CS2555 Work Placement
Department of Computer Science
Undergraduate Study Guide for 2021/22
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Module Details ........................................................................................................................................................................1
Access to Support Material and Additional Information....................................................................................................1
Introduction/aims/background ..............................................................................................................................................1
Final degree classification ....................................................................................................................................................2
Learning outcomes ................................................................................................................................................................2
Method of Teaching ...............................................................................................................................................................2
Assessment ............................................................................................................................................................................5
Late Coursework ....................................................................................................................................................................5
Deliverables and Feedback – Important Dates .................................................................................................................5
Additional Vital Information ...................................................................................................................................................6
Complaints ..............................................................................................................................................................................6
Bullying and harassment.......................................................................................................................................................6
Advice ......................................................................................................................................................................................6
Mediation .................................................................................................................................................................................6
Health & Safety ......................................................................................................................................................................7
Tuition Fees ............................................................................................................................................................................7
Returning To University – Transition Week (Final Year Projects)...................................................................................7
MODULE DETAILS
Module Leader
Department
Credits
Other staff
Dr Nour Ali
Computer Science
120 placement credits
Placement Tutors: CS Academic Staff
Contact and private study time
Tutor visits
Total
Method
Coursework
Assessment
2 hours
2 hours
100%
100%
ACCESS TO SUPPORT MATERIAL AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The majority of the teaching, learning and support material is provided electronically via the University’s
Blackboard Learn system. Note that the details provided in this study guide are based on the formal module
syllabus for this module, which sets out the agreed content, learning outcomes, assessment and teaching
methods. Module syllabus and scheme of studies documents for your programme of study can be found by on
the University’s Quality Assurance web pages.
INTRODUCTION/AIMS/BACKGROUND
The aim of this module is to:
Provide students with an opportunity to apply the knowledge gained from their course to practical
problems in real-life situations, whilst developing both subject-specific and transferable skills and
experience, which can enhance their employability and final-year study after the placement year.
You must also check your Brunel e-mail and Blackboard Learn on a regular basis. Instructions on how to set up
your devices to access webmail are available here:
https://www.brunel.ac.uk/life/study-support/computer-services/webmail
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Department of Computer Science
FINAL DEGREE CLASSIFICATION
As per Senate Regulation 2, for both BSc (Computer Science) and BSc (Business Computing) with Professional
Practice, CS2555 will contribute one third of the Level 2 profile and approximately 11% of the overall degree
calculation.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Whatever module or programme of study you are studying for at Brunel University London, there are learning
outcomes (LO) that you must meet/achieve in order to be awarded the credits which comprise the module and
programme of study. In order to get a pass grade (D- or above) in this module, you must meet these learning
outcomes below, that is, you must demonstrate ability to:
LO1: Produce a set of SMART personal objectives to plan for work-based learning
LO2: Keep accurate records of industrial activity as a means of tracing professional development
LO3: Reflect on skills and experience gained from evidence of work-based learning
LO4: Conduct yourself professionally in the work environment and in your contact with the
Placement Tutor
METHOD OF TEACHING
Starting a Placement
When you start your placement, you must keep your Placement Tutor informed of your company contact
details, especially if any of your details change during your placement so that we have the most up-to-date
information on how to contact you.
Once you have settled into your job, you must think about your objectives, and make contact with your tutor.
You must keep a log book of what you do during your placement. This will be useful to discuss your progress
and performance with your Placement Tutor and help you to provide evidence on the achievement of your
objectives.
Whilst out on placement, you must conduct yourself in a professional manner and not behave in a way that
might result in a company not considering Brunel students in the future. If the University finds that you have
acted unprofessionally, you may forfeit your placement award and further disciplinary action may be taken
against you.
Learning Objectives
You must set at least three learning objectives and an additional challenge objective that allows you to improve
your personal and professional development. Basic objectives enable you to achieve the placement learning
outcomes. Challenge objectives go beyond this, and require a level of autonomy to self-manage a task or
project, and require you to demonstrate critical analysis. Of course, jobs can change, and where appropriate,
objectives can be changed with the agreement of your Placement Tutor and manager.
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Employability Profiles
Department of Computer Science
When planning your learning objectives, you must consider the best way to develop your potential and the
skills that would be of interest to employers. Consider the following general employability profiles:
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Cognitive skills. The ability to identify and solve problems, work with information, handle a mass of
diverse data, assess risk and draw conclusions.
Generic competencies. High-level and transferable key skills such as the ability to work with others in
a team, communicate, persuade and have interpersonal sensitivity.
Personal capabilities. The ability and desire to learn for oneself and improve one's self-awareness and
performance. To be a self-starter (creativity, decisiveness, initiative) and to finish the job (flexibility,
adaptability, tolerance to stress).
