Engineering professional practice

Congratulations on securing a placement/work experience! Prior to your placement you will need to fill in the relevant form for the experience you are undertaking.

The three different types of experiences are:

1. Unpaid Engineering Professional Practice
   • Submit unpaid placement approval form
2. Paid Engineering Professional Practice
   • Submit paid placement notification form
3. Unpaid work experience 
   • Access the Unpaid Work Experience form

Guidelines

Unpaid Engineering Professional Practice

Students undertaking approved unpaid Engineering Professional Practice to satisfy the Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)/Master of Engineering or Master of Engineering requirements are covered under the University's insurance policy. UQ’s Certificates of Currency for insurance are available here.

To be covered by the UQ Insurance Policy, you will need to submit the Unpaid Engineering Professional Practice Placement Form to the EAIT Student Employability team via employability@eait.uq.edu.au for approval before undertaking unpaid professional practice. This form must be submitted at least 2 (two) days before commencing unpaid placements.

The University's insurance cover will not apply to placements undertaken without UQ approval. 

If you are undertaking an unpaid placement overseas, you must also register your trip through International SOS 

Play the video below to see how to complete the unpaid engineering professional practice form.

EAIT Student Employability Team: Video 1: Unpaid Professional Placement Form from UQ Communication & Arts on Vimeo.

Paid Engineering Professional Practice

Students undertaking a paid placement need to notify the faculty by filling in a Paid Placement Notification Form If you are being paid for work undertaken, you are considered an employee of the company and should be covered by your employers' insurance. 

Unpaid work experience

If you are undertaking non-mandatory unpaid work experience (IT or architecture students) an Unpaid Work Experience form must be submitted at least 2 (two) days before commencement to the EAIT Student Employability Team via employability@eait.uq.edu.au. 

Travel approval form

If you are travelling more than 50km from your usual place of residence that requires an overnight stay, for your placement, you must complete the EAIT Travel Approval Form. This form must be submitted and approved in order to be covered under UQ’s Travel Insurance. This form must be submitted a minimum of two weeks prior to your departure. Please note the travel form is not required if you are employed by the company.

Domestic Travel Form International Travel Form 

Remote Work Integrated Learning Placements

If you are undertaking your professional practice placement remotely, UQ would like to ensure that this is an effective and enriching learning experience to assist in gaining the skills and experiences you require for the professional workplace once you graduate. The Faculty will approve remote work-integrated learning placements if the following requirements are met:

• Organisations must provide students with an adequate level of supervision – this being a minimum of two-three touchpoints per week when working full time, or equivalent for part-time work. This could include online video calls or phone discussions, however, the appropriate guidance and direction are required. Email communication does not qualify as one of these touchpoints.

• Supervisors are required to have appropriate work or project planning systems in place which allow for effective online collaboration, inclusion and learning.
• Students must be able to ensure they are in an environment that is safe and conducive for work and are required to complete the UQ Guidelines and Confirmation for Working from Home form.

It is your responsibility to do the appropriate investigation prior to commencing your placement to ensure that any remote working integrated learning placements meet the above requirements. If you will be claiming your hours for your engineering professional practice milestone, the Employability Team will be auditing remote working placements to ensure compliance, and if a placement does not meet these requirements, it will be rejected.

If you have questions related to these requirements, please contact the EAIT Student Employability Team.

Virtual Internships

If you are interested in undertaking a virtual internship to assist in building your experience for your engineering professional practice milestone, UQ offers some options for students. It is important to note, however, that you must check the suitability of the placement prior to the commencement of your internship. You should consult with the EAIT Employability Team prior to submitting an application for a virtual internship.

To determine whether your experience is eligible to claim against the Engineering Professional Practice milestone, please review the Engineering Professional Practice Activity Table and provide the EAIT Employability Team with the following information so the appropriate approvals can be sought prior to the commencement of your placement.

• Which organisation are you undertaking your virtual internship with? (NB: this is not the virtual internship provider, but the actual organisation that you will be working with.)
• What scope of work are you undertaking as a part of your internship?
• What type of hours are you hoping to claim (i.e. type A or B) and under which category (refer to the Engineering Professional Practice Activity Table for more details)?
• Who are you being supervised by and, if claiming type A hours, what qualifications do they hold?
• How many hours are you hoping to claim if you complete the virtual internship?

Please provide the above information to the EAIT Student Employability Team for review prior to the commencement of your placement.