General questions
We are the European Centre for Career Education and we help students develop practical skills and share experience via short-term intensive educational programs with an emphasis on relevant and engaging lectures and effective and enriching internships.
Our mission is to help students bridge the gap between academic knowledge and real-life experience, through high-impact study abroad programs & internships. Our goal is to continuously enhance students’ personal and professional development, provide them with various networking opportunities, and connect them with inspirational people and companies.
We help solve the lasting problem of students and young professionals not being ready for their careers and not understanding what their fields are about in the real world. We have support from more than 500 companies from around the globe that allows us to design practical programs in a number of fields.
Our programs take place in several cities around the world while the destinations may vary each year. Every year we create programs focused on various fields, from International Business to Law, Marketing, AI or Engineering.
All programs revolve around two core aspects:
· intensive career-focused courses & mentorship by relevant and successful industry leaders;
· an internship in a company within your field.
We also organise networking events, fun free-time activities, field trips, and sightseeing trips on weekends to make sure all our students coming from around the world have a wonderful time.
We encourage you to browse through our website, check out our social media (Instagram; LinkedIn; Facebook), and watch some of our YouTube videos, where there is a lot to see and learn about us.
Absolutely! There are many exciting things we would like to share with you, so please reach out to us anytime at apply@eccedu.net.
How to apply
Click on the APPLY button in the top-right corner of our website and follow the instructions to fill in the form. After submitting the form, you will receive an automatic email confirming that we have received your application.
Within 48 hours, an ECCEDU team member will contact you via the provided e-mail address to give you further instructions. Please, do not hesitate to contact us at apply@eccedu.net if you feel that something might be wrong with your application.
After you submit your application through the ECCEDU website, we will contact you for a copy of your English CV and arrange a short online interview.
The interview is an introductory discussion which will help us understand your needs and expectations, and assess your suitability for the program. It is also a chance for you to ask us anything you wish to know.
Then we would confirm/refuse your application and provide you with payment information.
For more information, please reach out to us at apply@eccedu.net.
The only required document is an English CV, and an entry interview is required.
For more information or to schedule an interview, please reach out to us at apply@eccedu.net).
No, it is not necessary to have experience in the field. In general, you will make the most of the program if you have some background knowledge and have studied your chosen topic before. However, our program will give you a great opportunity to learn new skills and get the experience you do not yet have. If you have any concerns or questions, feel free to contact us at apply@eccedu.net.
Yes, fluency in both spoken and written English or Spanish, according to the chosen program, is required for the lectures and internships. We ask all applicants to send us their CVs, and we also arrange an online interview with each applicant before the program starts – this way, we get to know you better and can properly assess your language proficiency and whether our program is a good match for you.
We encourage you to apply as early as possible so that you have plenty of time to prepare the necessary travel arrangements and the documents required for your visa application if needed.
We assess applications on a rolling basis and allocate spots on a “first come, first served” basis to make sure we deliver a quality experience to each student, we only make a limited number of places available. As a result, we might close applications early if we reach the maximum number of students, so we strongly encourage you to apply as soon as possible to give us the chance to properly consider your application.
We also offer an Early Bird Discount and other discounts & incentives, so please reach out to us at apply@eccedu.net for further details.
Fees, payments and other money-related issues
Please refer to our website for accurate pricing information or reach out to apply@eccedu.net. We have great discounts & incentives for you!
The program fee covers the cost of lectures, the internship, an opening reception (our “Grand Reception”), and a Graduation ceremony with food and drinks. The fee also covers transportation to field trips and sightseeing trips organised by ECCEDU, and snacks and drinks during the lectures. The program fee does not include meals, flight tickets, visa fees, and accommodation expenses. Please refer to our website for more details.
You can pay us via bank transfer. After you have applied through our website and successfully completed the initial interview, we will send you an email with a reference number and ECCEDU’s account details so that you can pay the program fees. The currency will automatically be converted to euros.
You can also pay us via Alipay: if you are from China, payment through Alipay can be very convenient for you. The detailed instructions will be sent after you apply.
