Your Placement Journey Toolkit is designed to support you to get the best from your placement experience. It will help you to think about your placement, looking at your expectations, recognising your own responsibilities alongside those of your university and placement provider.

Aligned with the Engineering Placements Toolkit, designed for education institutions and employers, this toolkit aims to support your placement experience in three key stages: before, during and after placement.

 

Oishi Deb is a software and electronics engineering undergraduate at University of Leicester. She has finished her second year and is currently doing a yearlong placement at Rolls Royce where she is enjoying the opportunity to apply her knowledge in real world projects and also learn new skills that will benefit her future professional career.

Tell us about what you are doing in your placement and how did you find it.

I am working in Control – Software Engineering at Rolls Royce. I am part of the software design team for the Corporate, Small and Medium sized Engines (CSME). I am working on various software related work for the aircraft’s engine control system. I am also getting involved with the Electro-Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) testing software and learning more about the aircraft’s engine control system and safety critical software. I am really enjoying this experience and I find it very interesting as it’s very much related to my course.

I started researching various placement opportunities and applied to few companies. On the same time, I started preparing myself for interviews, assessment centre etc. I really wanted to work at Rolls Royce so I applied on their website by completing the online application. Once my online application was accepted, I was invited to complete a series of online tests and once I passed that I was invited to the Assessment Centre. The Assessment Centre was a whole day session which started with the numerical test, presentation, competency based interview, team challenge and finally the technical interview. It went really well and I really enjoyed that experience. Following that, within 48 hours I received a call from them and I was so delighted to know that they offered me a placement role.

What are you enjoying the most and the least in your placement?

So far the experience has been really good because I always wanted to do it and having this opportunity to experience that, is really satisfying. I have enjoyed every bits and piece of the work I get involved with. To be able to get involved with the development process of safety critical software is been a great experience. I am really enjoying the opportunity to see how the theory knowledge learned in University is actually been used in real world practical projects.

Additionally, I volunteered in few STEM (Science Technology Engineering Maths) events as a Rolls Royce’s representative. These events are targeted to young people to encourage them towards STEM subjects. Following one such event, the head of the Control-Software engineering personally sends me a thank you letter for my contributions to these events. That’s been the best part so far during my placement.

I haven’t found anything that I have enjoyed the least. When I started, everything was quite new so I adapted to that situation, it was more like interacting with people and finding out more about the team and the project work. It took a time to get settle and adapt to everything but I gradually started picking up things. Initially, it was quite challenging to understand the level of work, but I soon started enjoying the experience.

What do you consider to be the 3 most important features of a quality placement?

First feature is the opportunity to be part of such an experienced team, and to experience the real life project work. At university I do so many projects, but not anything like real life project that actually makes an impact to the business.

Second feature is the opportunity to learn different things. I am working with different programming languages and I havenÂŽt used these languages (Ada95 or SPARK) in my university, and they [Rolls Royce] gave me the opportunity to learn different programming languages and various new things.

Finally, it’s great to have the real experience of working in a company. Here they treat the interns as regular employees and they give a pretty much same amount of work. I am going to meetings every week with other team members and in those meetings, everyone talks about what they have done last week and what they will do in the next week. So, they ask me the same thing as an actual employee.

Has this experience benefited your professional and educational life?

Definitely, it helped me a lot. The knowledge and the skills I am learning is going to be so much beneficial in future. Moreover, I am developing my transferable and professional skills like adapting to a situation, interacting with new people, meeting tight deadlines etc. The company is a new world, itÂŽs not like the university, it’s a professional work environment. So this experience is really helpful because it’s good to get these experiences while I am still a student. I am getting industrial experience in the area I am really passionate about, so when I’ll graduate and will look for jobs I’ll be so much better prepared and it’s definitely a plus to my CV.

What 3 key pieces of advice would you like to share with fellow students?

I would say definitely gain an industrial experience. It doesn’t need to be for one year, you can do it for one or two months during the summer, but definitely do go for it.

Make sure to do something you are really passionate about then you will be able to enjoy it more. Companies are more likely to hire people who are passionate. They want to see if the person will be willing to learn new things or not. Here in Rolls Royce, I am learning new things every single day and I am so passionate about it.

And the last but not the least do network with people. Talk to your lecturers or career advisors, mention them that you are interested and looking for placements, they might be able to point you in the right direction or they might have contacts with some companies. You never know. So the best way is to start networking with people and don’t give up.

 

Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.

The Recruitment and Admissions Toolkit has not been updated as yet but has been left here for archive purposes.

Some toolkit content is available to members only. For best results, make sure you’re logged in.

The following provides links to a range of resources and information to help university admissions tutors and those working in recruitment and admissions roles.