Technical ability. For example, having the knowledge and experience of working with relevant modern
laboratory equipment.
Business and/or organisation awareness. An appreciation of how businesses operate through having
had (preferably relevant) work experience.
Practical and professional elements. Critical evaluation of the outcomes of professional practice,
reflect and review own practice, participate in and review quality control processes and risk
management. Employers also look for subject specific knowledge depending on the job and vocational
area concerned.
You will also need to consider the specific employability profiles for your subject area. This is important so you
can view yourself in the same way that an employer might see you, and develop the relevant employability
skills that are specific for your subject area of – Computing. A graduate in Computing typically will have the
ability to:
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Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of essential facts, concepts, principles and theories
relating to computing and computer applications.
Use such understanding in modelling and designing computer-based systems for the purposes of
comprehension, communication, prediction and the understanding of trade-offs.
Demonstrate computational thinking and its relevance to everyday life, including redundancy and the
diversity to achieve the development of safe and critical systems.
Use criteria and specifications appropriate to specific problems, and plan solutions.
Ensure a computer system meets the standards defined for current use and future development.
Recognise simplicity and elegance as useful concepts, but also bad and dangerous practices.
Deploy appropriate theory, practices and tools to analyse, specify, design, implement and evaluate
computer-based systems, including trade-offs and quality attributes of a chosen solution.
Present succinctly to a range of audiences (orally, electronically or in writing) rational and reasoned
arguments that address a given information handling problem or opportunity, including assessments
of the impact of new technologies.
Recognise the professional, moral and ethical issues involved in exploiting computer technology and
be guided by appropriate professional, ethical and legal practices.
Exhibit practical and transferable skills, including relevant approaches to group activity.
Work as a development team member, recognising the different roles within a team and different
ways of organising teams.
Operate computing equipment, taking account of its logical and physical properties and any risk and
safety aspects.
Deploy information retrieval skills (including using browsers, search engines and catalogues).
Use available tools to construct and document computer applications.
Exercise numeracy skills and use effectively general IT facilities.
Take a disciplined approach to all aspect of computer design, sustaining own knowledge to
accommodate rapid technology changes.
Manage own learning and personal development, including using time management and
organisational skills, with a focus on lifelong learning and professional development.
You may find it useful to identify examples of your own skills development during the placement and map these
against the list of qualities and attributes typically desired by employers. This would be of great assistance in
translating your learning experiences into a language helpful to employers.
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Department of Computer Science
Deliverables and Feedback
You must prepare and submit all coursework according to the Department's instructions for assessments, which
are available on Blackboard. You must make sure that you are fully aware of the Department's policy on
plagiarism and the marking of joint work. You must also be aware that you cannot later claim that you did not
know the rules and regulations as you must make yourself familiar with them. If you cannot complete any work
on time, you must look at the Department’s instructions on what to do. The Department policy is that all
coursework must be submitted electronically via the Wiseflow system. Please navigate to the pages for this
module for further details. You will get feedback on your performance via the Placement system. If do not
receive your feedback by the given date, you should first contact the module leader. If it proves necessary, you
should also contact your Level Coordinator.
Method of Tutoring
Each student on a placement is assigned a Placement Tutor. Your Level 2 tutors automatically become your
interim Placement Tutors. Until the final tutor allocation is made, you can refer any queries to your Level 2
tutor. Where this is not feasible then you should contact the Module Leader. The final tutor allocations are
usually completed by the start of the academic year (late September / early October) and then from that point
onwards your allocated Placement Tutor will become your first point of contact with the University and your
personal tutor. You will receive an email notifying you that the allocation has been completed. Please check the
blackboard area and check your university email. It is very important that you maintain regular contact with
your tutor throughout the placement and not rely on the visit/s as the only point of contact.
Tutor Responsibilities
Your placement tutor's responsibilities are to:
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Agree the objectives which you set for yourself in the placement.
Mediate any issues that may arise during your placement.
Provide feedback, in collaboration with the manager/supervisor.
Visit you at least twice during your placement (see section ‘Tutor Visits’ below)
o Visit 1 should take place in October/November
o Visit 2 should take place in Feb/March
Record the outcome of each visit on a visit form.
Assess your placement by marking the portfolio.
Tutor Visits
Your allocated tutor will visit you twice during your placement. It is YOUR responsibility to arrange both tutor
visits and make sure that your manager is available to meet your Tutor. Failure to organise either visit by the
deadline will result in an automatic FAIL. The visit process can be broken into two distinct stages as follows.
1. Pre-visit
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Each visit comprises a 1-hour meeting between you and your placement tutor, followed by a 45-minute
meeting between your tutor and your manager.
Your tutor will complete the visit form (available on Blackboard) which you can use as a guidance to
prepare for the meeting.