Certainly, we will be happy to discuss this with you and agree on a payment calendar. Please reach out to us at apply@eccedu.net.
We understand that being a student is not easy sometimes. We are here to help! There are numerous options you may consider. Please reach out to us at apply@eccedu.net.
Yes, we offer scholarship options to students who are unable to cover the full tuition fee of the program. For further details, please reach out to us at apply@eccedu.net.
Under certain circumstances, which are described below, it is possible to receive a refund. However, the specific amount refunded depends on the time when the cancellation request was submitted to ECCEDU and the reason for cancelling the participation in the program.
You can send your withdrawal request to operations@eccedu.net.
Below, you can find our standard refund policies. The bank fees are always deducted from the total refunded amount.
IMPORTANT: No matter the reason for cancellation, every student is always given the option to postpone his/her participation in the ECCEDU program for the next year (upon agreement, the participation can be postponed for a maximum of 2 extra years). Alternatively, depending on the program field, the student can choose to participate in another one of our programs that takes place at a different time or location.
- Program participation withdrawal due to health issues (for this reason to be accepted, we must receive and validate the medical proof):
– If the cancellation request is submitted more than 60 days before the program starts, the refund will be 95% of the paid amount of the program fee.
– If the cancellation request is submitted 60 days or less but more than 30 days before the program starts, the refund will be 50% of the paid amount of the program fee.
– If the cancellation request is submitted 30 days or less before the program starts, the refund will be 20% of the paid amount of the program fee.
– If the cancellation request is submitted on the day the program starts or later, no refund is possible.
2. Program participation withdrawal due to visa rejection (for this reason to be accepted, we need to validate that the concerned student submitted all their documents properly and on time and there was no mistake on their side during the application process – this will be evaluated based on the reason for rejection the embassy provides the student with and we will request the student to share with us all the application documents):
– If the cancellation request is submitted more than 30 days before the program starts, the refund will be 80% of the paid amount of the program fee.
– If the cancellation request is submitted 30 days or less before the program starts, the refund will be 30% of the paid amount of the program fee.
– If the cancellation request is submitted on the day the program starts or later, no refund is possible.
3. Program participation withdrawal due to other reasons:
– In such cases no refund is possible; however, the student can opt for postponing their participation to the next year or select to participate in one of our other programs in a different time or a different location.
Prague: Living costs in Prague are rather cheap compared to other EU countries. While the prices change over time, here is a general guideline for your budgeting purposes. Student housing typically ranges between 15-40 EUR per night. If you cook for yourself (a kitchen is available in our student accommodation), the food from supermarkets is very affordable, and 10-15 EUR a day would be sufficient. If you decide to go to a restaurant, expect to find a meal for 10-15 EUR. To this, you must add the price of your public transportation pass. You can find accurate rates here.
We will be happy to provide you with recommendations for housing during the process and you are certainly welcome to find your own. If you need help, feel free to reach out to us at apply@eccedu.net.
You do not need to travel with cash at all. Upon arrival, you can easily get some money from an ATM and at most places, you can pay by card.
Standardly, health insurance is an obligatory part of any visa application and the embassies usually require you to be insured for a certain amount of money, so make sure to check this information with your embassy. In such a case, when submitting your visa application, the embassy will require an insurance certificate to be attached.
In case you do not need a visa to travel to your chosen destination, we still emphasise that insurance should not be an option but a must – you never know what may happen and medical bills can be very high without insurance.
ECCEDU reserves the right to cancel a program should we not have a sufficient number of participants and/or should there be circumstances avoiding us to design and develop a program with the desired quality. ECCEDU will notify each applicant at least 4 weeks prior to the official program start. ECCEDU guarantees to work with each applicant individually on the best possible solution for both parties, including offering an alternative program at a different location and/or during a different period, postponing the program to the following year, and securing modified services such as an internship requested by the student. ECCEDU will provide a full refund in case the program is fully cancelled and no alternatives are possible or acceptable to the applicant.
