Innovative Placements Scheme

As part of the University of Plymouth’s commitment to enhancing the productivity of the regional Creative Economy and supporting businesses through the economic recovery period, we are piloting an innovative new scheme to pair local businesses with talented students and graduates in order to undertake a defined project or research and development challenge.

The following schemes are designed to deliver mutual benefits – helping to support the business community whilst delivering unprecedented learning experiences for our students and recent graduates.

This activity is part of the iMayflower project and has been supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, who fund the Cultural Development Fund, which is administered by Arts Council England.

Virtual Internship Scheme 2020–21

Do you have an innovative idea that would help your business to move forward in the economic recovery period, but lack the creative resources in-house to make it happen?

Our new Virtual Internship Scheme will see graduating students working on short term creative projects to benefit local businesses and improve their employability, whilst self-isolating. Creatives working on projects will be paid at a standard rate of £13/hour, up to a maximum of £500 per project, which will be funded by the iMayflower Innovative Placement Scheme.

For the business:

• Additional short-term capacity to develop creative projects
• Funding of up to £500 in the form of graduate hours worked on your project
• Option to continue working with a graduate, on a paid freelance basis, beyond the scope of the funded project
• Opportunity to identify new creative talent to collaborate on future projects

Businesses find out more and apply here.

Masters R&D Studentship 2020–21

Do you have an idea for a new product, service or experience, or need to review/ improve your business processes? Our new Masters R&D Studentship is designed to give you access to fresh talent, skillsets and ideas.

This new initiative will pair highly skilled masters level students from across our Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business with local businesses in order to undertake a defined R&D challenge that will contribute to the development of a new product, process, service or experiential offering for the business and deliver an unprecedented learning experience for our students.

For the business:

• The opportunity to add a masters student to your team to stimulate innovation and move your project forward.
• A stipend of up to £2000 towards agreed costs for materials, travel and accommodation directly associated with the project.
• Access and use of the faculty’s R&D facilities including the new Digital Fabrication Laboratory, Immersive Media Lab and Immersive Visualisation Theatre.

For the student:

• The opportunity to work collaboratively with a local business to apply knowledge in a work context, addressing a real world R&D challenge.
• A scholarship of £3000 towards course fees.
• Joint supervision from the business and University staff, impacting positively on creative practice and future prospects.

Students find out more and apply here.