Piktalent organises Erasmus+ design internships in graphic, UI/UX, product, fashion and architecture studios. Each intern is matched to a craft track — digital product (Figma, design systems) or visual and branding (Adobe CC, identity) — and ships one credited artefact rather than a stack of unused moodboards, backed by a vetted host studio, accommodation, insurance and 24/7 in-country support.
Live network
26+ cities · 18 countries
A design internship is a studio-based placement where students contribute to live client briefs under a senior designer or art director: brand identities, UI components, product mockups, illustration sets or architectural visualisations. Within Erasmus+ the mobility is framed by an OLA-T Learning Agreement specifying the design discipline, mentor and learning outcomes.
Independent applicants follow the same path on a self-funded basis. Design interns typically leave with 3–6 published portfolio pieces, working knowledge of Figma plus the Adobe Creative Cloud, and a written reference detailing the briefs delivered and tools used during the placement.
Universities, VET providers and Erasmus+ coordinators use Piktalent as a single mobility partner for design internships. We run the institutional stack end-to-end — placement, programme administration, monitoring and on-site support — and integrate cleanly with your OLA workflow.
Vetted housing close to the host company — apartments, residences or host families. Bundled into the package or booked à la carte.
Health, accident and liability cover compliant with Erasmus+, visa and host-country requirements.
Guidance on visas, residence permits and host-country paperwork for non-EU and US-bound participants.
Pre-departure and on-site language training in the local language to speed up workplace integration.
Accredited TEFL certification for individuals who want to teach English abroad — open enrolment, no internship required.
Browse and apply directly to open design internship positions across Europe and the USA — updated weekly.
Typical responsibilities, skills developed and tools used by interns in design internships.
What interns do
What they develop
What they use
Independent design and branding studios
Digital product and UI/UX agencies
In-house design teams at scale-ups and DTC brands
Architecture and interior-design practices
Fashion houses, ateliers and creative directors
Students of graphic design, visual communication or fine arts
UX, product or interaction-design students
Architecture, fashion or industrial-design students
Erasmus+ HEI and VET participants in creative programmes
Design is the right hub when the participant has a portfolio (academic counts) and visual sensibility. We internally split between digital product hosts and visual/branding hosts.
A design internship can either produce one credited artefact for the participant's portfolio, or three months of moodboards no-one will ever see. These are the operational rules that decide which one happens.
We split design hosts internally into two distinct tracks — digital product (Figma, design systems, UI/UX) and visual/branding (Adobe CC, identity, editorial) — and never cross-match. The tooling, mentoring and output are different industries.
Hosts submit a brief; we send 3 portfolio decks per shortlist; the host chooses based on visual fit. Skipping this step is the single biggest cause of failed design placements — a 'good designer' for one studio is a wrong fit for another.
Most product-design hosts in the EU work toward EN 301 549 / WCAG 2.2 AA compliance under the European Accessibility Act. Interns who arrive with even basic accessibility literacy (contrast, focus order, alt text) skip the first review cycle.
Hosts running real design systems test interns on token thinking (color, spacing, typography scales) before letting them ship components. We brief participants pre-arrival so they don't lose the first two weeks learning the concept.
Revit, ArchiCAD and Vectorworks education licences don't always work in commercial studios. We confirm the host issues a named workstation licence on day one — otherwise the intern can't open the working files.
Authoritative sources we use to scope and validate design placements across the EU and USA.
Defines mobility eligibility, traineeship duration and quality standards we apply to every design placement.
European reference for design occupation profiles (graphic designer, UI designer, product designer, architect) used in Learning Agreements.
From June 2025, makes accessibility mandatory for many digital products in the EU. We brief product-design interns on its implications before placement.
The European technical standard product-design hosts implement. Maps to WCAG 2.2 and is the practical reference interns will see referenced inside design reviews.
International accessibility standard underlying EU and US obligations. Used as the working reference inside design-system documentation.
Issued at the end of placement; documents tools used (Figma, Adobe CC, Revit) and visible artefacts contributed to the host's portfolio.
Design Internships are available in 26+ Piktalent destinations across 18 countries. Pick a city to see local host-company examples and durations.
Four steps from first brief to final report. Plan twelve weeks of lead time for a quality placement.
Share participant profile, dates and target city. Piktalent matches the intern to a vetted design host company.
We co-sign the Erasmus+ Learning Agreement and confirm the placement with the sending institution.
Vetted accommodation booked before arrival; pre-departure briefing and insurance issued.
Local team runs check-ins, monitors the internship and delivers final reports plus Europass Mobility.
Design Internships can be delivered through every major Erasmus+ action and through independent self-funded routes.
Week-by-week Erasmus+ checklist for sending coordinators: from selection to OLA signature, OLS, insurance, travel and Beneficiary Module reporting.
Read article 9 minEnd-to-end KA171 playbook: regional envelopes, partner-country selection, IIA, OLA, grant flow and reporting for HEI coordinators handling non-EU mobility.
Read article 6 minThe 7 most expensive mistakes Erasmus+ coordinators make — late sourcing, weak host vetting, missing OLA signatures, no insurance — and how to prevent them.
Read articleTell us your sector, dates and group size — we'll send a tailored proposal within 48 hours.
