Professional Experience (SECTE)

According to the University's Code of Practice - Student Professional Experience the University will provide insurance to students that are undertaking unpaid professional experience to cover them against injury during the course of their 12-week placement.

Students will need to:

1. Complete the University Work Experience/Placement Application Form;
2. Attach a letter signed by the placement supervisor:
   1. On company letterhead;
   2. Detailing the dates of the placement; and
   3. Confirming that the student will not be paid during the placement period.
3. Step 3: Submit the completed form and the letter to the Subject Coordinator.

Note: When this document is processed the University's Finance department will mail a letter detailing the insurance arrangements directly to the placement organisation and contact that is listed on the form.

All students will be required to enrol in the subject ECTE399 Professional Experience prior to commencing placement.

Students will be able to enrol in this zero (0) credit point subject in either Autumn or Spring session.

An "IPC" grade will be incurred until the subject is completed and the required report is submitted and marked as satisfactory. All "Satisfactory" grades will be enacted on the same day that results are released each semester.

The subject ECTE399 Professional Experience is a zero (0) credit point subject.

Zero credit point subjects DO NOT incur any HECS fees as they have no EFTSL value.

For further details on fees please refer to the University Fees and Assistance information for current students.

Results will be released. If your report requires amendment, you will be sent an email or a SOLS mail with the necessary details, and you will be required to resubmit your report accordingly.

Refer to e-learning website

Students are required to submit a detailed written report upon completion of their 12-week professional experience requirement.

The report should be typed on A4 size paper; be approximately ten pages in length (5,000 words) and printed clearly, i.e. not smudged or illegible. The use of subheadings is strongly encouraged.

The following information must be included in the report:

• Title Page: A sample title page can be obtained from the subject Moodle web site.
• Introduction: in this section detail the name of the organisation/company; the position/role title that the student undertook; the name of the designated supervisor; and the exact dates of the placement;
• Company Description: this section should provide further details on the company and industry in which the student was working; who are they? What do they do?

The Introduction and Company Description should not be more than two pages in length

• Work Description: students should provide a detailed description of the work that they undertook during their placement; include specific project/s information or all significant aspects of an activity that were assigned to the student for completion;
• Evaluation: identify the learning outcomes, significant achievements and milestones and the relevance of the placement to the degree; students should also include any feedback on the organisation (including resources, supervision etc);
• Conclusion: Summarise the placement experience; and
• Certificate of Service: Completed by the Employer.

Note: Students that complete their professional experience in more than one organisation will need to submit a separate report that relates to each placement experience.

A copy of the professional experience report must be provided to the placement supervisor prior to submitting the report to the School for marking.

Students must obtain a Certificate of Service from the placement provider that:

• Is on the company letterhead;
• Clearly states the dates of the placement commencement and completion; and
• Acknowledges that the report prepared by the student has been received and that it is a true representation of the activities undertaken.

The Certificate of Service must be attached to the back of the placement report that is submitted to the SECTE Administrative Officer for marking. Reports that do not meet this requirement will not be accepted.

It is the responsibility of the student to submit the required report at the completion of their 12 weeks professional experience.

Reports must be submitted at the very latest at least two (2) months prior to graduation.

July Graduation:

Reports are due at the end of April if students are seeking to graduate in July.

December Graduation:

Reports are due at the end of August for those students intending to apply for December graduation.

All students are required to sign a document acknowledging that they have read and agreed with the University’s documented “Code of Practice - Student Professional Experience” (the "Code").

This clearly defines the expectation of students, professional experience supervisors and the University and to “minimise difficulties caused by misunderstanding or poor communication”.

Completed Professional Experience Reports should be submitted via the link on the ECTE399 Moodle site.

Note: Reports should only be submitted if students have completed all of the report requirements and have a Certificate of Service attached to the report. Incomplete reports will not be accepted.

• It is the responsibility of the student to negotiate and organise their own professional experience placement.
• It is recommended that students aim to undertake their 12-week placement during the Summer session following successful completion of their prescribed third-year program.
• It is noted that there may be times when students are unable to undertake a consecutive 12-week placement program, and in such circumstances a number of shorter periods may be considered as acceptable.
• Useful methods to source placement providers include contacting various industries and companies of relevance or responding to position advertisements that may appear in local papers, websites or notice-boards located in both SECTE and the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences.
• The Institute of Engineers Australia also has information on potential placement providers. Please see their webpage for further details.
• All professional experience placements need to be approved by the subject coordinator. Reports for placements that do not meet this requirement will not be accepted.

All undergraduate degrees offered by the School of Electrical, Computer and Telecommunications Engineering are accredited by Engineers Australia. In accordance with accreditation requirements, Engineers Australia requires students to have significant exposure to professional engineering practice throughout their degree.

It is a compulsory requirement that all students enrolled in any of the undergraduate degrees (including single or combined degrees) offered by the School must complete at least twelve weeks of approved professional experience.

Students are not eligible to graduate unless the professional experience requirement has been satisfactorily met.