Member Article

University of Sussex Business School sees record year for student placements

The School of Business Management and Economics (BMEc) at the University of Sussex has witnessed the highest ever number of placements, with over 100 student student seeking professional work experience.

From a small-scale pilot in 2012 demand has rocketed and BMEc students are now able to take advantage of University’s Sussex Choice initiative which allows undergraduates studying any subject to apply for a placement with an external organisation.

Business minded students are also boosting their chances of success by taking full advantage of University’s Careers and Employability Centre employment preparation programmes which are made available to all students from when they first arrive as freshers.

Claire Colburn, senior placements and work experience officer at the Careers and Employability Centre said: “We have seen an increase in student interest in placements across the University.

“As Sussex has strong links with a range of businesses and public sector organisations, we’ve been able to find internship opportunities for our students across Britain and everywhere from Mexico and Canada to places in Africa, Asia and Continental Europe.”

Sussex spends over £2 million a year boosting the employability of its First Generation Scholars.

The cash goes on funded internship for students who are between the second and third years of their degrees.

Besides internships, First Generation scholars, who now account for roughly half of all undergraduates at Sussex, receive extra coaching in leadership, careers, and studying.

They are also given work placement and work/study opportunities and act as mentors in schools supporting children from similar backgrounds.

The University’s placements last a minimum of 40 weeks and students must be paid at least the upper national minimum wage and be given graduate level work to do.

But BMEc and the University’s Careers and Employability Centre have also begun working with the Catalyst Scheme run by Sussex Innovation Centre (SIC) which is more flexible.

The scheme lets small companies and start-ups benefit from the students’ skills for shorter periods of time.

These students are on the SIC Catalyst pay roll and work on a short term basis with a number of different employers in the Innovation Centre over the course of their placement year.

The School also plans to build up its programme of employers invited to give guest lectures on campus and to develop short work-place projects for students to undertake during vacations or on a part-time basis alongside their studies.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .