BA International Development (Industrial)

Year 3

Learning outcomes

In their third year, all POLIS 3-year undergraduates may opt for a year in industry via the Leeds work placement scheme. This year in industry is designed to provide students with the skills and experience that many employers are now looking for in potential employees. While the work placement process does not take place in the classroom, and as such, will not have traditional learning outcomes, students should still garner some specific learning outcomes from their year away from university. These are:
- demonstrate knowledge of the typical workplace setting and how organisations function;
- recognise how to meet expectations of the employer;
- discover how their university degree may serve them in future employment;
- use lessons learned in work placement (such as time management) to benefit academic performance upon return to the university.

Transferable (key) skills

The transferable skills gained from a year in industry are, perhaps, more obvious than learning outcomes. Students will often be able to secure placements that allow them to use their substantive and/or methodological knowledge to contribute to an organisation. Moreover, students will certainly acquire practical knowledge and skills that will serve them upon their return to the university and when they seek future employment. Students on work placement should gain:
- the skills necessary for employment in their future career paths;
- the exercise of initiative and personal responsibility;
- the deployment of decision making skills in complex and unpredictable situations;
- the communication of information, ideas, problems and solutions in a variety of ways to a variety of audiences;
- the ability to undertake appropriate further training of a professional or equivalent nature.

Assessment

During their placement year, the students will prepare an Activity Log. This should be a record of the student’s activities on at least a weekly basis. Students will also be assessed based on their ability to construct a new CV, reflective of their work experience, and a final report outlining what personal and professional skills they have gained from their year in industry. These outputs will be assessed as follows
- CV (15% of final mark)
- Activity Log (35% of final mark)
- Final Placement Report (50% of final mark)

Students will be expected to devote part of their workplace hours, as well as their hours of private study, to the preparation of the Activity Log and Placement Report.
All assessment materials will be marked by the school work placement tutor on the typical 20-90 scale. However, the final mark for the module will only be a Pass or Fail mark. If the student achieves a minimum of 40 on the above assessments, then s/he will have passed the module. If the student does not achieve at least a 40, then s/he will have failed the module and will have the opportunity to resit the CV and Final Report components. If, after resit, these two components are still not deemed passable, the student will revert to the traditional 3-year degree without the year in industry component