6 January 2012
Placement Base shortlisted for national award
The University of Dundee's Placement Base, which has in the past arranged a student internship in the offices of the Prime Minister as well as hundreds of other placements, has been shortlisted for a prestigious industry award.
The facility is based at Dundee’s Careers Service, and has been nominated in the Best University Placement/Careers Service category of the National Placement & Internship Awards.
The award celebrates the tireless and invaluable contributions made by university placement and careers service staff in helping students to maximise their work experience opportunities.
Other finalists include the University of Huddersfield, Lancaster University and Brunel University, with the winner set to be announced at a ceremony in London on Wednesday, 18th January.
The Dundee service impressed judges with its innovative approach to sourcing, organising and matching placements, and helping students to derive maximum benefit from these experiences. Placements have taken place from Orkney to London, and across a similarly diverse range of industries.
The Placement Base opened in October 2007, and has placed more than 600 students in specifically sourced placements since then. This figure includes more than 300 placements which have been sourced for credit-bearing Internship Modules, and the University’s Scottish Internship Graduate Certificate (SIGC), an intensive and bespoke coaching programme which provides graduates with a unique insight into industry.
Karen Sleith, Employer Marketing Manager in the Careers Service, said she was delighted that the Placement Base had been shortlisted for the award.
'There was a very strong field of 40 nominations from universities right across the UK, so to have been shortlisted is fantastic,' she said. 'It is recognition of the work we do here, and our innovative approach to securing placements for our students which significantly enhance their employability after graduation.
'We regularly source placements and work-related learning opportunities specifically for students based upon their individual requests. We also provide assistance with applications and interviews, and are often asked to shortlist candidates for employers.'
More than 2100 students and graduates are now registered with the scheme, and around 700 new employer contacts have been generated as a result of the Placement Base’s work. It is recognised externally as a model of how student employability can be developed in an innovative way and how placements can be offered to all students regardless of their degree subject.
All internship, volunteering and placement activity at Dundee’s Careers Service is coordinated through the Placement Base, which offers a comprehensive suite of internships, volunteering and job opportunities in order to assist students to develop their employability and equip them with the necessary transferable skills.
The Placement Base is highly flexible and offers students the chance to undertake placements on a credit-bearing or non-credit-bearing basis. This ensures that all students have the opportunity to carry out a placement, even if there is no compulsory internship element to their academic programme.
A range of projects and initiatives are also undertaken to support students which focus on interview techniques, enterprise skills and team building. Many students have gone on to secure graduate positions with the employers they were placed with.
The Careers Service can count internships in the office of the Prime Minister, and the Constituency Office of the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party among its placements in recent years.
Politics student Gareth Mailer undertook a placement at 10 Downing Street as part of the Careers Service’s Internship Module. He assisted the Prime Minister’s Communications Team and was involved in lobbying and briefings with the Press Office as part of his 30-hour internship.
The National Placement & Internship Awards were created by RateMyPlacement.co.uk to recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of all stakeholders involved in undergraduate work placements and internships.
The Best University Placement/Careers Service Award celebrates the tireless and invaluable contributions made in helping students apply and maximise their work experience opportunities. The shortlisted placement or careers service have been identified as having gone beyond the call of duty or simply provided incredible support, advice and information.
More information can be found at www.rmpawards.co.uk.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277 |
