Placement Information and Guidance Notes
For
Year 2 Computing/Engineering Students
Revised July 2007
P:\IPU Documents\TUTORIALS\Placement Booklet BLUE DC.doc
CONTENTS
General Placement Unit Information
2
Purpose of the Placement Year
3
Notice board Information
6
CV and Reference Guidelines
7
Interview Information
8
Vacancy Notice Information
9
Examples: Vacancy Notices
Request for Application Form IT 20
10
11
POLICY DOCUMENTS
Equal Opportunities Policy
12
Placement Offer Procedure
13
Procedure to follow if Placement is OPTIONAL
14
Placement Insurance Policy
15
Other important information
16
1
GENERAL PLACEMENT UNIT INFORMATION
We are located in: Gateway House G0.4B
Tel: 0116 2577465/7466
Website: www.dmu.ac.uk/cseplacement
Fax: 0116 2577194
Placement Manager’s Email: sclayer@dmu.ac.uk
Placement Unit’s general Email:
placementunitcse@dmu.ac.uk
OPENING HOURS
MONDAY - FRIDAY
9.00 am – 4.30 pm
Suki Clayer
Tracey Harris
Nor Mazuita
Bhavana Patel
STAFF
Placement Manager
Placement Administrator
Placement Assistant
Placement Assistant
 Please feel free to come in and see us. If we do not see and talk to you, we
cannot help you to find your ideal placement!
 Don’t be afraid to ask for advice on finding your own placement.
We can provide you with literature which gives placement information to
send with your CV to prospective employers.
 Remember to keep the Unit up to date with any changes i.e. advise us of
any change in your circumstances, e.g.
 If you move house
 If you change mobile phone number
 If you get your own placement
 If you cannot proceed onto a placement year
 Help us to help you – keep us informed!
Suki Clayer
Placement Manager
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The purpose of the Placement Year
This guide is intended to give information on the various aspects of the industrial placement
year, and sets out the responsibilities of the parties involved:



The Employer
The University
The Student
INTRODUCTION
The Industrial Placement year is a formal part of the training of sandwich degree students, with
equal importance to a year’s academic study. It is not merely a “year out”, but a year in which
students receive a broad as possible work experience which is intended to be integrated into
the course as a whole and related to academic study. You are normally required to work a
minimum period of 48 weeks, excluding annual holidays but including statutory holidays,
commencing between July and September until the same period the following year.
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The Placement Manager who oversees
the operation of the placement as a whole.
This person is the point of contact
throughout the placement year if there are
any queries or problems relating to the
placement.
The student who is gaining
valuable work experience by
putting the theory you have
learnt on your course into
practice in the real world of
work.
The student’s
Visiting Tutor who
monitors your
progress on behalf
of the University.
(Note: When a
student is placed
overseas, the
‘Visiting’ Tutor will
not always be able
to visit the
organisation.
However, he/she
will support you
throughout the
placement via
telephone or email.)
PERSONALITIES
The five important
personalities
involved during the
placement year are
The industrial supervisor
who oversees your day to
day work and to whom you
are responsible to. This
person should be
experienced enough to be a
mentor to you so that you will
learn valuable skills for your
future life.
The employer who sets
out the terms and
conditions that you work
under and who hopefully
benefits by employing an
excellent student who can
bring new ideas into the
company and perhaps be a
future employee. The
student’s terms and
conditions should be
comparable with other
employees, e.g. they are
required to work full time
hours and receive a salary
which fits into the host
organisation’s pay
structure. You should not
be expecting a high salary,
as you are on an industrial
‘training’ year. However,
you should earn enough to
sustain yourself financially
according to the cost of
living in the organisation’s
immediate location.
4
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Just as the sandwich degree course as a whole
has its aims and objectives, so has the Industrial
Placement year.
AIMS:
OBJECTIVES:


To relate academic study to the real
world of industry.

To give experience in the application of
Engineering/Technology or Computing.

To experience aspects of the industrial
world which cannot be taught in the
classroom.


To present students with planned
industrial
experience
within
an
industrial organisation which requires a
level of intellectual participation similar
to that exercised in the academic parts
of the course.

To enable students to recognise and
define business problems and to apply
their course principles to their solution,
thereby
gaining
awareness
of
approaches to problem solving.

