Hi,
I moved to CH in September last year to do my masters. After I finish the course work segment of the masters,I have the option of either doing a straight research dissertation or an internship dissertation. I want to do the intership disseration but the problem is the uni doesn't help students to find an internship you have to do it yourself.

I've picked up a few career booklets/ brochures at school but I still feel uncertain as to how I should structure my cv and what the procedure is here for applying to companies for an internship (I am searching for an actuarial internship). I am also not sure what to say in my cover letter. I get the impression that job hunting here may be slightly different than elsewhere and I am not sure how to go about it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

English is my mother tongue and I'm currently learning french, I've been told not being well versed in the local language could be a hinderance.My question is how much of a hinderance? Should I do 2 versions of my cv? One in english and one in french?

Depends where you send your CV. I would do it in both, but if you are emailing, it might pile up into a huge file. If it is an international or very big company, send it in English. If it is smaller or local, send it in Fr. Cover letter, in Fr. Threre is no real advice out there for those who need to hunt down an internship. It's pretty much just like getting a job.