Arrange and record the date of Visit 1, no later than 1st of November 2021 and Visit 2, no later than 7th
of March 2022.
2. Visit
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Visit 1 must be conducted by 1st of December 2021 and Visit 2 by 1st of April 2022.
During a visit, your tutor will talk to you, and separately to your manager, about how your placement
is progressing.
Your tutor will check the tasks mentioned in the visit form and record the outcome of the meetings.
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Department of Computer Science
3. Video Recording: You will submit a 3-minute video recording between the 10th and the 17th of January
2022. The video will be a recording of yourself describing your placement work activities, the skills you are
gaining and how you envision the placement will improve your career development. You will use the
placement system to submit a link of the video.
Notes.
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It is your allocated Placement Tutor that visits you, so there is no need to make visit arrangements
with your Level 2 (interim) tutor.
Arrange each visit well in advance, as both your tutor and your manager will have busy diaries.
Ensure that your tutor is given adequate travel information; arrange parking if necessary and ensure
names and contact numbers for you and your manager are up to date.
In exceptional cases, a face-to-face visit may not be possible or may have to be conducted remotely
(e.g., if the placement is some distance away or due to COVID social distancing measures). You are
responsible for creating the video call and sending an invitation to your tutor and manager.
Problems During Your Placement
If you encounter problems during your placement, DO NOT RESIGN. Resignation, as indeed dismissal, will almost
always constitute automatic failure of the placement. Contact your Placement Tutor as soon as issues arise. If
it is an emergency, or for whatever reason you cannot talk to your Placement Tutor, the following contacts may
be helpful for you.
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CS Placements Leader: Dr Nour Ali (Nour.ali@brunel.ac.uk)
CS Placements Administration:
o Maria Rodriguez Calvo (Maria.Rodriguez-calvo@brunel.ac.uk)
o Karen Tossell (Karen.Tossell@brunel.ac.uk)
ASSESSMENT
Your final grade will be determined through your placement portfolio. Full details of each assessment task and
the associated marking scheme should be prepared in a separate document.
LATE COURSEWORK
The clear expectation is that you will submit your coursework by the submission deadline stated in the study
guide. In line with the University’s policy on the late submission of coursework (revised in July 2016),
coursework submitted up to 48 hours late will be accepted, but capped at a threshold pass (D- for
undergraduate or C- for postgraduate). Work submitted over 48 hours after the stated deadline will be graded
as Non-Submission (NS), without accepted Mitigating Circumstances. Work submitted more than 5 days late
will not normally be accepted.
DELIVERABLES AND FEEDBACK – IMPORTANT DATES
You should prepare and submit all coursework according to the Department's instructions for assessments
which are available on Blackboard Learn. You should make sure that you are fully aware of the Department's
policy on plagiarism and the marking of joint work. You should also be aware that you cannot later claim that
you did not know the rules and regulations as you must make yourself familiar with them. If you cannot
complete any work on time, you should look at the Department’s instructions on what to do. The Department
policy is that all coursework must be submitted electronically via the WiseFLOW system. Please navigate to the
Blackboard Learn pages for this module for further details. You will get feedback on your performance via the
WiseFLOW system. If do not receive your feedback by the given date, you should first contact the module
leader. If it proves necessary, you should also contact your Level Co-ordinator.
The important dates:
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In the table below, the key dates and tasks associated with the assessment for the module are set out.
Department of Computer Science
Task
Assignment title
Available on
Submission
Feedback due
Weighting (%)
Blackboard
deadline
V1
Visit 1
Oct/Nov 2021
2 weeks after visit
*
V2
Visit 2
Feb/March 2022
2 weeks after visit
*
V3
Video
17th of Jan 2022
31st of Jan 2022
*
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T1
Placement portfolio
1/10/2021
6 May 2022
20/6/2022**
100%
* - Failing to organise either visit will result in an automatic fail.
** - Tentative, subject to final date of Board of Studies meeting.
Note: the deadline date ends at @ 11:00AM GMT (e.g., if the deadline is 1 February, it means the deadline is
up to 11:00AM GMT on 1 February)
ADDITIONAL VITAL INFORMATION
The College Student Handbook can be found on the University’s web pages. The handbook is a useful source of
information for all aspects of your studies, including procedures of how to inform us of problems you are facing
with your studies, how to apply for an extension to your coursework, plagiarism, house style for assignments,
joint and group work submissions and other important matters. The Department assumes that you familiarise
yourself with this information, so you will need to look at these pages carefully at various times throughout
your studies. The Department also operates within the rules and regulations of the University more generally,
and you should also look at what are known as 'Senate Regulations’ under the University’s web pages. These
policies and procedures might change from one academic year to another and it is in your own interest to keep
yourself aware about them and their possible changes.
