…’recruiters have confirmed that a third of this year’s entry-level positions are expected to be filled by graduates who have already worked for their organisations – either through industrial placements, vacation work or sponsorships.’ The Graduate Market in 2012
The mandatory 12-week placement forms an important part of each master’s course and it reflects the essence of the heritage of Istituto Marangoni’s ambitions for preparing graduates for the
feedback, Istituto Marangoni has developed placement learning as an integral part of the postgraduate curriculum. The organised placement enables personal and professional development for the student and provides a framework to expand on skills relevant to the industry. It enables international students to prepare for their professional practice by gaining an insight into and understanding of the culture and language of their specialism as well as gaining technical skills and experience. Furthermore it enables students to build their own professional networks, knowledge, intercultural skills and their CV. It also provides a platform to develop key business and transferable skills, which enhances employability for the students.
The skills which can be realised through high quality placements include:
transferable, work-related and employability skills
knowledge of the language and culture of working environments
communications skills, e.g. business/commercial/industrial report-writing skills, oral and poster presentation skills
time management and the ability to prioritise effectively
self-motivation, independence/autonomy
adaptability
team working, interpersonal and networking skills
general IT skills
career planning, including occupational awareness and judgement, awareness of work-related personal values, interests and skills, application and selection process skills skills and competences specific to a discipline or profession
practical skills appropriate to a discipline or profession
the ability to apply theoretical knowledge in practical situations
professional communication skills (oral and written)
professional/discipline-related computer skills higher skills
critical thinking and analysis
problem solving
computational skills
project management skills
original thinking, innovation
enhanced self-knowledge
changed personal attitudes and behaviours
self confidence, confidence in professional ability
enhanced levels of reflection, diplomacy
"My internship had provided me with the exact experience I needed before I enter the fashion industry. Under close supervision and guidance, I was equipped with the skills, knowledge and confidence that were required of me to grow personally and professionally. It been great and was a fruitful experience; not to mention, a memorable one.”
Candy Liow MA Fashion and Luxury Brand Management February 2013
“This work experience track coupled with my Marangoni degree unquestionably served as the first milestone towards my long-term career objective of becoming a merchandising director at a
luxury market and so assisted in my career transition into the global industry.”
Joanna Haddad student, MA Fashion and Luxury Brand Management February 2013
Through academic and career services support, Istituto Marangoni provides students with appropriate guidance before, during and after their placement learning experience. At the beginning of the academic year all students receive a Placement Handbook where they find related information, a list of seminars to attend and support and guidance material.
The 12-week industry placement forms 20% of the mark of the of the 60 credit dissertation unit and is assessed by the submission of the self-reflective journal (2,000-words). The summative assessment of the journal is based on the critical analysis of the industry placement experience and the written document is a reflection of the student’s ability to consider their personal and professional development and encouraging a work ready attitude (only students with exceptional factors will be offered an alternative and equivalent negotiated 2,000-word case study).
(http://www.mmu.ac.uk/sas/studentservices/guidance/)
The dissertation is a 15,000-word submission, or a student negotiated practice-based project with a minimum submission of 10,000 words along with an artefact or professional collection. Each of these dissertation proposals form 80% of the overall unit grade.
Placement experience is acknowledged as being of great benefit to the student and especially to the international student in the graduate job market. Istituto Marangoni has incorporated the placement into the curriculum design and it is monitored and quality assured by the academic placement tutor and the career services manager. Comprehensive guidelines both for the company and students are found in the Placement Handbook.
In order to achieve high quality placements, where student learning is facilitated effectively, information and compliance to placement policy (Ref: Placement Handbook) is required in a number of categories and at different stages of the placement process:
Pre-placement consultations by the Career Services Manager with prospective industry partners take place prior to the placement to establish a working relationship with HR departments, recruiters and fashion brands;
A review of all relevant placement companies are undertaken by the Career Services Manager and ensure adherence to Health and Safety Regulations;
A full job description from the host company is required before the student is sent for the interview.
Students in the year of study attend a number of workshops with the aim of increasing their employability skills prior to their placements. There are career talks and workshops on subjects including:
CV clinic and application forms Networking
Presentation skills Teamwork essentials Dispute resolutions Leadership essentials
Researching industries for applications and interviews
Using social media to secure placements and managing your presence on line.
Additional industry seminars allow students to receive some insights into the creative and business work environment from current professionals.
All students participate in PDP and one-to-one sessions with the Career Services Manager and the Academic Placement Tutor in order to further enhance their personal attributes and work on areas that may need improvement. This also provides an opportunity for additional support requirements for the student to be highlighted.
Matching a student’s skills, knowledge and eligibility to fit the requirements of the
placement by providing the student with an internal pre-interview, interview guidance and expert advice via Career Services.
De-briefing the student following an interview and recording this information on the student records via Sinapto enables the student to discuss areas of key skill development with the industry placement Tutor.
