Universities should co-ordinate student placements

摘要

I write to support Andrew Wilkie's suggestion that the universities offering undergraduate engineering degrees should also coordinate their students' industrial placements. I have noticed over the years since completing my engineering degree in 1990 that obtaining industrial placements appears to have become much more difficult, and for some smaller branches of engineering it is nigh on impossible to find suitable positions; just ask the students in medical engineering at QUT. When individual students have to find their own placements the quality of the experience gained therefrom can vary wildly. If the universities managed the process the following benefits might eventuate: streamlining for students and employers; better designed and more valuable learning experiences for both students and employers; more equitable access to placements (depending less on 'who you know'); development of wonderful networks and relationships between the universities and the employers; and maybe more small employers coming on board.