Program structure, location, internship
All ECCEDU programs consist of the lecture part:
- 2 or 3 weeks, depending on the program, of intensive career-focused courses & mentorship by relevant and successful industry leaders
Some programs also include a second, internship part:
- 4-week-long hands-on internship in a company within your field
For more information, please reach out to us at apply@eccedu.net or browse our program pages on Practical Study programs with an Internship (eccedu.net).
Yes, you can join our program without the internship. Different pricing applies here. Please visit our website to learn more or reach out to us at apply@eccedu.net.
No, you cannot apply for the program without the lecture part. The two parts are interconnected, providing a wealth of information & experience-sharing during the lectures followed by challenging internships where knowledge from the lectures is applied. This combination ensures success not only during the internship but, more importantly, in our students’ future careers.
For more information, please reach out to us at apply@eccedu.net.
Normally, we cover two topics per day, amounting to 30 topics in 3-week programs and 20 topics in 2-week programs. Lectures are typically arranged from 9 am to 12 am and from 2 pm to 5 pm. You will get a 2-hour break after the morning session. Be prepared for an extremely intensive schedule during these initial weeks!
Please visit our website for more information on the different destinations of our programs. You can choose to do the internship in the same city where the teaching part is offered or in a different destination offered by ECCEDU.
We secure the venues for the career-focused courses & mentorship in cooperation with our partners and always announce this a few weeks prior to the programs.
We can recommend student housing and provide contact information upon request. You can choose accommodation on your own as well if preferred. Accommodation is not included in the program price.
For more information, please reach out to us at apply@eccedu.net.
Please visit our website for more information on the different languages of our programs. You should have a good command of the chosen language for the career-focused lectures and for working independently during the internship.
For more information, please reach out to us at apply@eccedu.net.
No, our programs have an in-person format, which allows our students to benefit the most from several networking opportunities and contact with professionals from their fields.
Yes. After each day of lectures, we will share most of the materials with you. However, it might happen that some lecturers prefer not to share their presentations as they can contain sensitive information. Whenever possible, we will give you the materials in advance.
Allocation criteria: In order to allocate students for the internships within the ECCEDU programs, we evaluate the following criteria of each student:
– Internship interview with ECCEDU (conducted after the payment)
– CV
– Motivation letter (students will be asked about their motivation to join the selected companies)
– Portfolio*
*Only students of the Architecture program.
The internship allocation process can take up to two months.
The process goes as follows:
- First, the internship interviews with ECCEDU student counsellors take place.
- ECCEDU evaluates the students based on their interviews according to various criteria (language fluency, experience, motivation, interests, preparedness, etc.).
- ECCEDU shares with the students the list of companies with confirmed capacities (with the information about their locations and requirements) and a motivation letter to be filled.
- Students have a limited time to select their 5 preferred companies (sorted from 1 to 5, 1 being the most preferred company, 5 being the least preferred company) and write a motivation letter explaining why they want to intern at each of them.
- ECCEDU allocates students to one of the selected companies based on: the requirements and preferences of each company; the internship interview score (the higher the score, the higher the priority); the motivation letter and CV.
- The companies approve selected candidates (ECCEDU shares students’ CVs, motivation letters, and – in case of Architecture students – portfolios with the companies).
Important information:
- Students can select only the companies whose internship requirements they fulfil. Should the students select a company whose requirements they do not comply with, they will not be considered for such an option.
- In case the student cannot be placed in one of the 5 selected companies (for example, because the student does not comply with the companies’ requirements, or the companies are already filled with higher-scoring students, or the companies cancel their capacity for receiving students at the last minute, etc.), the student will be asked to select another 5 companies from the remaining options.
- Even though ECCEDU tries to allocate every student to one of their selected companies, it is not guaranteed. In such a situation, ECCEDU will individually discuss with the students the internship options outside of the list of selected companies. Should any student be allocated to a different location than the one where the educational part is held, they will be informed as soon as ECCEDU receives the company’s confirmation, so that the student has sufficient time to make all the travel arrangements (visa, flight tickets, accommodation, etc.).
ECCEDU carefully selects each one of the partner companies for its portfolio. Therefore, even students with lower internship interview scores are guaranteed an internship at a high-quality company. However, the better the interview, CV, and motivation letter, the higher the student’s chance of being allocated to their most desired company.
