Our placements enable you to work closely with industry partners on real-world engineering projects. Discover how you can get a head-start in your engineering career prior to graduation.
What is a placement?
Choosing to undertake a placement will offer you a fantastic opportunity to engage in challenging real-world situations, allowing you to apply various theories from the classroom and putting your developing skills to the test. You will spend time in the workplace ranging from 1 week to 20 weeks, gaining real-life, hands-on work experience in a relevant field of study.
Why consider a placement?
Placements offer you an opportunity to gain valuable work experience, related to your studies, prior to graduation. They provide an opportunity to apply what you have learned through lecturers and tutorials to real life working environments.
We strongly encourage all students to do a placement as part of your degree. We have found that not only will it help you decide what you want to do when you graduate, it could potentially lead to graduate job offers. Research suggests that those who have completed a placement achieve a higher degree classification overall. Generally, more people who do a placement get higher final grades than non-placement students (C. Jones, et al, 2017).
At Edinburgh Napier, we pride ourselves on our strong links with industry, and that is why our current and past students have worked with some of the most influential businesses in the Engineering sector. Here are a few thoughts from some of our students and alumni, who have completed placements as part of their course:
"The employees at Stoane Lighting took the time to teach placement students as many practical skills as they could in the placement week. The main skill that I learned was how to make high quality solder joints."
- Jack, BEng (Hons) Electrical & Electronic Engineering.
"My placement in the industry also gave me the idea for my honours project. So it’s safe to say that studying at Edinburgh Napier University has opened a lot of doors for me."
- Annie, BEng Civil Engineering.
"During my course, I joined the BEX (Built Environmental Exchange) placement, where I got help finding an industrial partner to work with during my dissertation. Thanks to that placement, my dissertation was able to address real industry needs for research."
- Bartosz, MSc Advanced Structural Engineering.
Check out the placements we offer on our courses
On the following course, students will have the opportunity to take on a 20-week placement, starting in Trimester 1 during your 5th year studies. Whilst on placement, you will undertake work-related assessments alongside gaining valuable work experience.
On the following courses, you will have the opportunity to take part in an insight week, starting in Trimester 3 of your 3rd or 4th year studies.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you will receive credits if you undertake an optional 20-week Electronic & Electrical Engineering placement during the course of your degree. However, alternative opportunities, such as insight weeks or any voluntary work experience undertaken during your time at university is non-credit bearing and you will not receive credits for these.
"Are placements beneficial?"
Placements are incredibly beneficial. They provide you with work experience that is related to your field of study and allows you to apply the skills you develop through your studies to the workplace. Several students who have undertaken placements in the past have received offers of graduate employment from the placement host company. Placements also provide an opportunity to explore your preferences, including the environment, culture and size of organisation you prefer working in.
"Where can I go to get help and support on placements?"
You will be encouraged to attend placement preparation sessions ahead of commencing your placement, which will be tailored to the course you are enrolled on.
Sessions include an opportunity to hear from and meet employers and support with all aspects of searching for a placement, from developing their CV and cover letters to interviewing and identifying suitable placement hosts.
The Placement Team works closely with employers across the UK and regularly promote the latest placement opportunities directly to you.
Proactive students are also free to source and secure their own placement before verifying it with the placement team.
If you have any queries or concerns before, during or after your placement, you can contact scebeplacements@napier.ac.uk to speak to a member of the team.
"I don’t have a CV or a Cover Letter? Where do I start?"
You can find detailed guides on building a CV and advice for cover letters on our Student Futures Career Hub. There are even virtual events you can sign up to participate in. You can find out more information on our Student Futures web-page.
Employer Information
We work with businesses, charities, and the public sector to advertise placement opportunities.
Our aim is to make it as easy as possible for you to work with our students and placements offer the following benefits to your organisation:
- Dedicate time to a project that may not otherwise be resourced
- Build a talent pool of work-ready graduates, potentially reducing recruitment costs
- Develop existing staff through mentorship or supervision opportunities
- Establish links with Edinburgh Napier, which will benefit your organisation’s growth and immediate business needs
When you make the choice to work with our students, your business will benefit from their skills and ideas. Through our research-based teaching, placements and extra-curricular activities, our students develop strengths in leadership, teamwork, and project management, which make them highly employable graduates. The University has continued to climb the ranks, making us the highest placed of the Scottish post-1992 modern universities in the table.
If you would like to discuss a placement opportunity, contact us at: scebeplacements@napier.ac.uk