There are opportunities during your period of study to take up both short and long term placements. We are in contact with a wide range of companies in different sectors. Details of opportunities are advertised on a rolling basis and can give you an opportunity to work with both large blue-chip companies or smaller specialist companies.
Industrial/ Professional Placement Year
The Product Design (with a professional placement year) BSc degree course allows you to gain valuable experience for your future career while working in industry during your third year.
All Engineering courses have an optional industrial placement year assessed as an integral part of the course, leading to the award 'Course name with an Industrial Placement Year'.
Testimonials from recent graduates below give an indication of the benefits and experiences gained by doing a placement year:
Dorota Biniecka:
BSc. (Hons) Product Design, 2008 to 2012.
"I think having the possibility of completing a placement year as part of a degree is invaluable. Looking back at myself and fellow students who took this opportunity, progress that can be made even after a few months spent working within a professional environment seemed unimaginable.You become more mature, more confident, with a higher sense of responsibility. You also get a chance to apply the knowledge gained at University, and then progress from there.
During the placement there might be quieter days but usually it is a steep learning curve. Moreover, you can really identify your strengths and career path you would like to follow. The skills gained in the work environment benefit highly when going back to the final year, choosing the topic of your thesis and then managing its progress. What more important, it is possible that the placement company will be interested in supporting you with your final year project, or the relationship may result in an employment after graduation. And even it that is not the case, placement experience makes the transition from university to employment easier...more natural. That is because placement prepares you for the working life, for the application and interview process, for interacting with other professionals.
Dorota graduated with a First Class honours and is now working as a designer at Bonzer Kitchen Products in Uckfield, East Sussex.
Sam Tarrett:
BSc. (Hons) Product Design, 2008 to 2012.
"A placement for a year or just the summer is not necessarily the dream job that you may have always aspired to do but it is an opportunity to find out and try something new. You really have nothing to lose and everything to gain by choosing to do a placement year.
For my placement I worked on a long and a shorter term position to gain as much experience as I possibly could. One position was for a fire safety company and the other an engineering firm that wanted to develop and improve their design resource. The experience I gained at both was most valuable for me in more than just giving me some design work to add to my portfolio. It enabled me to understand how design works in the real world. The pressures of time, money, budgets, customers, internal politics, quality control, regulations and standards. All of which you are aware of but may not have that direct experience.
I can without doubt say (and the facts and figures will support this) that those that do a placement year, will achieve a better grade then if they had not done one. Yes, of course you can still achieve a first class honours without doing a placement year, but just remember it’s all about making yourself employable and if the person next to you also has a first but they have that years’ experience under their belt, I am pretty sure it will be their CV that will stand out more."
Sam graduated with a First Class honours and iscurrently working as a UK Design Manager at the Mars Group, London.
Career-related summer placements
Vacation work is not just about making money. Any kind of work experience says something about you as a person and potential employee, and will enhance your future employment prospects. Career-related vacation work does the same, only more so. In addition, it offers other advantages such as finding out whether you really like a particular kind of work or company before you graduate.