Computing student placements
Develop your skills, knowledge and confidence and return better placed to meet the challenges of the final year

Associate Professor (Reader) in Multimedia Comms and Networks
Employability Tutor
In the third year, students will have the opportunity to complete a minimum of 48 weeks of full-time employment, gaining invaluable experience in the industry. Students will get paid by their companies and the University only charges students a nominal fee during this year. Students will have the opportunity to increase their employment experience; to embed knowledge and skills developed during the first and second years of their degree; and also acquire new skills, knowledge and competencies in the workplace.
The University’s Placement Office will assist and support students throughout the process of obtaining a placement: preparation of placement applications; CV writing; job interview technique; access to up-to-date information on placement opportunities. Each placement student will be allocated a placement tutor, who will monitor each student’s progress; supporting the student when required; as well as carrying out placement visits to the student’s place of work. Each student completes staged progress reports, which include 6-week, 24-week and final progress reports. Near the end of the placement, students also submit the Professional Training Report, which is an integral part of the assessment requirements for the programme of study.
The computing degree students at the University of Plymouth have been highly successful in obtaining positions in top-class companies. The students have taken on placements at well-known multinational companies, such as: IBM, Intel, HP and Microsoft, mainly at their UK sites; at national and government organisations and corporations such as BBC, Met Office, and Land Registry; and at local companies/organisations such as Delt Shared Services, Plymouth City Council, Plymouth Marine Labs and University of Plymouth Technology Information Service (TIS) department.
I was able to apply my technical knowledge to real-world situations, which enhanced my understanding and demonstrated useful applications of what I learnt in lectures.
I have gained a lot of valuable skills and attended training that was offered by the company and relevant to my role, which will be useful in my future career in Computer Science or Data Science/Artificial Intelligence areas.
My programming skills have come on leaps and bounds in the last year. This is because I was using these skills every single day and the projects were a lot more complex than anything I had tackled in the past.
More from RichardAfter finishing my placement year, I felt I had direction and I knew which modules I needed to pick in my final year to help me achieve my new found aims.
More about GeorgeThe placement has certainly given me more confidence because I have experienced real-life situations and challenges that I can apply to my studies.