MEng Industrial Placements

Students are responsible for finding their own placements. Advice and help are available, both in the Department and from the Imperial College Careers Service.  You will also find some information here on how to find placements.  

• To help you understand more about the placement experience, we have asked previous students to share their  placement experiences to help you in your search. These case studies can be found on the course page on Blackboard.
• Details of Industrial Placement opportunities offered to the students in the Department can be viewed on the Third Year Teams channel.

• All placements must be approved by the Industrial Placements Team on behalf of the Department before the final approval deadline.   
• Please do not sign a contract with your placement provider until your placement has been approved by the EEE Industrial Placements Team.
• Placements run for 6 months from April to September 2025. They should last for a minimum of 22 weeks excluding any annual leave. It is expected that students on a placement will be able to take “leave” of 15 working days during the 6 months, making the placement a total of 25 weeks minimum. 
• Your placement must be undertaken in one company only and one role only for the full six month period. It is not possible for you to split the six month period into multiple, shorter placements. For example, you can’t do three months at one company and move to a different company for the second three months.
• If you are considering a placement outside the UK, you are responsible for ensuring that you have the right to work in that country or resolve the issue with the company directly. 
• Work undertaken during the industrial placement must be relevant to the degree programme being followed. The content must be challenging and allow the student to demonstrate application of engineering knowledge and skills to a technical problem. Even if you are on the management stream, your role must include EEE technical skills (it can’t be a purely project management role in a non-technical area).
• There is no restriction in terms of the sector of the economy in which the hosting organisation operates, provided the first criteria is met. Thus, work in the voluntary sector (such as Engineers without Borders, etc) could qualify as long as the placement is remunerated at a suitable level.  
• Work in a technical function of the finance industry, such as designing and building software models or databases would qualify, but functions such as routine IT support would not.  
• Clarify any confidentiality and contractual arrangements before signing any contracts.
• Complete the Job Specification Form 2024-25 and the Placement Provider Form 2024-25, then send the completed forms via email to Kate Farrar at eee_industrialplacements@imperial.ac.uk for review. Please ensure that the forms are fully completed with all information filled out before you send them. 
• We will endeavour to review your documentation within 5 working days. 
• The deadline for final approval of your placement is 5pm on Friday 14 February 2025 .
• NOTE: You must have your placement formally approved by us before the final approval deadline. We will not be able to accept extensions to the deadline.

Professional conduct

Please note that declining a placement once you have accepted it and signed a contract is deemed unacceptable and unprofessional behaviour which damages the College's reputation. It also damages the relationship with the department which has normally been nurtured for years and puts future students at a disadvantage.  Behaviour of this kind will normally result in the student failing the module.

How to submit your placement for approval 

If you have found your placement and received an offer, you will need to submit the placement to us for approval.

• You must provide a detailed description of the project you will be doing and the supervision you will receive from the company.  
• Complete the “Job Specification Form” and "Placement Provider Form", ensuring they are fully completed with all information filled out. Please note that placements will not be approved without a thorough project description.  You should work with your proposed employer to provide this information. 
• If you are considering a placement outside the UK, you are responsible for ensuring that you have the right to work in that country or resolve the issue with the company directly. 
• The “Job Specification Form” must be filled out by your employer because it contains important information regarding your supervision and safety whilst on the placement.  You should send your employer a copy of the College's Placement Learning Policy, which is available at: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/about/governance/academic-governance/academic-policy/placement-learning/ 
• Clarify any confidentiality and contractual arrangements before signing any contracts. 
• Once your forms are completed, please attach them to an email and send it to eee_industrialplacements@imperial.ac.uk.
• Your placement will be reviewed and either approved or returned for additional information.  
• We will endeavour to review your documentation within 5 working days. 
• The deadline for final approval of your placement is 5pm on Friday 14 February 2025.

Important: The deadline above is for final approval, so please submit your placement for approval in advance of the deadline so that we have time to review it.  

Once your placement is approved or the deadline above has passed, you will not be able to switch to a different placement.

• September – Beginning of February = Find a placement and seek approval.
• 26 February = Final deadline for you to have submitted your placement to the EEE Industrial Placements Team and for it to have been approved.
• February to April = Meet with your Imperial Placement Supervisor to agree objectives.
• April – September = You undertake your placement.
• October = Return to your final year of studies.

Industrial placements will be supervised by a member of staff from the company, with additional mentoring from academic staff from Imperial, who will be involved in agreeing project objectives and in assessment.  

In addition, you should set up an academic visit (in person or virtual) for your Imperial supervisor to meet both you and your industrial supervisor. The purpose of this visit is to review the work you have done to date and discuss the work for the remainder of the placement.  

Please go to the module page on Blackboard to view full list of documents and procedures for the placements. 

Industrial placement students must be paid for their work.  The College does not stipulate a rate of pay, but we expect students to be paid a salary of at least the current minimum wage, or higher.   

Other statutory terms and conditions will also apply, including holiday leave allowance.  These conditions will be part of the contract of employment or appointment letter agreed between the company and their employee, i.e. the Student. 

It is expected that students on a placement will be able to take “leave” of 15 working days during the 6 months. 

The Industrial Placement module is reviewed at the September Meeting of the Board of Examiners at the end of your third year.

Some of the partner universities in the year abroad scheme begin their academic year in late August or early September , not allowing students to complete the required 22 weeks of the Industrial Placement. 

If you are taking the Year Abroad route you will need to resolve the conflict yourself if it arises by either not taking the industrial placement option, or by choosing a university abroad with a later start. Placements shorter than 22 weeks will not be approved.  

The successes and challenges of my work placement - Katarzyna Zukowska 

 “Having just finished my placement, I have a lot of thoughts on what met my expectations and where I could do better during that time. As part of my Electrical and Electronic Engineering degree, I had an opportunity to do a six-month internship over the last term of my third year and the summer. Now that I’m going into my fourth and final year of study, I can fully recognise just how much it has shaped my career goals.”  Read more at: https://blogs.imperial.ac.uk/student-blogs/author/katarzyna/