COMPLAINTS
Whilst we hope that your placement experience is fulfilling and rewarding, you are entitled to bring complaints
about your placement experience should you feel it is necessary. Whether the complaint is dealt with by the
University or by the employer or Placement Provider, is decided by which organisation has responsibility for
the incident being complained about. For example, complaints about human resource issues will be dealt with
by the employer or Placement Provider, but academic and / or University pastoral care matters will be dealt
with by the University in accordance with the University’s Complaints Procedure. If you wish to raise a complaint
regarding your placement experience, but are unsure who has responsibility for dealing with the complaint,
please contact your Placement Tutor in the first instance, or consult the ‘Problems During Your Placement’ for
an up-to-date list of contacts with whom to discuss the matter.
BULLYING AND HARASSMENT
If you think that you are being bullied, harassed or discriminated against by staff of the employer or placement
provider whilst on placement, please refer to the Equality Policy: Student Work Placement Policy and Student
Work Placement Guideline. If you think that you are being bullied, harassed or discriminated against by students
or staff of the University whilst on placement, please refer to the Dignity at Study Policy.
ADVICE
The Advice & Representation Centre (ARC) of the Union of Brunel Students (UBS) can supply independent
information and advice about submitting a complaint. The ARC website address is
https://brunelstudents.com/adviceservice/ and you may contact them via email: advice@brunel.ac.uk or by
telephone on (+44) (0)1895 269169.
MEDIATION
To resolve your University complaints, you can also use the University’s Mediation Service at any time. The
University's Mediation Service is a free, confidential and impartial service aimed at resolving University
concerns in a quick and informal fashion. You can refer your University complaint to mediation even if you have
started the University Complaints Procedure. In that case, the University will normally suspend the investigation
of your complaint while the mediation process continues. This is because the mediation may resolve all or some
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Department of Computer Science
of the complaint issues. If mediation is unsuccessful, you can ask for the investigation of your complaint to be
continued. In this case, you will be provided with revised time limits in which to continue your complaint.
Further information about mediation can be obtained from the by emailing studentmediation@brunel.ac.uk.
You can also obtain information on mediation from the Advice & Representation Centre (ARC) of the Union of
Brunel Students (UBS). The ARC website address is https://brunelstudents.com/adviceservice/ and you may
contact them via email: advice@brunel.ac.uk or by telephone on (+44) (0)1895 269169.
HEALTH & SAFETY
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, 1992 (MHSW) are concerned with the management
of health and safety and cover all places of work. Management, whatever the place of work, is required to
comply with regulations and ensure that the workplace is safe. "Safe" is where risks have been controlled to a
level required by specific regulations, or so far as is reasonably practicable if there is no specific regulation in
place. It is important for those embarking on a career to become aware of their responsibilities for themselves
and others, and become knowledgeable concerning health and safety for when they are employed in a
management position.
Dependent upon the employer there will be either a formal or informal induction. Information will be given to
you within this on health and safety. The complexity of the work will determine whether you will be given
written and/or verbal instructions which must be followed. Failure to follow instructions from management
that are connected to health and safety could lead – in the case of accident, to employees as well as employers
being held liable. It is useful to remember when you are in a management position later in your career, that you
will become responsible for health and safety omissions for those whom you are responsible, even though
these people are themselves also responsible for their own omissions. If you have any concerns for your own
safety, or for others, you should, in the first instance, approach your immediate supervisor for clarification. If
this concern cannot be resolved, then you should follow the standard workplace procedures for raising health
and safety problems which could include the local safety advisor. You must inform your Brunel University work
placement supervisor of all unresolved health and safety problems. If you are in doubt concerning any aspect
of the work activity, you should ask. Your Health and Safety will be protected by complying with the workplace
regulations and your own common sense. For further Health and Safety Guidance for the placement of
students, please contact Brunel Health and Safety.
TUITION FEES
Although you are working for an external organisation during your placement year you are still part of the
University and the department continues to provide support for your welfare and academic development. You
will have to pay fees during this year, which are at a significantly reduced rate. Consult the fee pages on the
University web pages for more information on undergraduate study finance.
RETURNING TO UNIVERSITY – TRANSITION WEEK (FINAL YEAR PROJECTS)
The week following the end of exams has been set aside as the University’s Transition Week, which focuses on
preparing you for the move between levels of study, or into careers. Various events will be held during this
week on campus to give you a kick-start on the upcoming academic year. The Department of Computer Science
holds a tailored event for all our returning placement (and L2 students) that allows you to find out more about
major modules, such as the Final Year Project (FYP). Please check the Transition Week schedule once it is
published (May 2022). If you are returning for the FYP event, please let your employer know well in advance
that you will be required to attend the University at this time; the date to be confirmed once the schedule is
published.
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