External internships and teamwork competences

The problems studied are linked to the guidelines presented by the Convergence towards a European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Competent workers are needed in today's knowledge society and the university is called upon to respond favourably to this demand by promoting the acquisition of professional competences in students. We analyse the "principles, conditions and characteristics of external placements"; considering them as a "way of professionalisation"; understanding them as a "component par excellence for competence training", focusing especially on the transversal competence of "teamwork". In order to achieve this aim, we initially used questionnaires to complete the information gathered through interviews. The results of the survey are based on the statements of more than one hundred students who filled in the questionnaires and five who volunteered for the interviews. It should be noted that the survey was carried out in Spain (Granada) and France (Reims) in 2012. The opinions of French and Spanish students coincide with each other.