To develop in students an awareness
to the importance of cost, time and
human factors in the solving of
industrial problems.
To assist in the development of the
intellectual and personal attributes
required of a professional graduate.
ASSESSMENT
The student is assessed during the year, both academically and practically.
Academically, you will be required to submit one report and also keep a log
book of the work carried out at the host organisation. This must be
completed by you and signed by the supervisor each month and is viewed
by the Visiting Tutor when they discuss your progress during a visit.
The practical assessment is done by the Visiting Tutor when he visits the organisation. It is also
carried out by the supervisor who completes an appraisal document towards the end of the
placement.
CONCLUSION
You will be given an information pack by the university at the commencement of your placement
and this includes further information for the host organisation/supervisor. The importance of
recording and monitoring is to ensure that you receive the maximum amount of benefit from the
opportunities offered.
The expectation is that all students will complete a successful industrial year and will be much
more employable at the end.
5
N O T I C E BO A R D I N F O R M A T I O N
GENERAL/VACANCY/INTERVIEW
Noticeboard outside G0.4b
 Full job descriptions are advertised on the website. Jobs are
advertised on a weekly basis, usually up on Mondays, down on
Fridays.
 You should get into the habit of looking at the job website EVERY
MONDAY and the noticeboard EVERY DAY in case you have an
interview.
 Your name will be posted on the noticeboard outside G0.4b if you
get invited to an interview. If you do not respond quickly you may
miss out! However, we will try and email you too, so do check your
email regularly.
 Miscellaneous placement related information can also be found on
the website and noticeboard.
6
CV GUIDELINES
REFERENCE GUIDELINES
A CV is the key to getting you an
interview. We will be running a CV
writing seminar for each course,
followed by support from the
Careers Department and Placement
Unit Team which will help to
ensure that you have a really good
placement in place very early on in
the academic year.
It is in your interests to ensure we
have a good academic reference on
your file ASAP as it will help your
prospective employer to decide
whether to grant you an interview,
i.e. students who have a reference
have an advantage over students
without one as they are more likely
to be chosen.
HOW TO GET A REFERENCE:
 Student information for
personal tutor form.
This form can be found on the
Unit’s web page:
www.dmu.ac.uk/cseplacement
In addition to our seminar, you
should attend the Careers
‘Employability’ seminar which
includes CV writing skills. This is
included in your timetable in early
December. If you need further
individual advice, you can make an
appointment with your Personal
Tutor or the Placement Manager.
Alternatively, you can make an
appointment with Careers who
offer a walk in service.
Please ensure that you email a copy to
the Placement Team on
placementunitcse@dmu.ac.uk as we
need this as part of your registration with
the Placement Unit and for shortlisting
purposes.
You can complete this and email it
direct to your Personal Tutor.
This form is to help the Personal
Tutor to write a reference which
will then be kept on record within
the Placement Unit.
After you have emailed the form,
remember to follow this up with
your Personal Tutor to confirm the
reference has been sent to the
Placement Unit. Once we have
received this, we will send a copy
with every placement application
you make.
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INTERVIEWS
Please let the Placement Unit know immediately:
 If you are or are not able to attend interviews arranged by the Placement Unit
 When companies contact you DIRECT with offers of interview
 If companies you have contacted yourself offer an interview
 If companies contact you DIRECT with job offers (i.e. job offers and interview
details usually come through Placement Unit)

If you attend an interview but subsequently
decide you cannot accept the job if it were
offered you must inform the Unit within 24
hours of the interview taking place and you
must have a valid reason.

Once you have verbally accepted an offer of a
placement you will NOT be allowed to attend
any further interviews.
Job Interview Quotations
Vice Presidents and personnel directors of the one hundred largest corporations were asked
to describe their most unusual experience interviewing prospective employees
Candidate explained
that her long-term
goals were to replace
the interviewer.
Candidate announced she
hadn't had lunch and
proceeded to eat a
hamburger and french fries
in the interviewers’ office.
Balding Candidate
excused himself and
returned to the office a few
minutes later wearing a
headpiece.
Applicant said if he
was hired he would
demonstrate his loyalty
by having the
corporate logo tattooed
on his forearm.
Candidate said he
never finished high
school because he
was kidnapped and
kept in a closet in
Mexico.
Applicant interrupted
interview to phone her
therapist for advice on
how to answer specific
interview questions.
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VACANCY NOTICE INFORMATION
Vacancy Notices, advertising placements, appear on
the DMU website:
www.dmu.ac.uk/cseplacement
 Click on Information for Students then click on the Jobs link.
 Log on using your username and password, which can be
obtained from the placement unit once a draft (hard) copy of
your CV has been submitted.
PLEASE REMEMBER THESE
IMPORTANT POINTS:
 Follow/read the application section on each advert. Some
students' applications cannot be sent because they are not
following the correct procedure.
 DO NOT submit an IT20 ‘Request for Application Form’ form
unless asked to do so on the advert.
 You need to submit a copy of your CV and a SIGNED
covering letter each time you apply for a job unless
application is via an application form or online.
 Closing Dates are of paramount importance, i.e. if you miss
the date, your application will not be submitted.
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Vacancy notices: How the advert will appear
on our website.
Job Details
Logged In User: A Student
Log Out
Internal Links

Placement Unit

View Available Placements

Search for a Placement

Account Maintenance
Company Name
Job Title
Job Location(s)
All applicants welcome but
recommended for
Application Type
Application Type (short version)
Specific Requirements
Closing Date
Date Posted
Company Date
Job Description
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Faculty of Computing Sciences & Engineering
Industrial Placement Unit
Request for APPLICATION FORM/
ONLINE APPLICATION
NAME
COURSE
Please tick appropriate box:
I request an application form:
I wish to inform you that I have applied online:


