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Industrial placements
Why undertake a placement?
All full-time taught Masters courses in the School of Computing can optionally be combined with a work placement of between 8 and 50 weeks. Placements provide an opportunity to work in real-life, technical and business roles putting into practice knowledge gained from the MSc course and developing new skills. They are also an ideal way to get a clearer picture of current graduate careers in computing and IT. The experience gained gives an extra edge when applying for jobs in the future. All placements attract a salary, with the 2010-11 average (outside London) being £16,000 for a full year.
Who can I work for?
Our Placements Team has links with hundreds of companies from numerous industries, both in the UK and overseas. Major employers include Cisco, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Accenture Technology Solutions, Xerox, HSBC, GSK and Eli Lilly. While most students undertake UK-based placements, there are also opportunities overseas. At the time of writing we have placement students working in the USA and Hong Kong.
What help is available?
The Placements Team will help you identify suitable opportunities, make applications and prepare for interviews. They will also monitor and support you during your placement.
During your MSc course you will receive details from over 100 companies requiring placement students, some of whom will be recruiting for several students at once. There will also be a series of presentations by employers visiting the School of Computing. The Placements Team gives practical support by:
- checking your CV (resume), letters and applications;
- holding an up-to-date copy of your CV on file ready to forward to companies at your request;
- helping you prepare for interviews, e.g. by running mock (practice) interviews;
- helping you prepare for assessment centres, e.g. by running mock assessment centre sessions;
- providing a range of general advice, e.g. who to apply to, handling job offer situations, etc.
Please note we cannot guarantee that every student will find a placement.
Placements in
the USA are only available to UK, EU and USA nationals.
Once the placement begins each student is assigned an Industrial Supervisor by the employer, who is responsible for directing their work. Ongoing support is provided by the Placements Team, a member of whom will normally visit the workplace at least once during the placement to check the student is integrating successfully and the type of work being undertaken is appropriate. For short placements or those located overseas the visit may be replaced by a formal telephone/Skype meeting. If the placement is longer than 6 months there will normally be two visits or telephone/Skype meetings.
When do placements start?
Most placements begin after students have completed their MSc project, which is the final part of the academic course, typically in late September. However, some employers may prefer students to begin earlier. This is most likely for companies offering short summer internships. In such cases, subject to approval, students may defer their project and return to complete it when their placement has finished.
How are placements assessed?
Placements are assigned a mark which counts towards your degree result. The mark is based on records of the work undertaken and reports submitted by the student with input from the employer and the Placements Team.
Note
This web page provides advance information about courses in the coming academic year. We believe the details are accurate at the time of writing but they may be subject to change.