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Why should student participate in projects?  Because education is becoming more and more focussed on competences, students are expected to participate in several projects during their schoolyear to show their competences. According to research among small and medium businesses in the Netherlands many projects are left unattended that could be handled by students. The advantage of a project over an internship is that the initiative for a project comes from the students themselves. The students can profit from the professional knowledge from their professors and the time the students have with their professors for guidance. Students can work on a project from any location and do not need a set workplace (providing a workplace is often difficult for smaller bussinesses). Internet (skype, e-mail, videoconferences etc.) can be used to maintain contact between busiensses and students.  There is no set period of time and projects have variable lengths, this is needed more and more from the business point of view.  There are many uncertainties regarding the definition of a project or an internship. That is why it is important to clarify how a project or internship can be described. To get a clear definition of both terms we looked at their definitions on Wikipedia. First of all the definition of a project according to Wikipedia: "A project is acollaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully plannend to achieve a particular aim."   Second of all the definition of an internship according to Wikipedia: “In an internship the student is supposed to use the things he/she has learned in school and put it in practice. This way the student gets work experience in their field of study.”