The company completes all placement documentation and sends it to the Career Services Manager prior to the start of the placement, including a written agreement from the company agreeing to comply with the requirements of the placement and to support the student to meet the learning outcomes for the placement before it commences.
The feedback data is used in the programme management Continuous Improvement Programme to build on good practice for further developments in the programme.
‘More than half of recruiters warn that graduates who have had no previous work experience at all are unlikely to be successful during the selection process and have little or no chance of receiving a job offer for their organisations’ graduate programmes.’ The Graduate Market in 2012
Evaluation during placements
Evaluation is carried out during placements for each student. Students are visited on placement by their placement tutor or Skype meetings are arranged.
This visit or Skype appointment provides a valuable opportunity for a member of the academic or placement staff to hold discussions with the student one-to-one, with the aim of evaluating their placement experiences, learning and personal development.
Discussions are also held separately with the placement supervisor or line manager of the host company. If the visit or Skype meeting occurs towards the beginning of the placement, any minor problems that are identified can usually be resolved in good time.
As there is assessment associated with the placement, there are strategies in place to oversee assessment of the reflective journal that address the clearly defined learning outcomes through student reflection on their placement experience. The reflective journal (2,000 words) comprises of 20% of the student grade from the Dissertation unit, which may contain images, drawings and other types of reference materials, with reference to the attainments achieved and to the activities carried out during the placement that provides a systematic insight into the student’s development as a reflective, critical and constructive learner.
The reflective journals are assessed appropriately in line with clearly defined assessment criteria found in the Placement and Dissertation Handbook following Istituto Marangoni’s assessment procedures, which includes the external examiner’s feedback as with other units in the programme.
The integrated placement programme is fully supported by the Academic Placement Tutor as well
students and their learning within the work place.
Minor Disputes
Placement procedures ensure that a visit or Skype meeting by the allocated placement tutor can quickly resolve problems or concerns for all parties involved and work towards strategies to
remedy the situation. However in cases where this is not possible, students will be offered alternative placements to fulfil the requirements of the course.
Securing Master’s Industry Partners
There are clearly defined policies and procedures for securing and approving partners found in the Placement Handbook for the masters’ industry placement. Istituto Marangoni looks to the partners to provide appropriate learning opportunities to assist students to achieve the intended learning outcomes of the programme. Each company is made aware of the expectations from Istituto Marangoni of the postgraduate level and quality of placement expected. The learning outcomes are set against the master’s descriptors at level 7 (The framework for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2008), and must also comply with the Health and Safety regulations. The Careers Manager visits the company prior to agreeing on the placement for the student and the following criteria is used when evaluating potential placement opportunities:
the nature of the company or business
the appropriateness of placement work envisaged
the type of supervision available (line management structure/ mentoring policy)
the support for learning, induction, teaching/ training provision
is the environment supportive of students
will the placement fulfil the requirements of course criteria
Once the placement is secured, the Career Services Manager will liaise with the company by sending a Placement Request Form, to be completed by the placement provider.
This document acts as an agreement to ensure that the company provides the level of experience and secures the placement conditions:
• duration
• working hours
• workplace
• company mentor for the student
• job description and tasks (ensuring tasks enable professional and skills development to fulfil the assessment requirements of the placement)
• company details
• remuneration if applicable
Quality Assurance and Monitoring of the Industry Placement
Visits and communication by the Career Manager and the allocated placement tutor guarantee monitoring and maintaining of a suitable professional experience for students and one that meets the learning objectives of the placement component.
At the end of the placement experience, hosting companies are asked to provide feedback on the student performance during placement, and it is submitted to the Career Services Manager. The assessment form includes an overall evaluation on the student performance, and focuses on the students’ adaptation to the working environment and their work ethic.
are asked whether or not they would recommend their placement to others and to give their reasons and to rate their placement experience.
In March 2012 Istituto Marangoni signed up to NASES, a student’s placement organisation, and more recently to ASET. The Career Services Manager has attended a number of placement-related workshops such as ‘Employability for International Students’, ‘Sharing Well Practice’ and
‘Placement Matters’, which are prepared by placement organisations or QAA.
The placement adheres to The QAA Quality code, Chapter B10: Managing Higher education provision with others (2012), and with MMU Institutional Code of Practice for Placement and Work-based Learning:
http://www.mmu.ac.uk/academic/casqe/regulations/docs/placement_icp.pdf
‘Yes we think it is important to have the possibility to introduce students, which are attending a Master, to this job. In this way they can start to familiarize with what they learnt in University and put it into practice. And moreover they can understand if they like it or not. From a personality point of view we ask students to be proactive, open minded and willing to share opinions and discuss them in team. From our side it is also important to have a new and fresh point of view to be taken into consideration. Many software/program we always use is not part of any lessons you can provide them, and probably they change from company to company. That’s why the internship results to have an importance, as it gives students the possibility to get in touch with them.’
Carlotta Bertoli, Merchandiser Ladies Accessories, Bally UK Sales Ltd.