Yes, this is certainly possible. Please make sure you communicate this request to us during the interview process and we will take it into consideration.
We will ask you about your ideal internship during the second interview. We will carefully assess your CV and ask you to answer a few questions in writing (we will focus on your motivation, future career aspirations, and your preferred industries/companies/departments/type of work). You will be involved in this process.
In general, each company will offer up to 2 internship positions.
Yes, you can extend your internship if you reach a mutual agreement with your internship company. However, our program and therefore ECCEDU’s part in your internship finishes after the 4 weeks, so bear in mind any internship extension will be agreed upon between you and your company without our involvement.
You can expect tailor-made internships with the minimum number of working hours per week to be 20. In most of the companies, you will be a full-time intern working around 35 to 40 hours a week but this might differ based on your individual arrangement with your company.
Yes, it is possible but you need to inform us about your preference during your entry interview. In such a case, we will try to confirm a top-level internship for you even before the commencement of our programs. This process is not usual but we truly want to help our students to the best of our ability and our portfolio of partners allows us to do so.
Yes, you will get a Completion Certificate after the 3 weeks of the educational part and, upon successful completion of the internship, you will receive a Recommendation Letter / Reference Letter from your company after your internship. This will help you build up your CV effectively and professionally. The letter is at the sole discretion of the company and depends on your performance.
During weekends, we organise trips to well-known towns and landmarks of our students’ choice. These weekend trips are covered by the program fees. During weekdays, based on students’ requests, we also organise various activities such as treasure hunts, adventure games, boat trips, or escape rooms. However, these are not covered by ECCEDU, and in general, ECCEDU does not cover the entrance fees to attractions.
We hope you will be satisfied with the overall experience and we will definitely want to have your feedback. We also hope you will want to stay in touch with us as we can help each other. We can help you with our vast network of connections and you can help us promote our programs among your family, friends & colleagues. You can become one of our ambassadors or join our Mentorship program.
Visa
The majority of Asian, Middle Eastern, African, and South American nations will need a visa to attend our programs. Please check the particular embassy website for more information. ECCEDU will issue an invitation letter for your visa application.
We suggest you start doing research on the official embassy website and check the available dates for a visa appointment first, even if you do not have all the documents ready. The visa processing time varies from country to country but, in our experience, it can take from 5 to 60 working days.
Unfortunately, our invitation letter must mention that you have paid for the program in full; embassies care about this deeply because they want to make sure that people granted a visa are really coming for our program. We will refund most of your program fees if your visa application is in perfect order (i.e. you provided the embassy with all the required documents) and still gets declined by the embassy.
How to prepare
You will be doing a lot of things, attending lectures, participating in cultural & social events, meeting with friends, conducting the internship. You will be responsible for your own meals and transportation to events. We will provide you with useful information and various tips so that you acclimate easily and get the maximum out of the experience. You will be independent and yet there will be resources available for you in case you need help.
Imagine the duration of your stay and think about all the things you may need – for the lectures, cultural & social activities, the internship, and your free time. You can find laundry service in the destination as well as various shops but a few things may be useful to add to your suitcase – medicine you are used to (prescribed and for common possible ailments such as cold, flu, and stomach problems); chargers and a converter if needed; phone, laptop, tablet, books, outfit for sports, small umbrella, sunglasses, hygienic products you like and may not be able to purchase abroad. Think about what you use at home and what you would miss while you are traveling.
It can be fun to learn a few phrases from the local language, there are many resources & apps available online. You may read some books or online articles on the destination to get yourself familiar with the place where you will spend several weeks. You can explore the subject of your studies specific to the country you will be visiting. The more you do in advance, the easier your stay will be. Read about local customs, learn a bit about the history, check out local food & drinks, explore entertainment venues, look at the map and start to get a sense of orientation in your new city.
Need more information or help?
You can send your questions to apply@eccedu.net.
Absolutely. We have a network of alumni and ambassadors around the world who will be happy to tell you about their experience with ECCEDU. Please reach out to us at apply@eccedu.net.