Frequently asked questions about projects and placements

Q - How long does a project or placement last?

Projects and placements can vary enormously in duration. Some can be as short as 12 hours of active assistance, and others can be as long as a year (referred to as a ‘year out’). In other words, the duration of your project or placement is determined by the needs of the company, and will be discussed and agreed at the outset.

Q – How many hours is a project or placement each week?

The number of hours a student or graduate spends each week working on a project or placement is also flexible, in that this is discussed and agreed at the outset. It may be appropriate, for example in the case of a year-out student, for the hours to be set as full time 9 – 5 Monday to Friday. However, in most instances hours are not set in this manner. Sometimes a company may require a student to be at their business premises on the same day each week over a specified period of time. Sometimes a company simply requires a student to undertake work over a period of time and the hours are decided by that student (interspersed with pre-agreed update meetings).

Q – Does the company have to pay a student for a project or placement?

Access Innovation does not require a company to pay a student or graduate for an agreed project or placement. However, where a company is in a financial position to be able to pay a student we would encourage you to do this (which must be at least the National Minimum Wage), and to reimburse out of pocket expenses incurred by the student (which should be discussed and agreed at the outset).

Companies should pay anyone regarded as undertaking ‘work deemed of value’ to the organisation.

Remember as well that people can also be rewarded by non-financial benefits, and so a company may wish to offer a package of non-financial benefits to a student or graduate that successfully undertakes a project or placement for them.

Q – Does the company have to pay expenses for a project or placement?

A company should reimburse expenses incurred by a student or graduate undertaking a project or placement. Expenses should be discussed at the outset, and should be managed in the same way as for any other employee at the company.

Q – Does the company have to have special insurances to take on a project or placement student or graduate?

Employers’ liability insurance and public liability insurance for your business premises you are normally covered to take a student project or placement.

The best advice however is to call your insurance provider(s) to ask them if your policy(ies) cover placement students present at your insured business premises.

Of course, if your student is not required to work at your business premises i.e. they are undertaking your project via teleworking, there will not be a requirement for you to ensure your insurance covers the student(s).

Q – Is the company responsible for the health, safety and welfare of a student on project or placement at my company?

If you have a student that is required to work at your business premises you are responsible for them in the same way as you would be for any other employee. This means that you should also induct them as you would a new member of staff.

If you have a student who is not required to work at your business premises e.g. they are a teleworker, then you would not necessarily need to go to the same lengths. As a good general rule of thumb, you should ascertain the risks to the student in undertaking the project for you, and manage that risk in the most appropriate and practical way. If you are not sure what to do, the Access Innovation Project Manager is happy to discuss this with you.

Q – Do I have to inform the University if a project or placement student has an accident or near miss while they are doing a project or placement for me?

Yes

If you are made aware of any accident or near miss that a project or placement student has while they are undertaking duties related to their project or placement we would be obliged if you would inform the University. An e-mail or telephone call to the Access Innovation Project Manager will be sufficient. You should also record it in your accident book.

Q – Do I need to provide an induction for my student project or placement?

Yes

Students on project or placement need to be given a suitable induction. If you need any advice on this please contact the Access Innovation Project Manager.

Q – Can I ask a student to sign a confidentiality agreement?

Yes

If the nature of the work is commercially sensitive, or requires privacy for some other reason, it is reasonable to expect to be able to ask a student to sign a confidentiality agreement. Your company would be expected to provide this. If your student needs to write up a report or produce a presentation on their work for you for an academic module you will need to discuss this with your student to ensure they know what they can and cannot include.

Q – What do I do if things aren’t working out as I thought?

If you feel your student is not performing in the way you expected you should contact your student to discuss the matter; student projects and placements require good ongoing active management to get the best out of them. If you are unable to contact your student, or cannot successfully resolve the issue(s) you can contact the Access Innovation Project Manager, who will endeavour to assist and resolve the issue(s) with or for you.

Q – Is there a lot of ‘form filling’?

Access Innovation is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and as such there are some forms to complete.

The Access Innovation Project Manager will typically pre-complete most of the forms for you, and will ask you to complete some sections, sign and return them; typically it only takes a couple of minutes to complete the forms.

At the outset there are normally two forms to complete:

An enrolment form

A letter of agreement

At the end there is normally one form to complete:

An output form

The Access Innovation Project Manager will also be interested in discussing with you how your company may have improved as a result of having your student project or placement.

Students are also required to keep a timesheet to record what they have done for you, and how long this took.

Q – Can I have more than one project or placement through Access Innovation?

No

Access Innovation is only funded to assist a company once.  However, you can have more than one student and/or project from the University of Lincoln at any one time; only one could be supported through the Access Innovation project.

Q – Can I come to watch the students’ academic presentation?

If your student(s) is undertaking your project as part of a module of study, the chances are that they will be required to make a presentation.  Most module leaders actively encourage students to invite their host organisation to attend the presentation.  If you haven't been asked by your student(s) and you would like to come to the campus to see them present, please contact the Access Innovation Project Manager, who will find out which member of academic staff to put you into contact with.