The School of Information Technology and Computer Science (IACT) is an academic school within the Faculty of Informatics at the University of Wollongong. The School offers the Bachelor of Information and Communication Technology (BInfoTech) course as well as a Masters (MInfoTech) and a Doctoral (PhD) program.

 Students are responsible for organising their own industry placements and quite frequently they inquire about the availability of information for the prospective employer. This document is to serve the purpose of providing you with relevant information about the degree and, in particular, the Industry Placement component.

Industry Placement

The Bachelor of Information and Communication Technology degree is taken over four years. Students must choose an area in which to specialise from:

• eBusiness Management, or
• Software Engineering, or
• Business Information Systems, or
• eBusiness Technologies, or
• Network/Systems Management

 Careers in the information technology (IT) age require highly developed communication skills and a broad competency in areas such as technology, management, marketing and social issues. If you are a high achiever, ambitious and see yourself as a manager of IT this is the degree for you. The boundaries of computing, broadcasting and telecommunications are becoming less distinct and providing opportunities never before envisioned in today's competitive global market. IT is now central to everyday life and work. Graduates who hold a BInfoTech have a well-rounded education which takes a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of IT. Thus our graduates will be prepared to meet the challenge of the information age and have excellent employment prospects. Regardless of the program of subjects taken by the students they must undertake two periods of Industry Placement, both of which are 8 weeks of, at least, half-time work (approx 17.5hrs/week).

 Students are required to organise placements and usually undertake the work over the Christmas vacation period (for students) ie. November through to February. Typically they will need to find a placement at the end of their second and third years of study.

 Our students are assessed in respect of their placements and are required to submit a number of written assignments. They will submit three essays about the program and the placement and these will be about the organisation in an area of interest to the student. You will need to specify to the student any areas that may be regarded as being `sensitive', so that they do not inadvertently include these areas in their report. The assessment (including co-ordination of topics) is the responsibility of Sonia Jennings.

 Industry Placement is one of the aspects that differentiates our degree from those offered in other places. Due to the high success rates we have had with our students to date, the degree continues to grow in popularity and the pressure for places in the degree, and therefore for Industry Placement, continues to rise.

 We need your assistance to continue the trend of producing graduates who are already attuned to the employment situation so that they can be productive from the start of their careers.

 Given the cost of recruitment, this program has also highlighted the benefits, to both employer and student, of being able to work together during the degree. Frequently students find work with employers who have employed them during their Industry Placement.

The Employee's Role

 Students negotiate placement directly with the employer. Neither the School nor the University are involved in this process. Employers will need to treat the students as employees, (they will require minimum supervision in regard to completion of their assessment components) providing the usual conditions of employment such as Work Cover and so on. Should the student 'volunteer' to work for an organisation without renumeration then they are covered by the University's own insurance scheme. They must apply to for this cover to take affect. It will be in the interests of both employer and students for the role(s) and responsibilities of both parties to be clearly stated during the period of Industry Placement.

 You will be asked to provide a reference :

• that indicates the period of the placement;
• that details the activities undertaken by the student, and
• which optionally includes comment on their performance in your organisation.

 Reports from employers providing placements in the past have been very positive about the work performed and the quality of the students. As the purpose of these industry placements is to allow the students to start to apply their skill and knowledge and to experience the reality of the workplace, it is encouraging to receive this positive feedback.

Should you require further information or advice in regard to any issues raised on this web page please contact Sonia Jennings, Industry Placement Co-ordinator on (02) 4221 4382 or fax (02) 4221 4170 or email Sonia Jennings