School of Psychology

Experience Excellence Studying People


Stage 3 Work Experience Scheme (WES)

About the WES

After a successful pilot phase, the School of Psychology is now offering the new Work Experience Scheme (WES) that allows local organisations and student volunteers to collaborate on a project. It is an excellent opportunity for students to get a first-hand insight into the local community and enterprise world; likewise, organisations will have a chance to work with our highly qualified students. Finally, for the School of Psychology, it is an opportunity to develop and/or strengthen links with the (local) community. Note that this scheme is open to different kinds of organisations, for example charities, for-profit organisations, NGOs, council, etc. as long as the placements have the promise to offer a valuable learning experience to students.

How the WES works

Participation works via two routes:

  • Route 1: Institutions advertise a placement on the WES-website and students apply to the organisation in response to these advertisements.
  • Route 2: Students approach an organisation of interest directly and ask whether it offers a placement. The School of Psychology thanks all organisations for their participation in the scheme.

Students are asked to consider the following steps:

For Route 1

  • All Year 3 students will be notified once a new WES round opens. All new projects for which the enterprise invites applications will be posted on this website.
  • Students then explore what is of most interest to them; they will then fill out the application form available here and send it DIRECTLY to the organisation by the respective application deadline.
  • The organisation and the student then meet up to discuss the details of the specific project. Where applicable, the organisation can express an interest to have an academic contact person join the team. In either case, the organisation will notify the coordinator of the scheme, Dr. Ulrich Weger, of the student(s) joining the project (see contact information below).
  • The team then starts with the project. Students are expected to commit roughly 4 hours per week. The agreement is for one term to begin with but can be extended if all parties agree.
  • At the end of the academic year (or at the end of a term, if requested by the student), the student receives a letter from the Head of the School of Psychology confirming their participation in the Work Experience Scheme. Only one letter is issued per term per student.

For Route 2

  • Students explore which organisation they would like to conduct a placement with.
  • The student gets in touch with the respective organisation – either in person, by phone or e-mail. A template letter with some information about the scheme can be found here – students may use it in establishing contact with the respective company if they so wish. Students also fill out and attach the application form and send it to the organisation by the respective application deadline. Students can contact as many organisations as they wish – but they can only join one during a given term.
  • Note to students: Before you contact an organisation, try to think of what you would ideally like to get out of this placement. This is something you might want to put into the application form. You may also refer to existing or earlier placements available for inspection on the Archive section of the WES website. Please also note that we cannot guarantee any placements and can also NOT get involved in the process of finding a placement beyond providing you with a template letter that you may use in contacting the organisation.
  • If the student’s interest is met by the organisation, both sides meet up to discuss the details of the respective project. Where applicable, the organisation can express an interest to have an academic contact person join the team. In either case, the organisation will notify the coordinator of the scheme, Dr. Ulrich Weger, of the student(s) joining the project (see contact information below) – and provide a brief description of the project and of the activities the students will be involved in (max. 300 words).
  • Once approval has been granted from the work experience scheme coordinator for the project, the team can start with the project. Students are expected to commit roughly 4 hours per week. The agreement is for one term to begin with but can be extended if all parties agree.
  • At the end of the academic year (or at the end of a term, if requested by the student), the student receives a letter from the Head of the School of Psychology confirming their participation in the Work Experience Scheme. Only one letter is issued per student and term.

Deadlines

Term Deadline
Autumn Term 12:00, Friday 7 October 2011
Spring Term 12:00, Friday 27 January 2012

Current Projects

Archive of Earlier Projects

2010-2011

 



Information for organisations

Please note that students are asked to commit approx. 4 hours per week of academic term time (approx. late September to mid December for the Autumn Term; and mid January to early April for the Spring Term, respectively) to a placement. Placements will likely require variable degrees of support/guidance/supervision but we ask organisations to provide approx. 1 hour of contact time per week to students. Multiple placements can be offered by the same organisation. There will be an application deadline for students to submit an application form to the organisations they are interested in (it is usually the Friday of the second week of term time). Organisations can then contact/interview the students that applied.

If your enterprise is interested in recruiting one or more student volunteers, we would like to ask you for the following:

In no more than 300 words, describe the project the student is expected to be working on. Please

  • provide some background about your enterprise
  • describe the aims and particulars of the intended project
  • describe what the student volunteer can expect to be doing during the time s/he will be joining your enterprise.
  • provide the name of a contact person for possible follow-up questions from students/academic volunteers; provide an e-mail address of the person the application should be directed to.

Finally, it is necessary to confirm that the project has the promise to offer a valuable learning experience to students. Please send your statement—or any questions—to the coordinator of the scheme, Dr Ulrich Weger, via e-mail - U.Weger@kent.ac.uk - by Monday 12 September 2011.

School of Psychology - Keynes College, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NP

Tel: +44 (0)1227 824775; Fax: +44 (0)1227 827030 or Email the School

Last Updated: 19/12/2011