The aim of the module is to provide students with experience of an industrial environment and to assess operational aspects of the placement provider, its products, working practices and management structure.  Students are expected to work as normal employees of the placement provider and develop a range of skills and knowledge in the context of their placement.  The specific aims of the module are:

1) To have an appreciation of:

• The management and organisational structure of the company.
• Principal roles of company personnel.
• Strategic plans (as published).
• Processes for ordering goods and/or services.
• Processes for processing orders and/or services.
• Financial controls that are in place to ensure that costs are controlled.
• The company''s accounts.
• Decision making processes withi n the company.
• Process function in the company to ensure delivery of quality in services and/or products.
• Any related ethical policies.
• Sustainability of product lines or services.

2) To develop a range of practical skills related to commercial environments.  Students should gain, where appropriate, hands-on experience of:

• The process for producing products and/or services.
• Organising of documentation and/or work flows.
• Setting of realistic deadlines with the expectation of on-time delivery.

3)  To develop general transferable skills with respect to:

• Effective communication (written, audio and visual).
• Ability to work within a team, towards achieving a common target.
• Leadership and managerial skills.
• Time and resource management.
• Enhanced ability for self-learning.

Experience of working practices in the context a commercial organisation.

A critical understanding of the nature of the managerial structure of commercial organisations.

A comprehensive understanding of the working practices of commercial organisations.

A comprehensive appreciation and understanding of documentation (paper trail) related to employment and relevant employment legislation.

This module contains the generic work experience elements of the second year placement for the 2 year Computer Science MSc degree programmes. The students on placement will learn about the general organisational structure of the placement provider, how it reports financial data, how it manages people and performance, and how it complies with legal requirements such as risk assessment and ethical approval.  Placement students will work as normal employees of the placement provider, maintaining a good record for both attendance and the completion of tasks assigned by their line manager, for a minimum period of 30 weeks.

Work Placement - The module will be one element of an industrial placement and it will be situated at the premises of the placement provider.

The attendance record of the student should be deemed satisfactory by the placement provider.

Portfolio - A dossier of information required for assessment should be collated.

Submission of a single portfolio (may be electronic submission) containing the following (personal and/or confidential information may be redacted from the submission):

1. Contract of employment
2. Evidence of at least 30 weeks placement with the placement provider (e.g. timesheets, payslips / letter from line manager).
3. Copy of the company''s policy on risk assessment for Health and Safety regulations.
4. Evidence that the student understands the placement provider''s risk assessment policy (e.g. letter from line manager).
5. Copy of the company''s policy on ethical approval (or similar).
6. Either evidence that student has followed ethical approval policy or letter from line manager to the effect that no ethical approval was required.
7. Copy of the company policy on performance management and/or performance appraisal.
8. Either evidence that the s tudent has followed performance appraisal procedures or letter from line manager to the effect that no appraisal was required.
9. Organisational chart of the company, i.e. who reports to whom.
10. Recent publicly available financial results of the company.
11. Weekly log book initialled by the line manager.