Name of Organisation:
Position applied for/ Job Title:
Signed:
Date
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------OFFICE USE ONLY
Please complete the attached application form
Include covering letter
Include C.V.
Other


and return it to G0.4b no later than
Noon, on
Note: If you decide not to apply, please return this form to the Unit,
together with the blank application form.
FORM IT 20
11
DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF COMPUTING SCIENCES
AND ENGINEERING
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICY
We wish to ensure that all student applicants who seek
placements through us are treated equally, especially
when we shortlist them for jobs during vacation periods,
whatever their race, colour, ethnic or national origin,
nationality, religion or belief, gender, marital status,
sexual orientation, age or disability.
To achieve this, therefore, we would ask you to complete
and return the Equal Opportunities Policy form enclosed
to the Industrial Placement Unit G0.4b as soon as
possible.
NB: Your completed form will be treated confidentially.
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DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF COMPUTING SCIENCES
AND ENGINEERING
INDUSTRIAL PLACEMENT UNIT
PLACEMENT OFFER PROCEDURE FOR ALL STUDENTS
The following shall apply to all Year 2 students who are offered a
placement through the Unit:
1. Students attending interviews and subsequently deciding that they
cannot accept the placement if offered, MUST INFORM THE UNIT
WITHIN 24 HOURS of the interview taking place or they may forfeit
the right of access to the services of the unit.
2. If a student is subsequently offered the placement, they do have 24
hours to decide whether to accept the placement. After acceptance,
the student MUST go ahead with the placement year and cannot
withdraw for any reason. Only exceptional circumstances
presented with documentary evidence will be considered.
3. However, any student who does not follow the above procedures and
refuses to accept an offer of a placement following an interview other
than on the grounds of proven unsuitability, will forfeit the right of
access to the services of the Industrial Placement Unit until all other
students have been placed. Such students will be advised to find
their own placement and provide evidence of suitability.
Signed .......... .............
Suki Clayer
Placement Manager
July 2007
13
PROCEDURE FOR OPTIONAL 12 MONTH PLACEMENT STUDENTS i.e.
BSc (HONS) ENGINEERING
BSc JOINT (HONS) COMPUTING
BSc (HONS) DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY
BSc (HONS) MEDIA PRODUCTION
BSc (HONS) MEDIA TECHNOLOGY
BSc (HONS) MUSIC TECHNOLOGY
BSc (HONS) RADIO PRODUCTION
BSc (HONS) AUDIO RECORDING TECHNOLOGY
1.
Second year students are encouraged to register with the Industrial
Placement Unit (IPU) from the beginning of the academic year in
September. Deadline for registration will be 21 December. This is to
avoid pressurising students who are uncertain about registering too early.
2.
Students register by completing a Registration Form. They then submit this
to the Placement Unit in G0.4b
3.
Students who wish to withdraw from the placement process subsequently
must do so in writing. Letters must be sent to the Placement Manager.
4.
Students who have been offered and accepted a job will not be allowed to
withdraw. For this reason, it is important that if a student attends for an
interview and decides that the job is not suitable, he/she should make that
clear in writing to the IPU within 24 hours of the interview taking place.
Failure to follow this procedure will mean the student will not be allowed the
use of the Placement Unit
5.
A student who is offered a job has 24 hours to decide whether to accept.
Failure to accept, after this time lapse, will mean the student will be
withdrawn from registration.
6.
Once a job has been offered and accepted the student must go ahead with
the placement. Students who withdraw from the placement will NOT be
able to proceed with the course until the following academic year.
PLACEMENTS ON ALL OTHER COURSES ARE NOT OPTIONAL
BUT A MANDATORY PART OF THE COURSE.
14
UNIVERSITY’S PLACEMENT INSURANCE POLICY
The following is a brief outline of the University’s Insurance arrangements as they
affect students.
1. Personal Accident
Whilst the University is insured to cover its legal liability for claims arising
from injuries where the negligence of the Institution or its employees can be
established, it does not provide Personal Accident insurance for students,
therefore, students are strongly encouraged to make their own
arrangements in this respect.
Firms and organisations whom students are visiting or with whom they are
placed should have both Public and Employers liability insurance in place to
cover their liability for negligence in the event of a student being injured and
the Faculty and Placement Unit to ensure that this aspect is checked before
visits and placements are arranged.
2. Personal Property
The University does not accept liability for loss and/or damage to personal
property, and students should be advised to make their own insurance
arrangements in this respect.
3. Vehicles
The University does not accept liability for third party claims arising out of
the use by students of their own vehicles for course visits, placements and
travel between campuses. Individual insurers must therefore be informed
and policies adjusted to reflect vehicle use outside the standard “social and
domestic” cover.
4. International Policy
Students on placements abroad must make an appointment with the
Placement Unit.
15
CRB AND POLICE CHECK
If you are applying for placements in schools, colleges or any institution
requiring CRB or Police checks, please be aware that if your CRB is not
satisfactory, you could be dismissed and it is your responsibility to disclose
any relevant information to the organisation.
PLACEMENT FEES
Please be aware that you will have to pay half of your tuition fees on your
placement year. This is to cover tutor and University support, assessments
and general administration costs etc.
ADDITIONAL ADVICE
Student Services are available for advice and counselling.
Before signing a work placement contract, we recommend that you get
independent legal advice. Possible places for advice are available from
Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), Students’ Union (SU) and Student Law Clinic.
16