The work placement team at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has been named as one of the best in the country after being shortlisted for a major national award.
The service, which helps students train, apply for and complete placements at companies and organisations in their area of study, has been nominated for Best University Placement Service at the 2016 National Undergraduate Employability Awards.
Over the past year, the placement team has helped 3,800 students at DMU gain vital work experience, many of which have led to further work or full-time jobs after graduation.
To help encourage students to apply for placements, the team put on 40 introduction talks and created regular promotion throughout campus for available positions.
Many of the placements are with big, multi-national firms like Airbus, IBM, GCHQ and Barclays but there is also a focus on supporting local businesses and the team often populated employer presentations with a mix of big and small companies to increase exposure.
The service has also tripled the number of international employers and companies it offers placements with, including Tommy Hilfiger, O'Neill and Bioworld.
Three-day placement 'bootcamps' were held on DMU's campus, inviting successful speakers, like The Apprentice's Bianca Miller, along with DMU alumni and employers, and webinars giving advice on how best to approach and succeed in placements were viewed by nearly 300 students.
On top of this proactive work, the service makes sure it supports students throughout their placement, once they have successfully won a place.
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After a series of bombings at Brussels airport and metro station earlier this year, the team contacted one student on an international placement in the country.
They offered him daily support and advice and, after he had decided to fly home negotiated with the employer to keep the placement open for him if he decided to return to the country, which he did at a later point.
Jo Cooke Associate Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, Student and Academic Services, said: "Placements are one of the best ways to get real experience of a job; they can make all the theory and practice learnt in the classroom come alive in a way which fires up students and impresses future employers.
"The team here at DMU continually come up with innovative ways to engage with, motivate and support students in finding the right placement for them and it's very pleasing that this has been recognised at a national level."
The award-winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on February 24.
Posted on Tuesday 6 December 2016