How can a student of literature, communication, or history learn to work with artificial intelligence and data? 

The STEM4Humanities E-Internship Programme was created exactly for this purpose: to bring STEM skills into the world of the humanities and help students experience how technology can empower creativity, culture, and communication. with companies and organizations across Europe. 

The initiative was designed to integrate STEM principles, digital innovation, and humanities competencies, allowing students to gain first-hand professional experience through remote collaboration.

Stem4Humanities Internship: A Hands-on Digital Experience

Each internship followed a clear structure—introduction, mentoring, project development, and reflection. Students worked remotely, supported by academic tutors and company mentors, learning to use AI tools for content creation, data visualization, and social media communication.

Learning by Doing

Throughout the month, students took part in webinars, weekly mentoring sessions, and collaborative digital tasks. They learned to manage teamwork online, apply data reasoning, and explore the creative side of AI technologies.
Companies, in turn, discovered the value of humanities-trained minds—students who could think critically, tell stories, and interpret meaning even in data-driven projects.

Objectives and Structure

The E-Internship Programme provides short, fully online placements where students work on applied digital projects with company mentors. Each placement lasts four weeks and follows a structured sequence:

1. Orientation and Onboarding – initial virtual meetings, signing of Memoranda of Understanding, and preparation of an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) for each student.
   
   
2. Skill Development – company-led webinars introducing digital and STEM tools, supported by weekly mentoring sessions.
   
   
3. Practical Application – project execution aligned with company needs (e.g., AI-based communication, digital archiving, or data analysis).
   
   
4. Reflection and Evaluation – final presentations and completion of reflective reports and satisfaction surveys by both mentors and students.
   
   

All internships are monitored through shared digital workspaces (MS Teams, Slack) and documented via feedback forms, learning plans, and final certificates.

Implementation and Collaborations

The programme involved all the consortium universities in the Stem4Humanities project, in partnership with several small and medium-sized enterprises.

UNIMC coordinated pilot internships with local companies, integrating Generative AI and Data Analytics into communication and marketing contexts (between June and September 2025):

• For Gaia SRL, our students implemented a novel  GenAI Social Media Posts campaing for Science Communication, in the context of Ethics for AI;
• For Cappellificio Cecchi S.r.l., the students implemented a novel data collection to catalogue fashion hats and then a GenAI-based campaign to promote those catalogued hats.

Each received a Certificate of Completion signed by both academic and company mentors.

Documentation and Feedback

Each internship produced:

• Activity reports summarizing weekly tasks and mentor interactions.
  
  
• Evaluation questionnaires completed by both companies and students, indicating high satisfaction levels.
  
  

Mentors highlighted the students’ adaptability and innovative thinking. Students valued the exposure to digital workflows, teamwork, and the integration of Generative AI tools into communication and cultural projects.

Results and Future Plans

At the end of the internships, both students and their mentors completed evaluation forms. The results were clear:

• Students felt more confident using digital and AI tools.
  
  
• Companies appreciated their creativity, curiosity, and adaptability.
  
  
• Universities saw the experience as a concrete bridge between education and innovation.

Following this successful pilot, STEM4Humanities plans to expand the E-Internship model to more partner institutions and companies. 

Future cycles will include additional sectors such as cultural heritage digitization, creative industries, and educational technology, further strengthening the bridge between technology, humanities, and innovation in European higher education.