DE5008 - Personal Project and Placement

You will be guided and prepared for placement applications in a series of sessions delivered by tutors and the University’s Placements and Internships team.. You will further develop your design portfolio, application letter and curriculum vitae (CV) in order to give you the best chance in applying for placements in a competitive environment.

You will take part in a collaborative project and/or design competition in in the first part of semester two before the start of the placement period. This project activity gives you a chance to further develop your design process and skills to add further evidence to your portfolio and prepare you for a placement experience. Where these projects involve an external stakeholder they can often lead to a placement opportunity with that organisation, or with a closely related party (e.g. with a brand-owner, or a design consultancy).

In the projects, you may be asked to work alone or in a team, learning to negotiate roles and to work together towards a goal.

Regular contact with tutors and peers will give you formative feedback and advice about your practice. Contact may be on campus or via online platforms. You will be expected to show a greater degree of independence, professionalism and autonomy in the pursuit of your work, both as an individual and when working with others.
Placement opportunities are actively sought and facilitated by the Placements and Internships team and your tutors. Placement opportunities will be advertised to you, clearly explaining the role and requirements. Applications will then be collated and made available to the host organisation, for shortlisting and selection. Shortlisted candidates may be invited to an interview (on campus, online, or at the placement host’s location). The Graduate Futures team and your tutors support the interview process. Placement host companies often give a presentation beforehand to the wider student group and then hold interviews.
The Placements and Internships team ensures that placement hosts complete all necessary forms and agreements prior to the placement starting (Duty of Care, Liability Insurance, Health & Safety). Placements must be processed and recognised through the University’s placement registration system in order to qualify against this module. Placement hosts support and mentor those placed with them and complete feedback forms at the end of the placement. Placement staff will make contact with the host and the student to support the experience.
If you undertake a Personal Live Project instead of a Placement, you will be supported to formulate a suitable project brief that will enable you to demonstrate your competency against the learning outcomes. You’ll be encouraged to get feedback from relevant external experts during the course of your Personal Live Project. Thereafter you will be responsible for managing your time in completing the project to the required deadline and to the acceptable standard.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:
MK5.5 - Demonstrate an understanding of professional design practice environments, processes, practices and behaviours.

MK5.6 - Show an awareness of the relationship between design and the needs and behaviours of audiences, clients, markets, environments, users, consumers, and/or participants.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
MI5.5 – Demonstrate proficiency and care in the realisation of design outputs.
MI5.6 - Show the ability to respond to complex design briefs which meet the needs of a range of stakeholders, including external collaborators.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
MP5.6 - Advance your career aspirations through the creation of a portfolio and actively seeking relevant industry experience.
MP5.7 - Uphold professional standards including the ability to work constructively as part of a team.

The assessment for this module is comprised of the following two components;

Component 1. Portfolio of design practice including a design project and/or design competition completed in the first part of semester 2 in this module.

Component 2. One of the following, A if placed, B otherwise;
A. Placement Report – An illustrated report, documenting your placement activities, feedback from your placement host, and what you believe you learned through the experience.
B. Personal Live Project Report - An illustrated report, documenting the project you completed, feedback from your experts/collaborators, and what you believe you learned through the experience.

In both cases, A or B, your report will be submitted online. It should aim to demonstrate and discuss your design criteria, process and outcomes from the placement period. Layout can be A3 or A4 format, illustrated with images.

Both components (1 & 2 above) are Pass/Fail
You must pass both components to pass this module.

DE5006 – Industrial Design Practice
DE5007 – Contemporary Design Contexts

None

You will be guided and prepared for placement applications in a series of sessions delivered by tutors and others. You will further develop your design portfolio in order to give you the best chance in applying for placements in a competitive environment.

You will have the opportunity to apply for a number of placement opportunities offered by a wide range of employers and organisations. A placement will further develop your skills and abilities as well as your understanding of professional design practice, greatly enhancing your experience of real design work and your employability.

You will have the option to undertake an equivalent collaborative project if you choose not to apply for a placement or you are not successful in securing a placement. This will require you to complete a design project for an external brand or organisation, acting as if you were designing for them in a consultant role.