Warning
If you are a student in English Language Preparatory Program, or if you are a Freshman, or if you are a Sophomore, then you are not eligible for Summer Training (Mandatory Internship) or Voluntary Internship yet, i.e., this page is not relevant for you; you may still go over it for future reference.
Upon several instances of the students not following the information emails sent from the Department or Faculty, in an attempt to provide the same information at a central location, this page is intended to guide the Bilkent ECON students through the rulings and procedures related to Summer Training (Mandatory Internship) and Voluntary Internship
All rulings and procedures implemented at ECON Department level are:
in line with the University's vision of on-the-job training,
in line with FEASS's Faculty-level principles (as agreed upon at the beginning of each Academic Year by the Internship Coordinators of ECON, IR, POLS and PSYC departments & as submitted to Dean's Office),
and, in line with ECON Department's philosophy of education, in a way that every rule has a solid justification.
For a problem-free Summer Training and/or Voluntary Internship, follow the instructions below carefully:
Visit the Syllabus for ECON 399
Go to stars.bilkent.edu.tr
Go to Offerings | Pick ECON - Economics | Select the relevant Semester
Locate ECON 399-1 - Summer Training | View the Syllabus on the right.
Go over the Syllabus.
The Syllabus opening to your screen includes all the necessary information under the heading of "Textbook and Other Required Material" via two links.
First link: FEASS Summer Training & Voluntary Internship web page
This page includes the rulings at Faculty level, i.e., FEASS. Go over the page in detail
The forms needed before, during and after Summer Training and Voluntary Internship are available on this page in both DOCX and PDF file formats. For convenience, you may reach the forms here:
Use this document only if the institution requires this document & ensure all information is completed before submitting it to FEASS Student Affairs office
Second link: ECON 399 Guidelines for Students
This GSLIDES presentation includes the rulings at departmental level, i.e., ECON
Go over the presentation in detail
<<< If your browser supports, you may view it on the left
Be informed about the preconditions to do Summer Training or Voluntary Internship
Having visited the Guidelines, be reminded about the workflows of Summer Training and Voluntary Internship:
Remember the following in relation to your Summer Training and/or Voluntary Internship:
Your documentation must be complete/ready before you proceed to your STS application
Your application via STS will be processed within 24 hours unless there is a system-related issue
There must be at least 7 days between your application's STS 'approval' and the beginning of your Summer Training or Voluntary Internship. This is a technical/bureaucratic constraint imposed by the University's HR in relation to the declaration and processing of Social Security
In a nutshell, you must be placing your application via STS at least 8 days before the beginning of your Summer Training or Voluntary Internship
Missing/improper documents or noncompliance to rules may necessitate a 'revision' in your application, so delaying its approval. Not noticing emails or phone calls from Internship Coordination Office may cause delays, as well. As such instances do not override the requirement of '7 days' mentioned above, your application must be accurately documented and punctual.
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If you want to do your Summer Training (Mandatory Internship) at a position/institution offered by 'Kariyer Kapısı', since the typical duration of these positions is 20 working days, you cannot consider it for Summer Training (Mandatory Internship), as the Summer Training (Mandatory Internship) at ECON requires a duration of 'at least 30 consecutive working days with a single employer'. As you may infer from the rules, there is no University-level remedy for such cases; so, you are advised to contact your employing institution, on your own, to come up with a solution
You may consider, though, the offered position for Voluntary Internship. However, as stated in the rules, voluntary internships are not to be counted toward your Summer Training (Mandatory Internship) under any circumstances
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If you want to do your Summer Training (Mandatory Internship) or Voluntary Internship 'solely online/remotely', you cannot. Some hybrid arrangements, though, can be considered affirmatively by the Coordination Office, where potentially acceptable and unacceptable cases are:
Working 4 days of each working week face-to-face/on-site and 1 day online (a 4 days to 1 day split) is potentially acceptable
For a higher number of training/internship weeks, a 3 days to 2 days split is also potentially acceptable
Splits favoring a majority of online days are not acceptable
Working a whole week (or more weeks) face-to-face/on-site and another whole week (or more weeks) online is not hybrid and not acceptable
Developed by the Computer Center with the valuable guidance and support of the Faculty of Engineering, STS is a very functional platform to address the students' and administrators' needs in relation to Summer Training and Voluntary Internship
Now you can proceed to STS
Once you log into STS, you can intuitively follow the steps to place your application.
While placing your application, the STS will provide you with the types of application that you are eligible for. If no application type (i.e., Summer Training or Voluntary Internship) is available to you, this indicates you are eligible for none. Revisit the rules and consult the Student Affairs office at FEASS if you think 'there is an IT-based misconduct only.
Your STS application is not yet complete until you see the 'Company Approved' and 'Department Accepted' messages with their timestamps in the 'Status History' section of your 'Application Details'. Once you have seen these, you are good to go.
As announced in early-May 2025, the STS will be available for your 'Summer 2025' applications of Summer Training and Voluntary Internship until 31 July 2025, Thursday, 17:30. Once this deadline is breached, further considerations/approvals are not possible under any circumstances.
At the end:
It is the student’s responsibility to stay informed, to comply with the rules, to get necessary permissions and to adhere to deadlines.
ECON 399 Coordination Office works under the Department Chair’s Office & it’s rulings are ultimate.
So, refrain from involving any third party in your correspondences therein. You may consult your Academic Advisor for feedback.
Once you have gone over all the provided information, for any remaining questions send an email message to econintern@bilkent.edu.tr only & make sure you have included your mobile phone number.
