Abstract:

Since 2008, ΤΕΙ of Athens coordinates the biggest Greek Consortium consisted of twelve Higher Education Institutes of Greece, in the framework of the ERASMUS+ Programme Action Era-Places.

TEI of Athens has proceeded to the assessment of the outcomes of the above mentioned Action, investigating the degree of satisfaction of the outgoing students regarding:
- The suitability of implementation of practical training in comparison with their studies content
- The degree of achievement of learning outcomes in the work environment
- The professional added value acquired through the placement
- Probable problems and difficulties faced.

We developed an evaluation questionnaire in order to assess the above mentioned Action. Seventy four outgoing students were participated in this study anonymously. Socio-demographic and personal characteristics of the participants were investigated. The reliability of the scale was evaluated by assessing the instrument’s internal consistency. The overall Cronbach’s a coefficient was 0.771, indicating sufficient internal consistency. The item convergent validity of the scale was evaluated by examining the correlations between the total score of each subscale and its item scores. According to the findings of the present study, the used questionnaire is a valid tool for assessment of Era-Places functionality in Technological Institute of Athens. Further investigation showed some significant correlations between the investigated variables and useful conclusions were raised about the ERASMUS+ Programme Action Era-Places.

According to the statistical elaboration, the main conclusions are:
- The great majority of the students were women in percentage of 79,2% and supported that even though the difference of receiving country, they did not face adaptation problems or problems of social integration.
- The great majority of students in percentage of 97,3% had positive opinion regarding the working conditions in the enterprises and therefore they recommended strongly to their colleagues to do their practical training in the same enterprises.
- Furthermore, the majority of students who participated in this evaluation questionnaire supported that the purpose of the internship was proportional to their interests and expectations. Therefore, their internship would be their future employment.
- Moreover, the internship helped them to understand better the theoretical training offered in the Department, be self-motivated and cooperative with others. In this framework, the internship was important for the great majority of students.
- Finally, as far as the encountered difficulties are concerned, there were mainly in finding accommodation and communication.

Keywords:

Internship, studies, learning outcomes, work environment, Erasmus+, reliability, validity.