therapy cooperates with four European partner universities. We recommend our students to do a semester abroad in their sixth semester or an ERASMUS internship abroad in their fourth or sixth semester. Before their period abroad our students need to take a close look at the courses offered by the partner university and the ECTS workload involved in order to guarantee that the course content is comparable.

FH JOANNEUM helps students prepare for their period abroad and supports them throughout the stay to make it the best possible intercultural and professional learning experience. The period of study abroad and the internship call for different procedures:

ERASMUS study abroad
Before undertaking a period of study abroad our students need to submit a precise plan of the courses to be taken in the form of a Learning Agreement. If courses are left open it is possible to define before departure, together with the head of degree programme, whether the courses can be replaced with others offered at the host university or whether the student needs to complete them after their return. During the preparation phase our students are in close contact with the International Relations Department at FH JOANNEUM to be sure of meeting all the administrative requirements for grants.

We keep up regular contact with our students during their stay abroad in case they have subject-related or administrative questions. The contact persons at the host universities also provide important support. After returning from periods of study abroad the students pass on their new knowledge by giving presentations to share their experiences with their fellow students.

Internship abroad
Students independently seek out suitable establishments for the internship. If our students choose an internship in another EU country and want to take advantage of an ERASMUS grant, they have to apply to the International Relations Department at FH JOANNEUM via the International Coordinator of the degree programme. The application includes compulsory participation in a workshop on intercultural communication before departure. After returning, our students give presentations about their experiences.

Regular contact with the degree programme during the internship makes it possible to identify any difficulties early on.

The Institute of Occupational Therapy is in close contact with the following partner universities:

Our International Coordinator will be happy to help you with any queries regarding the semester or internship abroad.

Contact:

Katrin Pechstädt, MSc
E: katrin.pechstaedt@fh-joanneum.at
T: +43 316 5453 6787