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Degree programmes with an integral industrial placement offer students the opportunity to spend the fourth year of their degree in paid employment. Placements vary considerably but in general terms, students are placed in an industrial, commercial or research environment where they will obtain a breadth of practical experience to complement their degree programme. Students who successfully complete a year in industry and the associated assessments graduate with an MSci (undergraduate Masters degree) instead of a BSc. following completion of their honours year.
All degree programmes offered by the School of Medical Sciences, with the exception of 'Applied Sports Science – Education', offer the opportunity for students to undertake a year’s placement. 'Applied Sport Science – Education' operates its own placement scheme, further information regarding which can be obtained from the School of Education.
When you start to investigate what employers are looking for in their graduate recruits you will discover that they request an impressive list of skills, knowledge and experience. Graduate employers welcome ‘transferable skills’ acquired during a work placement, such as communication, numeracy, use of IT, group work and time management to name but a few.
Completing an industrial placement allows you to experience workplace culture and makes you a more effective employee following graduation. Increasingly, placements or periods of work experience are being used as a tool by employers for pre-selecting the best students for graduate roles. Your industrial placement year may therefore become a passport to employment where employers consider a work placement as a central part of their graduate recruitment processes.
All students who are studying for a degree within the School of Medical Sciences (apart from Applied Sports Science – Education) are eligible to apply to undertake a year’s industrial placement. However:
Students will not be permitted to take a year’s placement if they do not fulfill the above criteria.
The application process for placements starts at the end of September of the year prior to the placement commencing and can continue, with placements being advertised, well into the second semester.
The University is notified of a number of available placements each year in a variety of companies. Such placements are advertised to students enrolled on the preparatory course BT 3006 – Working Out! Placement and Career Skills. Students select and apply for placements as though applying for a job but help and advice are given throughout the process by the Industrial Placement Co-ordinator, Dr Allison Carrington. Students are also free to seek their own placements but must discuss this in advance with the Industrial Placement Co-ordinator. Further details regarding the application process can be obtained by contacting Dr Carrington (a.carrington@abdn.ac.uk) or by telephone at 01224 437526.
The Careers Service provides invaluable help in preparing CVs and application letters along with advice on interview technique. In addition they offer workshops on Psychometric Testing and Assessment/Selection Centres and should be consulted regularly by students seeking a placement.
Please note that applying for a placement is like applying for a job. Placements are very competitive and even if students fulfill all the above criteria they are not guaranteed a placement. However, the Industrial Placement Co-ordinator will make every effort to assist students to maximise their chances of success.
Students remain registered with the University throughout their placement year and have the full support of the Industrial Placement Co-ordinator during this time. As they are still registered with the University, students are required to pay tuition fees during their placement year but these are usually covered by their funding body.
Students are paid by the company for which they are working during their placement year and must abide by the rules and regulations of that company. Levels of pay will vary from company to company and details of remuneration and holiday entitlement will be given when placements are advertised. Students who carry out their placements in some European Union countries may also be eligible to receive extra funding through the ERASMUS scheme. Details relating to the ERASMUS scheme will be made available to eligible students.
During their year in industry students are required to submit a number of short reports on their work and an essay related to the work they are undertaking. Students also prepare a thesis which is submitted at the end of their placement. Help and advice on writing these reports is given throughout the year.
At the end of their placement year students return to the University to complete their final year of study – their 'Honours' year. Early in the first semester students are required to give a short presentation on their work to academic members of staff and undergo a viva to defend their thesis. The presentation and viva, along with all the written pieces of work submitted by the students during their year in industry is used in the assessment of the placement year.
For students wanting to maximize their career opportunities we offer the complete package of Life Science degrees with Industrial Placement and Biobusiness. These 5-year MSci degrees will prepare the student for either a career in industry or a further postgraduate qualification e.g. PhD or MBA.
You can find out what it is like to go on placement by reading about Justyna's placement in MedImmune in Cambridge
