ECP Workplacements
One of the most exciting aspects of the MA in Electronic Communication and Publishing is the student's
Practical Placement with a publishing house, new media company, library, school, archive, newspaper,
magazine, or other similar organisation, either in the UK or abroad.
If you are considering hosting a student,
please email m.terras@ucl.ac.uk.
Further information for hosts can be found here.
Object
The object of the Practical Placement is to introduce and expose students to the current
working situation in industries related to electronic communication and publishing.
The placement is the culmination of six months' theoretical study and practical instruction.
Duration
Work placements last between a period of four weeks (minimum) to three months (maximum).
The length of the placement is usually determined by the host. Placements are undertaken at
any time between early April and the end of August. Hosts should be aware that in addition
to completing the placement, students have to sit a written examination (usually in early June)
and research and write their dissertations, to complete their degree.
The placement can be full-time, or on a part-time basis, even one day per week.
Payment
It is not expected that hosts will provide financial remuneration to students on placements,
although some hosts do like to make some form of payment. Most hosts like to pay travelling expenses,
but this is all a matter for the host to agree with the student.
Duties
As the object of the placement is to consolidate and apply student's learning,
it is the desire of the College that the hosts will encourage students to join
and participate in existing projects or procedures, to provide an end-user's point of
view on products, or even to develop proposals for discussion by the host for future
products or services. Some hosts ask students to critique their existing products or
services, to improve their value and usefulness. The hours of work for the student are
usually the same as for employees, but this
is dependant on the host and the nature of the project or procedure being completed by the student.
Benefits
The benefits for a host in taking a student on a placement are many.
The most immediate are: the host can access the latest information about
IT and electronic communication via the student; the host can have an
urgent or necessary project completed by the student, thereby saving staff
time and costs; and the host can obtain fresh input from an outsider.
Previous Hosts
In the past few years students have been hosted by various companies and
institutions, including; ASLIB, BBC educational Publishing, BBC Radio 1,
British Medical Journal, Guardian New Media Lab, HarperCollins,
Hodder Children's Books, The Idler Magazine, Institute of Chartered Accountants,
International Air Transport Association, Mouton de Gruyter (Berlin),
NCR Knowledge Lab, Oxford Digital Library, The Petrie Museum, Reuters,
Rough Guides, Royal Academy of Engineering, School of Oriental and African Studies,
Teleregion Co., The Times, Tibet Images Photo Library, University College London
Wec Development Office, V2, Virgin.net, The Wellcome Trust, The Wire, Xerox.
