Hespérides University will carry out internships in Basque Country educational centers

The Basque Government has published a cooperation agreement with Hespérides University so that students of teaching degrees and masters can carry out internships in public schools in the Basque Country. The agreement has been published under reference 2026/3889 in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country (EHAA), issue 176, on September 15, 2026. The signatories are the Minister of Education, María Begoña Pedrosa Lobato, and the rector, Gabriel Calzada Álvarez.

Purpose of the agreement

The agreement establishes cooperation within the framework of the Decree 33/2018 (March 6) regulation, so that students registered in the Basque Country who are pursuing degrees in Early Childhood Education and Primary Education, a master’s degree qualifying them to be teachers, or equivalent training, can carry out internships. The internships will take place in public schools recognized as training centers by the Department of Education.

The agreement was signed electronically on August 28, 2026, and will enter into force at the beginning of the school year following the signature, with a duration of four years. Before the term expires, the parties may verbally extend it for another four years.

Commitments of the parties

The University assumes several obligations, including:

• Granting the venia docendi permit to tutors and coordinators.
• Appointing a university tutor (TU) and a person responsible for the internship program (RPP) for each student.
• Sending the list of students required to do internships for each school year to the Department of Education.
• Developing the general internship plan and the training project.
• Assuming the Social Security obligations for the students performing the internships.

For its part, the Department of Education will recognize the training centers, accredit the tutors and coordinators, and allocate places following a priority system: first those from the Basque university system, then other centers located in the Basque Country, and finally, universities from outside the Basque Country.

Tutoring and student rights

Each school will have an internship coordinator (CC), a role to be filled by the director or the head of studies. The University, in turn, will appoint a tutor to monitor each student, who will be responsible for grading the internships and visiting the schools.

Students will not receive any remuneration for the internships, and the internships will never turn into an employment relationship. If obligations are not met, the Department of Education may decide to terminate the internship prematurely, within a maximum period of 10 days. Due to exams or university academic activities, students may justify absences from internships with three days’ notice.

Monitoring and importance

To ensure the fulfillment of the agreement, a monitoring committee will be created, with representatives from both organizations: on behalf of the Department of Education, the Director of the Directorate of Learning and Innovation (president) and a representative from the area of teacher improvement (secretary); on behalf of the university, the rector and a person responsible for the internship program.

This agreement opens new training pathways for teacher education in the Basque Country, also providing students from external universities the opportunity to carry out internships in public schools in the Basque Country. In this way, the initial training of future teachers is strengthened, in order to guarantee a quality education system.

Fuente: Official Gazette of the Basque Country (EHAA), number 176, September 15, 2026, section I, pp. 1-12 (official reference: 2026/3889).