Industry placements
The Industry Placement Program delivers our international students valuable business experience with Australian organisations.
It also provides an opportunity for students to apply theories and concepts from the MBA program to real-life business situations for reflection and reinforcement of learning.
The Industry Placement Program is an elective in the MBA. Upon satisfactory completion of the Program students will receive credit for one elective in the MBA.
Students are assigned to defined projects with host organisations. These projects include field-work at the host organisation.
MBA students are graded and assessed on the outcome.
Program objectives
The object of the Industry Placement Program is to provide a learning experience for MBA candidates which integrates theory and practice.
An Industry Placement typically runs for eleven weeks to allow sufficient time for a substantive project that will provide practical experience.
Depending on the precise details of each project, students may be asked to work up to 5 days per week in the company, although usually it is about 2-3 days per week.
What type of projects will be considered?
When deciding upon suitable projects, the major determinants are:
- that the project is capable of being completed within the time frame
- that the project gives a good insight into how business is done in Australia
- that the project has depth and breadth enough, to build on the MBA studies already completed.
Do students get paid?
Students are not paid by the Company. The Company provides access to all needed office facilities during the Placement and arranges all necessary statutory insurances. Any essential out of pocket costs will be met by the Company.
There is a requirement for students to sign a confidentiality agreement with the Company, and this will be arranged before the Placement commences.
What is expected of students?
Students are expected to be pro-active in ensuring that their Project progresses satisfactorily. Most industry placements involve a specific project with specific time-lines and the Company does not normally expect to be providing day to day supervision.
In the early weeks, students should be asking questions to clarify and agree the project milestones and deliverables. Thereafter we expect students to get on with the task of collecting information, assembling data, discussing alternative recommendations with a variety of staff in the Company, and writing a major report on what they have achieved.
Students are also expected to keep in weekly contact with the MBA School Office.
How is the placement assessed?
The precise assessment arrangements for each Project will vary. Certain minimum requirements however must be met, consistent with all MBA courses. Specifically, there will be 3 separate pieces of assessment, aggregating to around 6,000-8,000 words.
Most placements will involve a piece of assessment near the beginning of the Project when the planning stage is completed.
A Project Outline may be a typical assessment task used at this stage. Some projects may also require a literature review, although in other cases this may be a data collection process, or be some form of secondary research. In almost all cases there will be a significant project deliverable, usually taking the form of a Final report, although in certain circumstances this may be a formal presentation to the Company Executive Team.
Benefits of the program
Students will gain an insight into how business is done in Australia. Additionally, they will have the opportunity to apply skills and knowledge from the MBA Program. They may also establish contacts and networks to assist with future career placement.
Some participating companies
Finding a project
Students wishing to do the Industry Placement Program should contact the Program Director at least 8 weeks prior to the start of the Study period in which they wish to undertake the course. This should be done using the designated Application Form available from the MBA Office.
The IGSB maintains a register of suitable projects which students can review in order to determine a project, in an industry, which suits their needs. Once identified, your Program Director will then accompany you for an interview with the representative of the Company concerned. If all parties are willing to proceed, your Program Director will then locate an appropriate supervisor to manage your placement.
Thereafter, a contract will be drawn up to cover issues related to insurance, completion dates, and confidentiality of company information.
Next step
Current students in the Local MBA, who meet the requirements for the program and who seek to participate, can obtain a copy of the Industry Placement Application Form from the School Office or the MBA Office (WL 5-63).
This must be completed and lodged at least 8 weeks prior to the Study Period for which the student seeks a placement.