Contacting a host
<- Back to Internship landing page
The same advice applies whether you are approaching a research laboratory or a company. Use the Research laboratories and Industry and employers pages to identify potential hosts.
Before writing
- Identify a team or a person, not just a laboratory. Read the team page and one or two recent papers or project descriptions.
- For companies, check the careers page and look for R&D, engineering or data teams. A speculative application is normal, especially for smaller companies.
- Prepare a one-page CV and a short list of courses or projects relevant to the host.
The email
- Use a specific subject line, for example: “M1 Applied Mathematics internship - [topic] - [your name]”.
- Keep the message to 5-8 sentences: who you are, what you are studying, why this team or topic interests you, the skills you can contribute, and your availability from mid-May for at least 8 weeks.
- Attach your CV and transcript as PDF files.
- Write in French for French-speaking companies if you can; English is acceptable for many research teams.
- Write the email yourself. Messages that look AI-written, generic or sent to many recipients at once are likely to be ignored.
- Do not copy-paste a template or AI-generated text into your mail client. Pasted text often arrives with inconsistent fonts and formatting, and it is obvious to the recipient. Write directly in your email program and adapt every sentence.
- Use your university email address and a clear signature.
Follow-up and interviews
- If you receive no reply after one or two weeks, send one short and polite reminder.
- If there is still no reply, contact another team; do not send repeated messages.
- For an interview, be ready to explain one of your course projects and why it fits the proposed topic.
Practical and administrative points
- A convention de stage is mandatory. Allow enough time for signatures before the start date.
- Non-EU students should allow extra time for administrative and visa procedures; see Non-EU students.