Rationale 

It is well recognised in Higher Education that graduates who have participated in work based learning during their studies have enhanced their employability prospects once they leave university¹. Almost half of the employers who took part in the High Fliers Annual Review of graduate vacancies commented that graduates who have had no previous work experience at all are unlikely to be successful during the selection process and have little or no chance of receiving a job offer².

All five departments in the Faculty of Science participate, in some way, in placement/internship activity but a review of activity had never been undertaken. More importantly, the percentage of students engaged in these activities had never been determined. This project carried out such a review so that baseline activity can be established. Additionally the perceived benefits of placement/internship activity were established by asking relevant students to complete a questionnaire. Equally as important was the request to students who have not participated in an internship or placement to complete a separate questionnaire regarding the perceived barriers to these activities. Once this information had been collated into a report, a range of resources have been developed. These are currently being compiled into a guide to support students in securing internships and placements. This will highlight existing workshops delivered regularly by the Careers Service and employers and be complemented by student interviews about their placement activity to represent their perspective on this process. This compilation of practical advice will help remove the ‘fear’ factor around securing a placement.

Methodology

This was a two year project which was completed this year. The work was undertaken by a student intern in partnership with the staff members of the project team. Their first task, which was completed in summer 2016, was to carry out a survey of the internship/placement activity across the Faculty of Science and ascertain the percentage uptake from students across the faculty. The intern consulted the External Engagement Plans created by each department and utilised an existing Employability Audit Tool³ during this activity. Using this Audit Tool assisted the identification of good practice in relation to employability and identified action points around placement activity specifically. A report summarising the findings from this work was produced in July 2016 (Appendix 1, available below).

The second phase of work took place in the first semester of the 2016/17 academic year, and the intern, with staff members of the team, created a questionnaire for students. This was circulated to all students in the faculty and the results from the questionnaires were summarised in a second report produced in January 2017 (Appendix 2, available below) and informed the preparation of resources which are now available for use.

Key findings

The range of work based placement/internship activity, that staff are aware of, which currently takes place in the faculty of science has been identified. This had not been quantified previously and is helpful to departments in the development of their external engagement plans. The range of further work based placement/internship activity which students have organised themselves has also been established. The student questionnaire results confirmed for the project team the positive benefits for students to be involved in work based activities and, more importantly, has allowed us to identify the barriers which students perceive to exist in applying and securing work based placements/internships.

Recommendations

Both reports have been shared with members of the Faculty Learning Enhancement Committee and contained the following recommendations.

• It would benefit all departments if this report was disseminated throughout the Faculty of Science to allow members of academic staff to see areas of good practice in other departments. Staff like to encourage students to do peer marking and so the writer feels it would benefit staff to do the same and take advice from those departments that have successful placement schemes.
• From talking to various members of staff within the Faculty it is clear that any integrated placements that bear credits are well organised, recorded and assessed however, little is known about placements students organise of their own accord. Therefore it is recommended that staff do more to capture informal placement activity.
• Another way of collating information on work experience placements would be to integrate questions into the registration process for students. Students have to register every year and to answer a handful of questions on top of this would be no great effort on the student’s behalf. The Careers Service has already started this process with questions about student career aspirations and goals (appendix 3, see attached).
• Annually the Careers Service vacancy database advertises around 1400 work experience opportunities. Of these over 50 are 6-12 month placements and nearly 900 are summer internships. It is recommended that all staff are made aware of this and are proactive in encouraging students to register with the Careers Service Vacancy System, which they can do via: http://strath.prospects.ac.uk/ .
• Students are not connecting the valuable experiences they have with skills employers are looking for. There needs to be an increase in education on skills and strengths students are gaining from their academic career and from extra-curricular activities. This could be done through the PDP framework. An easy online record keeper⁴ on MyPlace could be used to record other activities that students are carrying out (part-time jobs, volunteering, work shadowing). The Interactive Competency Framework⁵ is a resource that could assist communications between university staff and employers in terms of outlining the competencies that a student will develop during their degree.
• Students are being rejected from applications after just submitting their CV. PDAs could provide students with CV checklists and effective signposting to the Careers Service (appendix 4, see attached) and the resources they provide.
• There is a very real problem for students who are seeking placements but cannot afford to give up their part-time jobs. Any student playing the role of the worker should be receiving the National UK Minimum Wage.  There needs to be an increased awareness about the paid opportunities there are in work experience placements.
• Ultimately what needs to be done to remove many of these obstacles is to have a method of mapping placement activity in the Faculty of Science. It is proposed that this is done through PDP but is made a compulsory component of the first meeting students have with their PDA each academic year.
• A proposal for a Computer and Information Sciences Masters project could be put forward to design a method of capturing placement activity. An effective method of mapping placement activity in the Faculty of Science would improve the education and guidance given to students in seeking work experience placements thereby removing some of the obstacles they face. 

Next steps

The outcomes of the first year of this project have already been shared with colleagues in the faculty of science. The final outcomes will now be discussed at the Faculty Learning Enhancement Committee and methods for implementation will be agreed. The resources to support students in applying and securing work based placement/internships will be contained within a web page with case studies of students sharing their experiences of work experience. Alumni events in every department in Science are also being implemented to connect students with graduates who will share their experience and advice regarding work experience. This work was disseminated by a formal presentation and a poster at the International Innovation and Enhancement In Higher Education Conference in June 2017.

Lessons learned

We believe that this project worked well and has built significantly on the knowledge base we have on work based placement/internship activity. A key factor in this project was the engagement of a student intern as we believe this approach of working with students achieves the most beneficial results and would not propose any changes.

Timing of when the funding is made available can be slightly problematic. Once funding is secured and a selection process takes place it is usually well into the summer months before the student intern can begin work. 

Suggestions for Transferability

Students were involved in this project on a number of levels. A student intern had the lead role in surveying staff within the faculty. The student intern then interacted with a small group of students to pilot the questionnaire which had been created. The questionnaire was then shared with all students in the faculty of science. The student intern gained experience in gathering data, writing reports, preparing posters and presentation at international conferences. Longer term, the resources created will be applicable to all students in the institution.

Notes

1. http://www.cbi.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/helping-the-uk-thrive/ (To Download full report, page 90)
2. https://www.highfliers.co.uk/download/2017/graduate_market/GMReport17.pdf
3. https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/auditool.pdf
4. https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/downloads/internship_planner.pdf
5. https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/downloads/hea_competency_framework_for_student_work-related_learning__2.pdf

Attachments

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   	PDF File Appendix 1 - Full Student Transitions Report (Jul 2016) work placements.pdf	Nov 24, 2017 by Alex Buckley
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   	PDF File Appendix 2 - Full Student Transitions Report (Jan 17) work placements.pdf	Nov 24, 2017 by Alex Buckley
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   	Microsoft Word Document Appendix 3 Questions embedded into the registration process on behalf of the Careers Service.docx	Nov 24, 2017 by Alex Buckley
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