Course Syllabus Internship 15 credits, Systems Science for Defence and Security

Completed courses covering a minimum of 60 HE credits in the Master’s Programme in Defence and Security Systems Development.

The course entails a work placement with a public authority, NGO or company in Sweden or abroad operating in the field of defence or security. The student is responsible for obtaining their own work placement. The work placement must receive the prior approval of the director of studies before an agreement can be entered into between the student, the workplace and the university. The workplace shall provide the student with support in the form of qualified supervision and a designated contact person.
During the work placement, the student shall participate in the daily working life of the workplace and be offered qualified tasks related to the study programmes
main field of study, Defence Systems; for example, in the form of technical
management, technical and systems development or authoring project
documentation or reports.

After completed course the student should be able to:
Competence and skills
- analyse the workplace’s societal role, responsibilities and tasks, current development work in the field of study and the demands placed on employees in the sector in which the organisation operates
- taking experiences gained in the workplace as a point of departure, independently and critically reflect on the relationship between the work placement and the knowledge dealt with in the Master’s programme
Judgement and approach
- report on what assessments have been made in the workplace with regard to scientific, social and ethical aspects
- taking experiences gained in the workplace as a point of departure, independently and critically reflect on the possibilities and limitations of science, its societal role and the responsibility of the individual for how it is utilised.

Teaching consists of practical supervision, an independent written work
placement report and an introductory seminar, as well as a concluding seminar
that takes the student’s written report as a point of departure for reflection on the
studies and their connection to working life.

Scope: 15 Higher education credit

Grades are set according to a two-grade scale: Pass (G) and Fail (U).
A pass (G) requires active participation in the work conducted at the workplace, a
pass (G) for the written work placement report and active participation in
seminars.
Grading criteria are stated in the course description.

The total number of examination opportunities is limited to one ordinary
examination and one retake.

The course cannot be included in a degree with another course whose content fully or partially corresponds to the content of this course.

When the course is no longer given or when the course content has changed substantially, the student has the right to be examined once per semester during a three-term period in accordance with this syllabus.

If the student has a decision from the Swedish Defence University stating the need for extra pedagogical support because of a functional disability, the examiner may decide on alternative examination forms for the student.
The course is held as an elective course in the Master’s Programme in Defence and Security Systems Development.
On the completion of the course, an evaluation will be conducted under the auspices of the course director, which will form the basis for any changes to the course.
Costs incurred as a result of a work placement in a part of Sweden other than the study location (Stockholm) or another country shall be met by the student.
The Swedish Defence University reserves the right to withhold approval of proposed work placements should the organisation in question, or the contact person, be deemed unsuitable. The operations conducted at the workplace shall not be in conflict with the professional ethical foundations that govern the actions of all state employees in Sweden, cf. http://www.statskontoret.se/globalassets/publikationer/2018/ethical_foundations_ of_the-state.pdf. As the Swedish Defence University is responsible for assessing the suitability of work placements, a proposed workplace may be refused with consideration for the excessive resources required to make such an assessment.