Information for Companies

The Mannheim Gap Year is a structured internship program designed for high-performing graduates from the bachelor’s program in Business Administration who are in the orientation phase between their bachelor's degree and a master's degree.

The Gap Year program was launched in the summer of 2019 as a pilot initiative by the Area Accounting & Taxation with the aim of bridging the gap between academic theory and business practice. Following the completion of their bachelor’s program, students were given the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge in a professional environment and explore the diverse career paths within business administration. The program was structured around three four-month internships within one year, designed to prepare participants comprehensively for their academic and professional future.

The first partners of the Gap Year program included the “Big Four” auditing firms—Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC—as well as the industrial companies BASF, Bosch, and Merck. In the inaugural year, these seven founding partners offered internships to a small, highly selected group of participants with a focus on Accounting & Taxation.

With growing student interest in gaining practical experience before embarking on the next stage of their studies, the Gap Year program expanded steadily and has been continued successfully each year since its inception. Today, around 50 corporate partners offer internships across various areas of Business Administration, both in Germany and around the world. Through their participation, students gain insights into Accounting & Taxation, Operations Management, Finance, Marketing, Management, Information Systems, and Corporate Communications.

The Gap Year program was designed to address the challenge of providing students with early exposure to diverse career paths while enabling them to build meaningful professional networks.

Our corporate partners benefit equally from this collaboration: A partnership offers the opportunity to identify, engage, and support ambitious young talents at an early stage of their professional development. Participants combine an excellent academic background with a strong theoretical foundation and a high level of motivation.

If you are interested in becoming a partner of the Gap Year program or would like to receive further information, please contact: