EUE-Net Workshop on Quality Control of Students Practical Placement in Enterprises, 7-8 February 2008, Brasov European University-Enterprise Cooperation

EUE-Net Workshop on Quality Control of Students Practical Placement in Enterprises, 7-8 February 2008, Brasov

European University-Enterprise Cooperation Network

Proposal forGENERAL PROCEDURE FOR

STUDENT PRACTICAL PLACEMENT IN ENTERPRISES IN EUROPE

Simona LACHE, Professor, University Transilvania of Brasov, Romania


Milestones from EUI-Net

• Practical placement – a fundamental component of student education and training

• In Europe – it is part of the university curriculum• There are still different approaches, with results that

vary from country to country


Milestones from EUI-Net

• Intensification of student transnational mobility– 2007: Life Long Learning Programme

• As a consequence: need for promoting a Quality Control System of Students Practical Placement in Enterprises at European level

• Short term objective: – harmonizing the practical placement procedures adopted by

universities in Europe;– harmonizing the practical placement procedures at university and

enterprise level.


Policy: Responsability

• Vice-rector in charge with the didactic activity – at university level• Vice-dean nominated to coordinate the practical placement – at

faculty level• Coordinators for students practical placement – at study program

level.• The coordinators at study program level are nominated or

reconfirmed at the beginning of each academic year, by the faculty board.

• The general frame for organizing and developing the practical placement at university level is provided by an authorized department.


Policy: HOW

• The curriculum of each study program:

– Practical stage represent a compulsory subject;

– Duration;– Credit points allocation;

• The syllabus of the practical stage:

– Skills and competences to be acquired;

– The themes to be developed;– Evaluation methodology.

• Period: the practical placement may take place:

– in a distributed way – during the academic year, or

– lumped – in well defined periods.

• Location: “host organizations” – institutions;– enterprises;– research units;– laboratories of the faculty or

of other faculties within the accredited higher education framework.


Policy: Legal framework

• Practical stages are organized based on the Practical Placement Agreement (a model should be provided as Annex).

• All Practical Placement arrangements shall be subjected to a formal agreement between: university, the host organisation, and the student.

• Where a practical placement involves a number of students being placed in the one host organization, the Practical placement Agreement shall have attached to it, for each student, the formal agreement mentioned above.


Policy: Quality Issues

• For assuring the Quality of Practical Placement, a Charter fixing quality criteria and/ or a code of good behaviour should be assumed by the university, host organization and student (it may be an annex to the Practical Placement Agreement).


Policy: Quality IssuesRequirements regarding the practical placement:• Integration within the curriculum: the placement content is

compatible with the study programme. It ensures the skills and competences foreseen in the syllabus of practical placement.

• E.g.– To apply the knowledge acquired in the University– To acquire new skills relevant to the student’s area of study– To confront the student with situations and problems of a

professional nature environment– To analyze the conditions of the work environment– To analyze their own experience of immersion into the work

environment


Policy: Quality IssuesRequirements regarding the practical placement:• Tutorship: the host organization assigns a person responsible

for the student(s) practical placement, to assist the student(s) during the whole process.

• Evaluation: the host organization evaluates the student activity and validates the practical stage by issuing a certificate (a model should be provided as Annex 3).

• Financial reward: the host organization may reward the student in a financial form, which may represent a plus of responsibility of both sides regarding the activity carried on during the practical placement.

• Contract: administrative rules and duties of each partner are defined in a tripartite placement agreement.

• Confidentiality rules of the company are respected.


Policy: Approach for finding practical placement

• Two main types of practices and philosophies :– By the student : Finding a company for a

placement is left to the student and considered part of his training for professional life (and also for practical reasons as it requires a weaker investment from the higher academic institution).

– By the university : The relations with companies for student practical placements are oriented, supported and controlled by universities, through an authorized department.


Policy: Calendar

• The calendar for organizing the Practical Placement is elaborated at the beginning of the academic year, by the university authorized department (a model should be provided as Annex).


Procedure: Step 1

WHAT Inform the students about:– Practical placement procedure– Practical placement calendar– Approaches for finding practical placement

WHO Coordinator at study program level

WHEN At the beginning of the academic year

HOW Meetings, dedicated webpage, leaflets

Document Procedure for student practical placement adopted at university level


Procedure: Step 2a

WHAT Search for a practical place

WHO Student

WHEN According to the deadline set in the calendar for this activity

HOW Personal contacts, searching available databases …

Document Calendar for organizing practical placement – annex to the Procedure for student practical placement adopted at university level


Procedure: Step 3a

WHAT Submit the application form to the coordinator at study program level, for validation

WHO Student


HOW Fill in the application form

Document Application form – annex to the Procedure for student practical placement adopted at university level


Procedure: Step 4a

WHAT Validate the practical places according to the quality criteria

WHO Coordinator at study program level


HOW Personal contacts, searching available databases …NETWORK of authorized departments at local/ regional/ national/ European level

Document Procedure for student practical placement adopted at university level (section dedicated to quality criteria)


Procedure: Step 5aWHAT Set-up the legal framework

–Practical Placement Agreement between university and host organization;–The formal agreement between university, the host organisation, and the student

WHO University: Coordinator at study program level, Dean of the faculty

Enterprise: assigned contact personStudent


HOW Contacts between the involved parties

Document Agreement forms – annex to the Procedure for student practical placement adopted at university level


Procedure: Step 6a

WHAT Inform the faculty about the situation of student practical placement al study program level – for developing the database at faculty level

WHO Coordinator at study program level to the Vice-Dean nominated to coordinate the practical placement at faculty level


HOW Fill in the database, for updating

Document Procedure for student practical placement adopted at university level


Procedure: Step 7a

WHAT Issue the official letter on the faculty behalf to the host organization

WHO Dean of the faculty


HOW Based on the information from the updated database (step 6)

Document Model of official letter – annex to the Procedure for student practical placement adopted at university level


Procedure: Step 8a

WHAT Present the documents accompanying the practical stage

WHO Student to contact person assigned by the host organization

WHEN First day of practical stage

HOW Direct contact with the contact person assigned by the host organization

Document -Official letter issued by the faculty-Syllabus specific for practical stage-Model of certificate to be issued by the host organization at the end of the practical stage – annex to the Procedure for student practical placement adopted at university level


jump to Step 9


Procedure: Step 2bWHAT Search for practical places, fulfilling the quality criteria

Close Practical Placement Agreements with Enterprises (including the Model of Certificate for practical stage)Develop a database with practical placements

WHO University by the authorized department and/or faculty structures


HOW Personal contacts, searching available databases …

Document Calendar for organizing practical placement; Model of Certificate for practical stage – annexes to the Procedure for student practical placement adopted at university level


Procedure: Step 3b

WHAT Submit the application for a practical place from the university database

WHO Student to the authorized department and/or faculty structures


HOW Fill in the application form

Document Application form – annex to the Procedure for student practical placement adopted at university level


Procedure: Step 4b

WHAT Selection process for practical placement in an enterprise

WHO 1. The university 2. The host organization3. Jointly by university and the host organization.


HOW 1. The university authorized department organizes the students selection and passes the results to the host organization; OR

2. The university authorized department centralizes the application forms and passes them to the host organization, which performs the selection process and informs back the university upon the selected students; OR

3. The selection is performed jointly by university and the host organization.

Document List of selected students


Procedure: Step 5bWHAT Set-up the legal framework

–Practical Placement Agreement between university and host organization;–The formal agreement between university, the host organisation, and the student

WHO University: Coordinator at study program level, Dean of the faculty

Enterprise: assigned contact personStudent


HOW Contacts between the involved parties

Document Agreement forms – annex to the Procedure for student practical placement adopted at university level


Procedure: Step 6b

WHAT Present the documents accompanying the practical stage

WHO Student to contact person assigned by the host organization

WHEN First day of practical stage

HOW Direct contact with the contact person assigned by the host organization

Document -Syllabus specific for practical stage


jump to Step 9


Procedure: Step 9

WHAT Practical stage ongoing

WHO Student, contact person assigned by the host organization, coordinator at the study program level

WHEN Entire practical placement period

HOW Carrying on specific activities to fulfil the quality criteria

Document Practical placement agreement


Procedure: Step 10WHAT Submit the report of practical placementWHO Student to contact person assigned by the host organization

WHEN End of the practical stageHOW Report handed to the assigned person – compulsorily

including the following:– Identification data of the student: name/ university/ faculty/ study

program/ year of study;– Identification data of the host organization: company name/

department in which practical stage took place/ name of the assigned practical placement responsible;

– Identification data of the practical stage: period/ total number of hours/ syllabus of practical placement (issued by the university);

– Presentation of the activity performed during the practical placement;

Document Report of practical placement


Procedure: Step 11

WHAT Evaluate the practical placement and issue the Certificate for practical stage.

WHO Contact person assigned by the host organization

WHEN End of the practical stage

HOW Award a grade (e.g. very good/ good/ satisfactory/ unsatisfactory).

Based on the evaluation result, the host organization issues the Certificate for practical stage.

Document Report of practical placementCertificate for practical stage – annex to the Procedure for student practical placement adopted at university level


Procedure: Step 12

WHAT Submit the report of practical placement ay the university

WHO Student to coordinator for practical placement at study program level


HOW Report handed to the assigned person

Document Report of practical placement


Procedure: Step 13

WHAT Evaluate and validate the practical placement in the university

WHO Coordinator for practical placement at study program level


HOW Evaluation based on:– the Report of practical placement– the evaluation of the host institution

Validation by assigning the credit points foreseen for this activity in the study program curriculum .

Document Report of practical placementCertificate for practical stage


Conclusions

• There is still a gap between the enterprise needs and university offer in terms of graduates skills and competences;

• Practical placement – important role;• Intensification of student transnational mobility urges for for

promoting a Quality Control System of Students Practical Placement in Enterprises at European level;

• One important issue to be solved: appropriate communication between the contact persons assigned by the U and E(Introducing the task related to student practical placement in the list of

duties for those persons)


Thank you for your attention !

Simona LACHEUniversity Transilvania of Brasov, RO

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

EUE-Net Workshop on Quality Control of Students Practical Placement in Enterprises, 7-8 February 2008, Brasov European University-Enterprise Cooperation