Early in the first semester the Placement Office will contact all qualified organisations to introduce the work placement process for the following semester, to clarify the conditions and to establish which of them are willing to take students on this occasion and in what numbers.

Early in the first semester the students will be briefed on the Work Placement process. They will be asked to submit written CVs, which will be reviewed with suggestions for improvement where appropriate.

Large well-established organisations are expected to pay the minimum industrial wage to students. Smaller less profitable organisations are expected to offer about half of that. However this may be waived in exceptional circumstances, e.g. a start-up company offering valuable experience.

Students will be briefed on the available organisations and requested to express preferences, if any. CVs will then be forwarded to the relevant organisations. Organisations may then follow some appropriate selection process, e.g. shortlist for interview. The module coordinator will facilitate the selection process as far as possible, e.g. schedule interviews.

Students are expected to accept the first placement they are offered during the selection process. An exception is made when a student is awaiting a response from another organisation within a week. The intention is to reward organisations for responding quickly, while giving the students some element of choice, but without unduly delaying the overall process of placing all students.

The student will maintain a weekly log of work and learning activity. This log will be signed off each week by the host organisation supervisor and will be incorporated as an appendix into the final student report. The host organisation supervisor will provide day-to-day direction to the student. The assigned academic supervisor (normally the module coordinator) will be available to either the student or the host organisation to deal with any issues that may arise. In addition the academic supervisor will visit during the placement and will separately interview the student and the host organisation supervisor to assess how well the placement is proceeding.

When a student has secured employment a portfolio covering the initial work experience is considered equivalent. Where a student is not on placement or in employment, a portfolio based on a suitably agreed project with the academic supervisor will be developed. This 'work porfolio' or agreed document is developed and signed off by the supervisor/manager or customer.

The student will source an industry relevant project. The project will be validated by a designated supervisor. The project will be in a relevant area and allow them to extend their skills, research new technologies and apply them in an appropriate context. They will will produce a final report similar to that of the work experience element reflecting elements of the process such as research, design, implementation, testing and conclusion.