Professional Experience Programme – CT334
The Professional Experience Programme is a full third year subject, and is an integral part of the B.Sc. in Information Technology. It presents you with a valuable opportunity to enhance your skills, and should give you an insight into how these skills are applied in an Industrial context. As part of the subject, you must:
Submit a Report by Friday June 1st, 2001. This report should be between 1000-1500 words in length.
Marks will be awarded based on this report and on the employer’s assessment of your work placement. Marks will be deducted at 5% per working day for late submission of the report.
Your report should address a number of areas, including:
Work Context;
Technical Development;
Group Communications;
Professional Development;
Evaluation.
It is important to understand and appreciate how the daily tasks you perform fit into the “larger picture.” This involves identifying the business aims of the organisation, and how the use of Information Technology helps to realise these aims. You should observe specifics such as: types of computerised systems, work practices, organisational structure and methodologies used.
The work you perform during your placement will almost certainly involve the use of technical skills. Some of these may be skills you acquired during the course, others may be skills you had to obtain through formal training (attending a course), or informal training (reading a manual). Give an account of these technical skills, and how your own knowledge developed throughout.
It is likely that you will interact with people outside of your group, many of whom may have a non-technical perspective on the organisation’s business. Your report should, where appropriate, include your observations on the nature of these interactions, and refer to any problems that were encountered, and successes that were achieved.
Document any formal presentations you had to make and emphasise: the aim, background, duration, number of people who attended, their background and any other relevant details. Also, details other: meetings attended; Formal Technical Reviews (FTRs); external visits; client contacts; etc.
Evaluate the placement from your own perspective. Indicate the benefits you have achieved (or otherwise) from the work experience so far. Give your opinion on how the first three years of the B.Sc. in Information Technology prepared you (or otherwise) for the placement, and make recommendations as to how the course could be improved to better prepare students for their work placement.
A final point to make. Do not write the report on “company time.” The reports you submit must be written outside of normal working hours.