And each year, in November, the Engineering Professors’ Council organises a Recruitment and Admissions Forum so that all of those involved in the recruitment and admission of students to engineering programmes in UK higher education have the opportunity to get together and share experiences and best practice, as well as hear the latest from policy makers, the funding agencies and Government.  We also provide feedback to members from the annual early enrolments survey, which provides an indication of student numbers compared with the prior year for both undergraduate and postgraduate (taught) students.

Don’t forget to check out the Tomorrow’s Engineers programme website which offers a wide range of resources to assist schools, prospective students and their advisers.  The latest range, including a leaflet entitled ‘Make a Difference to the World: Engineering at University’ may be found here.

And do take a look at this set of films, produced by the 2014 winner of the EPC’s Engaging in Engineering awards, Dr Emma Carter of the University of Sheffield – aimed at 8 to 15 year olds, their particularly useful for schools outreach activity.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for on this page, why not ask a colleague by starting a discussion?  Or feel free to drop us a line directly.

Contents:

 

Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.

The Recruitment and Admissions Toolkit has not been updated as yet but has been left here for archive purposes.

 

Engineering Council website: ‘Information for Students’.

In addition, the following are available on request from marketing@engc.org.uk,  putting IEng/CEng in the subject line.

1. A ‘Student guide to professional registration with the Engineering Council’

2. An introductory email aimed at new undergraduates.

 

Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.

The Recruitment and Admissions Toolkit has not been updated as yet but has been left here for archive purposes.

 

The EPC routinely tracks applications trends at both undergraduate and postgraduate level across all of the engineering disciplines.  We report and comment on these at our Recruitment and Admissions Forum, held in November annually.  The latest may be accessed in our Data explorer.

UCAS scheduled statistical releases.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published a report in December 2013 on the trends in applications and demand from students for postgraduate study.

 

Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.

The Recruitment and Admissions Toolkit has not been updated as yet but has been left here for archive purposes.

 

The EPC reviews and reports on graduate engineers’ ability to gain employment on leaving university.  The latest information may be accessed by members in our Data explorer.

 

Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.

The Recruitment and Admissions Toolkit has not been updated as yet but has been left here for archive purposes.

 

A brief guide to the Scottish educational system: for admissions tutors elsewhere.

Pupils in Scotland move from primary to secondary school one year later than in England and (traditionally) from school to university one year earlier, around age 17. The state school system is almost entirely homogeneous and comprehensive. University degrees are a year longer to compensate for the earlier entry. Thus a BEng typically takes 4 years and MEng takes 5 years. Engineering programmes are usually specialised from the start but most Scottish bachelors degrees provide a broad programme in the first two years followed by specialised honours courses in the final two years; in general Scottish education places a higher emphasis on breadth than in England.

National qualifications are administered by a single Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). For many years pupils have taken the following set of examinations.

It is tempting to compare the qualifications with GCSE, AS and A levels but there are significant differences.

This picture is evolving as a result of the Curriculum for Excellence, currently pro­gressing through secondary schools. Major changes have occurred in primary and the earlier years of secondary education but the impact on pre-university qualifications may be small.

Helpful publications

John Davies, revised 2014-12-06

 

Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.

The Recruitment and Admissions Toolkit has not been updated as yet but has been left here for archive purposes.

 

Developments in Pre-University Education Classification of Vocational Qualifications and the Tech Bacc.

There have been some developments as far as the Government’s classification of qualifications into ‘Technical Level’ (which was originally called ‘Occupational’), ‘Applied General’ and ‘Academic’.  It is understood that ‘Occupational’ was meant to mean specialist craft/technician qualifications and the Government envisioned them not to be a “normal” route to higher education.

The scene changed considerably during 2014.  The larger BTEC engineering qualifications have moved from being classified as ‘Applied General’ to ‘Technical Level’.  Only the smaller BTEC Engineering Certificate (equivalent to one AS qualification) is left in the ‘Applied General’ category.

There may be two reasons for this:

  1. Following the consultation (in 2013) the Government agreed that ‘Technical Level’ qualifications could be used for entrance to university.
  2. The new Technical Baccalaureate (Tech Bacc) performance measure only recognises ‘Technical Level’ qualifications, not ‘Applied General’.

Relevant documents can be found at:

The City and Guilds Technical Baccalaureate

City and Guilds officially launched their ‘TechBac’ qualification in, among other subjects, Engineering, Construction and IT. (This should not be confused with the Government’s Tech Bacc which, like the EBacc, is not a qualification, merely a performance measure.)  The TechBac claims to be a blend of technical qualifications, a project qualification and a work placement.  There appear to be two Level 2 TechBac qualifications (presumably of different sizes).  Both involve a free-standing ‘Level 2 Higher Project’ and either a Technical Award or Technical Certificate in Engineering.  A Level 3 TechBac is termed an ‘Advanced TechBac’ and it comes in three sizes: Certificate, Extended Certificate and Diploma.  All have the free-standing ‘Level 3 Extended Project’ as a mandatory component.

