Student Placement Handbook 2012/13
Contents
About this handbook
[Changes since the start of the academic year are marked in bold red.]
This handbook is for students on a placement of one year in length as part of a 'with an industrial year' programme of study.
The handbook should be read in conjunction with the School's Student Handbook: http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/internal/students/handbook/current/
Contact Information
Staying in Touch
The School will continue to use your School email address if we need to get in touch with you. It is important that you stay informed. For this you must check your School email account at least once every week. It is your responsibility to ensure that your contact details are up-to-date for the duration of the placement. You can update these on the student registration pages of the student portal at https://www.my.bham.ac.uk/. You must also provide the School (through the Industrial Placements Tutor) with the name and job title of your manager. Typically, you will provide this information on your application form to undertake a year in industry but you must let us know if the details change during your placement.
There will be two industrial visits from members of staff over the course of your placement (one in December/January and the other in April/May).
Key Staff
Industrial Placements Tutor
Dr Mirco Musolesi (until 31 December 2012)
Phone: 0121 414 4763
Email: m.musolesi@cs.bham.ac.uk
Room: 138 (Computer Science Building)
Dr Behzad Bordbar (from 1 January 2013)
Phone: 0121 414 3487
Email: B.Bordbar@cs.bham.ac.uk
Room: 116 (Computer Science Building)
Academic Advisor
You will continue to be allocated to your academic advisor from your previous years of study.
Other Important Contacts
University Senior Tutor
The University Senior Tutor is there to help and support you when academic concerns you raise remain unresolved.
Web: http://www.as.bham.ac.uk/support/seniortutor.shtml
Phone: 0121 414 7452
Email: ust@contacts.bham.ac.uk
Support for students with a disability
If any special arrangements are required by a disability or other conditions, you are advised to consult the University's Disability and Learning Support Service (DLSS) (http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/students/support/disability/index.aspx).
Support for international students
The University's International Student Advisory Service (ISAS) (http://www.as.bham.ac.uk/studentlife/international/) provides a wide range of support to international students, including advice, guidance and information on student visas.
Guild of Students Advice and Representation Centre (ARC)
The aim of the ARC is to offer free, impartial and confidential information, advice and representation on a wide range of issues to all students of the University of Birmingham.
Web: http://www.guildofstudents.com/content/788793/
Phone: 0121 251 2400
Email: thearc@guild.bham.ac.uk
Nightline
Nightline is free a and confidential listening service run by students for students, where you can talk about anything without fear of being judged, or patronised.
Web: http://www.guildofstudents.com/content/788813/
Phone: The Nightline phone lines are open from 6pm until 8am every night of term. You can find the phone number on the back of your Guild card.
Email: nightline@guild.bham.ac.uk
Information about your Placement
Benefits of an Industrial Placement
The placement year can be a very valuable part of your programme and there are many benefits that you can gain from it. These include:
- you will learn how an organisation operates
- you will acquire the interpersonal skills to be effective as part of a team
- you will gain experience of a real working environment
- you will apply theory to practice
- you will see the relevance of your own work in an industrial or commercial context
- the process of securing a placement position will provide good experience for career job applications
- you will be assisted in making career choices by your placement experience
- the placement will provide a real environment to enhance your transferable skills
- you may be offered a permanent job by the placement company
- your maturity and motivation will be increased and this may reflect on your effort in the final year and hence your degree classification
- you will be helping in forging links between the company and your University
Preparing for your Placement
Please refer to our web pages at http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/internal/programmes/2012/IndustrialYear.html for information on how to apply for the industrial year.
Having secured a placement, there are several things that you should bear in mind:
- find out about any pre-placement requirements (health checks, reading lists etc.)
- check payment details (provide bank details if required)
- check accommodation arrangements
- check travel arrangements
- check whether a CRB check is required
- be clear on how you will be assessed
- identify your own objectives for what you want to achieve in the year
Work Expectations
Remember that you will be a representative of the University of Birmingham and of the School of Computer Science, and that you are expected to behave in a professional way.
For the duration of your placement, you will become an employee of the company and as such will be required to sign a contract. This will give many in-house benefits (e.g. induction, training, access to library, computers etc., access to sports facilities etc.) but also the responsibilities and demands of industrial life. This includes the non-disclosure of any information the company decides is secret, as well as dismissal for violation of company rules, particularly those regarding safety, which may be very stringent in certain industries.
You will also be a representative of your placement provider and as such you will have responsibilities to their customers and employees. You will be expected to conduct yourself in a professional manner when dealing with internal and external clients. As a student, you must understand that your first duty is to the firm and to whoever is your line manager. At the beginning of the placement you need to know exactly what is expected of you and should take some time over a number of points which will allow the work experience to get off to the proper start:
- ensure you understand your specific objectives and work programme
- understand your line manager's role
- know who your day-to-day supervisor is, and to whom to go for advice if your supervisor is not available
- ask to have information reconfirmed if you are not sure
- define your boundaries and responsibilities with your supervisor
- make sure you understand how your performance will be assessed
- clarify if you are expected to work overtime
- familiarise yourself (where appropriate) with GLP, GMP, COSHH and Standard Operating Procedures; failure to adhere to these strict guidelines will probably invalidate anything that you do (also refer to the section on Health & Safety below)
- be frank about the errors in your work; think about the accuracy, reliability and significance of your results
The BCS Code of Conduct (http://www.bcs.org/category/6030) provides a good overview of the professional standards for software/IT professionals.
