Postgraduate KBS placements

The consultancy project is currently offered to students on our full time postgraduate programmes. It is offered as an alternative to completing a dissertation and allows you to apply, under competitive conditions, for a real, commercially relevant, University-agreed project for a local organisation. You will be supervised by one of our academics and the project is assessed and counts towards your degree. Projects take place for eight to ten weeks usually from late June.

Previous students have worked on projects including:

• putting together a business plan to enable the organisation to enter into a new market place
• carrying out a feasibility study looking at market assessment, key risks and opportunities and required resources for a new venture
• conducting market research and putting together a marketing strategy for the company to increase its market share and then to devise and distribute the resulting marketing materials
• reviewing the company’s use of existing IT systems and recommending improvements in the management of work flow, management reporting and effective use of existing software
• working on a procurement strategy and helping the company to make decisions regarding supply processes and infrastructure investment

The aim of this pathway is to allow you time and space to develop your own business idea. You will have access to facilities and expertise for a period of 6-12 months. During this time, you will be required to complete a portfolio of evidence, presentation to an external stakeholder and a reflective piece which will constitute the module’s summative assessment.

With the support of the School’s Placement Officer, you will find and secure a placement which can last between 6-12 months. The placement should be a paid work placement at a suitable level for Master’s study. During your time on the placement you will be required to complete an extended project on behalf of the organisation. The project report, presentation and a reflective piece and an organisation assessment will constitute the module’s summative assessment*.

*Students who require a Visa to study in the UK may be able to add in a work placement of up to 1 year depending upon the programme. The ability to add a work placement is dependent upon the UK Immigration rules at the time of the request. It may be that for some programmes students will not have the option to request a placement period to be added to their programme before they arrive in the UK and would need to apply for a new Visa. There is no guarantee that a placement will be provided and that students who have a Visa are subject to a number of restrictions on the type of work, including placements they can undertake