INFO ABOUT INTERNSHIPS & GRAD WORK
Ba. Industrial/Interior Product Design
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Give the next generation of product designers a place to grow — and bring a fresh design perspective into your company.​
Howest Industrial Product Design connects companies with emerging designers who combine creativity, technical insight and a hands-on approach. During an internship and graduation project, students explore how products can be improved, developed and brought to life.
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Have a challenge in mind? Let's explore it together!
— Internship
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Get to know the people, processes and possibilities behind your products.
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An internship is an opportunity for a student to discover how your company works from the inside. By joining your team and participating in day-to-day activities, the student gains insight into your sector, your production processes and the role of design within your organisation.
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Depending on your company and activities, this might involve exploring materials and manufacturing techniques, joining ongoing projects, visiting suppliers or customers, or discovering how different departments work together.
An internship is about learning by doing, asking questions and discovering where design can make a difference.
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What can you expect?
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A motivated student who brings a fresh perspective.
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An extra pair of hands and eyes within your team.
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An opportunity to share your expertise and introduce the student to your way of working.
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— Graduation project
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Turn a design challenge into an opportunity. Independent minds, multidisciplinary skills, tangible solutions.
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A graduation project gives a student the opportunity to tackle a concrete design challenge and translate it into a considered product (service) solution.
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Together with your company, the student explores a design brief, investigates user needs and technical possibilities, develops concepts and works towards a tangible result. Depending on the project, this can lead to a prototype or model, supported by a clear design rationale and visual documentation.
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Your expertise helps the student understand the real-world context of the challenge, while the student brings the time, research and design process needed to explore potential solutions.
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What can you expect?
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A fresh perspective on a product, process or opportunity.
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A structured exploration of a design challenge.
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A tangible design outcome that helps communicate and evaluate the proposed solution.
The exact scope and expected outcome are defined together, taking into account the challenge, the student's learning objectives and the possibilities within your company.​​​​
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Colaborate with the next generation​
A collaboration that works in both ways.
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— student
What can a student bring to your company?
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Our Industrial Product Design students are trained to approach products from different perspectives, connecting users, form, function, technology and production. A collaboration with a student can touch on:
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Design research: understanding users, contexts and needs.
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Concept development: exploring ideas and translating them into product concepts.
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3D design & visualisation: communicating ideas through drawings, prototypes, CAD and visuals.
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Prototyping: making ideas tangible and testing possible solutions.
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Materials & production: exploring feasibility, manufacturing techniques and material choices.
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User-centred & sustainable design: considering usability, durability and the impact of design decisions.
Every student has their own interests and strengths. A good collaboration starts with finding the right match between your challenge and the student's profile.
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— company
Fresh Perspectives. Shared Expertise.
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A successful internship or graduation project is a shared learning experience.
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The student brings curiosity, creativity and a multidisciplinary skillset, along with a fresh perspective that can challenge familiar ways of thinking. With new ideas, an open mind and the drive to explore possibilities, students can inspire your team, uncover unexpected opportunities and bring a new perspective to existing products, processes or challenges.
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Your company provides a real-world context, shares its expertise and helps the student understand the practical and strategic considerations behind the design challenge.
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Howest Industrial Product Design program supports the process through an academic supervisor who follows the student's progress and helps connect the project to the learning objectives of the program.
You don't need to have every detail figured out from the start. A clear point of contact, relevant feedback and regular conversations already make a meaningful difference.
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PRACTICAL INFORMATION​
Curious about what an internship or graduation project involves in practice? Here you'll find an overview of the timing, duration and focus of each module, as well as the role your company can play in guiding and supporting our students throughout their journey.
01 — Internship
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Getting to know your company from the inside.
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When: 2nd semester, February–May(exception: first-semester internships and grad work (September–December) are possible for traject students.)
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Duration: 30 effective full working days
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Focus: Discovering your company, industry and daily operations by working alongside your team.
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Your role: Introduce the student to your organisation, share your expertise and provide guidance and feedback.​
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Remuneration: The internship in Belgium is unpaid.
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02 — Graduation project
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Exploring a design challenge from brief to solution.
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When: Usually during the same semester as the internship.
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Duration: 30 effective full working days
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Focus: Developing a product (service) design solution, from research and concept development to a prototype or model.
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Your role: Share your expertise, discuss design choices and help the student navigate the practical and technical aspects of the challenge. We also invite you to take part in the final jury, where you can share your expertise and contribute to the evaluation of several students' work.
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Prototyping & resources: Depending on the nature of the project, the company is expected to provide the necessary resources, such as materials, equipment or access to production facilities. Any costs related to prototyping should be discussed and agreed upon with the student in advance. Where agreed, these costs are covered by the company.
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— Guidance & grading
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Each student is supported by two supervisors who bring complementary perspectives to the process.
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The company supervisor provides guidance within the professional environment, shares relevant expertise and acts as a sounding board for questions about the work and the design challenge.
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The Howest IPO supervisor follows the student's progress, supports their learning process and helps ensure that the internship or graduation project aligns with the programme's learning objectives. At the end of both the internship and the graduation project, we ask the company supervisor to evaluate the student's performance and provide feedback on their work.
Regular communication between the student and both supervisors helps keep expectations, progress and planning aligned.
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— One company, two opportunities
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Whenever possible, we aim to organise the internship and graduation project within the same company. This creates continuity: the student can first get to know your organisation and its activities, then build on that experience when developing a more focused design project.
The internship and graduation project remain two separate educational modules, each with its own objectives and assessment.
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— Planning
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Every company and design challenge is different. The scope, timing, assignment and practical arrangements are discussed in advance with the student and Howest, so that the collaboration fits both the company's possibilities and the student's learning objectives.
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— Contract
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Once you and a student have agreed to collaborate, we can formalize the collaboration. In short, the student informs the Howest internship coordinator, who will contact you with the next steps. The detailed internship assignment through the Howest internship platform will get linked with the student. This information forms the basis of the internship agreement, which the student will provide to you in January.
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INTERESTED? FIND AN INTERNSHIP OR GRADUATION PROJECT STUDENT
Interested in hosting a student and proposing a graduation project? You can register potential projects for your company via the Howest Internship Tool.
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— How does it work?
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Register your company : Create a company account on the Howest Internship Tool if your company is not registered yet.
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Submit your project proposals: Describe the internship and/or graduation project opportunities your company can offer.
Important: Make sure to link each project to IPO (Industrial / Interior Product Design) so that it is visible to the right students. -
Connect with interested students: Students use the tool to explore available opportunities. They take the initiative to contact your company using the contact details provided in your project listing.
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Meet and explore the possibilities: The company and student get to know each other and discuss the proposed project, expectations and potential fit.
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Confirm the collaboration: If both parties agree to proceed with the internship and graduation project, Howest prepares an internship agreement. This agreement covers practical arrangements such as insurance and, where necessary, confidentiality and intellectual property rights.
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REGISITER HERE your project proposal (the Howest Internship Tool)
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QUESTIONS?
Get in touch with our Internship and Grad Work Coördianator Katrien De Schepper.