The Pearson Edexcel BTEC Nationals

Most of the Level 3 BTEC National qualifications are now in the Tech Level category and therefore qualify to be included in the Government’s Tech Bacc.  The BTEC Nationals are being revised and teaching to the new specification will start in 2016.  This means that university admission tutors are unlikely to see the new qualifications before the 2018 entry.  There is very little detail at the time of writing this paper as to the content of the new qualifications.

Edexcel are changing the names of their national qualifications and the following table is an interpretation of the changes:

GLH* A Level Equivalent 2010 National 2016 National
180 0.5 Certificate —
360 1.0 Subsidiary Diploma Award
540 1.5 90-Credit Diploma Subsidiary Certificate
720 2.0 Diploma Certificate
1080 3.0 Extended Diploma Diploma

* GLH = Guided Learning Hours

One thing to note is that the various sizes of BTEC qualifications do allow the mixture of BTEC and A Level qualifications.

Currently, the best information on the 2016 Nationals can be found at:

Developments at Level 2

Awareness of the new school performance measures, Progress 8 and Attainment 8, is increasing and they will certainly be a great improvement on the best-5 GCSEs, which they replace from 2016.  The English Baccalaureate stays but its importance may decline.

There is a range of GCSE-sized engineering qualifications that have been approved by the Government to be counted in Progress-8 and Attainment-8 metrics.  In the areas of engineering and construction, these include:

University Technical Colleges (UTCs) are now able to blend GCSEs with these Level 2 vocational qualifications without their league table position being compromised.  Up to 3 vocational qualifications can be included.  Further information can be found at:

Teaching of the new versions of GCSE Science qualifications are due start in 2016.  The new much tighter Key Stage 4 specifications for science mean that the old modular structure for science will no longer be practical.  Schools will not be able to mix the teaching of combined and single science subjects as the additional material covered in the single sciences is spread throughout the topics.  The Combined Science GCSE will be double-weighted.  No single Combined Science will be available.  The new specifications can be found at:

The tighter specifications mean that there will be less variation between awarding bodies and that would have made the design of A level sciences easier – had their revision been delayed until 2018.

 

Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.

The Recruitment and Admissions Toolkit has not been updated as yet but has been left here for archive purposes.

 

UCAS provides a useful set of links to information about student finance in each of the devolved administrations:

 

Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.

The Recruitment and Admissions Toolkit has not been updated as yet but has been left here for archive purposes.

 

There is considerable anecdotal evidence that students who have studied Further Mathematics find the transition to the mathematics taught and used in an undergraduate engineering programme much easier. A report published by the Institute of Physics in 20111  found:

“Those students who had studied further mathematics to A- or AS-level standard reported coping better with the mathematical content of the degree, and as such perceived that they required less additional support throughout their studies. Many students and academics felt that studying further mathematics should therefore be made a requirement of studying physics or engineering at university.”

It seems then, that is in the interests of engineering departments that more students study Further Mathematics, at least to AS level, which introduces them to complex numbers and matrices and extends their algebraic abilities.

But one of the main obstacles to future growth in the number of students taking Further Mathematics is the cost to many schools and colleges of running courses for relatively few students. Universities can play a key role in further increasing the number of students taking Further Mathematics by providing clear encouragement to students to do so through their admissions policies and in course planning.

Admissions statements and entry requirements which emphasise the importance of Further Mathematics have a strong influence on students’ subject choices and have helped to create the demand from students for Further Mathematics. The Russell Group report “Informed Choices”, which lists Further Mathematics as a facilitating subject has helped many school and college mathematics departments make the case for more Further Mathematics provision.

Engineering departments can help to promote the study of Further Mathematics and improve the prior knowledge of their students. Some examples which have been used successfully by HE mathematics departments are:

Working to promote engineering applications

The Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP) is a government-funded initiative, supported by the Department for Education and is managed by Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI).  The MEI website contains a range of resources for both teachers and students of Maths and Advanced Maths.

The Advanced Mathematics Support Programme is able to provide information for teachers and students about STEM degree courses, including the Advanced Mathematics requirements, via its network of Area Coordinators, through newsletters and at AMSP events.

These information sheets are of particular interest:

Further Maths [now Advanced Maths] Briefing for Higher Education (2013)

The current content of AS and A2 Further Mathematics (2013)

..and a network of regional university-based representatives is available for local support.

See also details and resources available from the Sigma organisation which has received HEFCE funding to enable any higher education institution in England to tap into a wealth of expertise and resources which it has developed.  Sigma, established in 2005, has been a driving force in the creation of university-wide centres dedicated to helping students to develop and improve mathematical and statistical skills. It is led by Professors Tony Croft from Loughborough University and Duncan Lawson from Newman University.

 

Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.

The Recruitment and Admissions Toolkit has not been updated as yet but has been left here for archive purposes.

 

 

Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely that of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the Engineering Professors’ Council or the Toolkit sponsors and supporters.

Let us know what you think of our website