Learning Outcomes
During your industrial year, you will be registered on the 120 credit module Computer Science Industrial Placement. The learning outcomes can be found in the module description (http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/internal/modules/2012/24055.html) and are also repeated here:
On successful completion of this module, the student should be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the role of computing professionals within a company and the interactions that normally take place with other disciplines.
- Apply technical knowledge in a commercial context at an appropriate level for the student's qualifications.
- Demonstrate the standard of professional presentation and reporting skills required in industry and commerce.
- Work as a computing professional in a commercial environment, demonstrating a professional and responsible attitude.
- Work both independently and as an effective team member.
Assessment
Your assessment consists of a report and a log-book. No numerical mark is given. The year is assessed on a pass/fail basis. More information is given below.
The Year in Industry involves:
- Successfully completing at least 30 weeks of the placement. Success
is assessed during two visits by a member of the School (the
Academic Tutor) and by a report from the Industrial Tutor.
- Dates of the visits will be by arrangement between the Academic and Industrial tutors. However, the first visit should be in December or January and the second visit should be in May or June unless otherwise agreed with the Industrial Placements Tutor.
- The report from the Industrial Tutor should be a short assessment of the student's performance during the placement with respect to skills learned, project work accomplished and general work.
- Submitting a log book and a final report, which will be assessed by the
School (on a pass/fail basis).
- The log book can be maintained daily or weekly (but no less frequently) and must be signed off by the Industrial Tutor. The entries should identify what the student has been working on, studying or receiving training in for the periods in question.
- The report should be approximately 4000 words in length and be the student's introspective reflection on his or her experiences during the placement. It should relate these experiences and lessons learned to the modules taken at University and comment on how these experiences have effected the students understanding of their course and their previous views of work in industry. The report should also be signed off by the industrial tutor.
- The report and logbook are submitted at the time of the final inspection.
If you fail the placement year, you will be permitted to transfer to the degree programme without the Year in Industry component.
Health & Safety
As a student it is important that you are aware of Health & Safety at work issues. Safety awareness is your best protection against accidents. You must familiarise yourself with the Health & Safety policy and procedures of your placement provider. Ask your line manager or the Industrial Placements Tutor if you have any questions. All employees have a legal right to a safe and healthy working environment and you should be given a health and safety briefing at the start of your placement.
Whilst on placement, it is your responsibility to comply with an instruction given to you by an appropriate supervisor and to bring any questions or problems, particularly those of understanding, to the attention of your supervisor. As a student undertaking a work placement you will normally have the same legal duties as other employees in the workplace. You are required to:
- Take reasonable care of your own health and safety and that of others affected by your acts or omissions
- Co-operate with your placement provider in complying with the provider's legal duties
- Maintain commercial confidentiality
- Not interfere intentionally or recklessly with, or misuse, anything provided in the interest of health, safety or welfare
Your employer has a duty to consult all staff about health and safety issues in the workplace. They do this by either talking direct to employees or to a safety representative acting on behalf of the employees. Safety reps have certain rights and functions including the legal right to:
- represent workers in talks with the employer or the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or other safety or environmental enforcement agencies
- investigate complaints, possible hazards and dangerous incidents
- carry out regular inspections of the workplace
- take part in workplace risk assessments
(Also see http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/HealthAndSafetyAtWork/DG_10026585)
Finance
Your fee for the year will be half the standard tuition fee. More information on fees and funding is available from the University website at http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/students/fees/undergraduate/index.aspx.
You will have to pay tax and National Insurance on your earnings. You can find more information online at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/students/.
Return to Birmingham
We are looking forward to welcoming you back to Birmingham!
You will be responsible for finding your own accomodation. Housing and Accommodation can facilitate this process: http://www.has.bham.ac.uk/studentaccom/.
Before the end of your placement year, you will have to select your modules for the following year. You will be able to see the modules available online at http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/internal/programmes/index13.html. Please email Julie Heathcote (J.E.Heathcote@cs.bham.ac.uk) with your choices by the end of the summer term (14 June 2013). If you wish to discuss module choice via email, then contact either the Director of UG Studies (P.Tino@cs.bham.ac.uk), the Head of Student Development & Support (M.G.Lee@cs.bham.ac.uk) or the Industrial Placements Tutor, who will be very happy to help.
Other
We are always looking for suggestions on how to improve our Year in Industry provision even further. There will be a debriefing session when you return, but you may email the Industrial Placements Tutor at any time!
References
Much of the text in this handbook borrows heavily from the following publication:
R Wallace, B Murray and T Overton, Effective Practice in Industrial Work Placement. A Physical Sciences Practice Guide (The HEA Physical Sciences Centre, October 2009). Available online from http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/physsci/publications.