Electrical and electronic engineering student placements

Dr Toby Whitley

Lecturer in Analogue and Digital Electronics

Why consider doing a placement year? There are several extremely good reasons, the first being professional confidence. On your placement, you will find yourself working with a whole range of professionals, from new Engineering graduates, right through to experts with years of experience. You will realise that you are no longer just a student, but a soon to be professional Engineer, who can hold their own in a company and already has the skill-set and practical experience that employers demand. You will have learned something far beyond your school subjects in only two years.

The next good reason is that companies will often sponsor or provide input for final year projects. This, along with the professional confidence gained, truly inspires students for the last years of their study - leading to a better degree classification. Impressing during your placement year significantly increased your chances of having a top job waiting for you after graduation. If not, you will certainly have that magic section on your CV - experience. Not just all the experience you’ll have gained in our labs, but industrial experience as well, which shows that, on top of knowing your subject, you can work in a company and do the job.

In terms of the structure and format of your placement year, there are a number of advantages in this as well. During your placement, you are expected to submit progress reports and a final report at the end, which is marked either as a pass or fail. What we are looking for, is for you to evidence all of the useful experiences and skills that you have gained throughout your placement, as well as any other training opportunities that you have made the most of. Your placement tutor will visit you a number of times to ensure you are being put to good use and enjoying yourself and finally to sum up and talk about next year's project along with any input that your company may wish to provide.