Placements and Work Experience
Bachelor of Engineering (Hons)/Master of Engineering industry placement
Completion of an industry or research placement is a compulsory requirement of the Bachelor of Engineering (Hons)/Master of Engineering Program.
Students from the following fields will complete their placement in semester 1 of year five (5) via ENGG7291.
- Electrical
- Electrical and Computer
- Electrical and Biomedical
- Mechanical
- Mechanical and Aerospace
- Mechatronic
- Software Engineering.
Students from the following fields will complete their placement in semester 2 of year four (4) via ENGG7292.
- Mechanical and Materials
- Chemical
- Chemical and Bioprocess
- Chemical and Biomedical
- Chemical and Environmental
- Chemical and Materials
- Chemical and Metallurgical
- Civil
- Civil and Environmental.
Students enrolled in the European Double Degree Program will complete their industry placement via ENGG7293.
Students can either apply for a faculty-sourced placement or self-source a placement. In either case, students must contact the EAIT Student Employability Team at the start of the semester prior to their required placement semester via employability@eait.uq.edu.au.
Master of Data Science
Data Science Capstone Project 1 (DATA7901) and Data Science Capstone Project 2 (DATA7902)
Industry capstone projects are available to students who are eligible to complete DATA7901 and DATA7902. Students who are interested in an industry capstone project are required to advise the EAIT Student Employability Team by completing the industry capstone project EOI form, which will be provided by the course coordinator, by no later than Week 4 of the semester prior to commencing DATA7901.
Master of Cyber Security
Cyber Security Capstone Project 1 (CYBR7901) and Cyber Security Capstone Project 2 (CYBR7902)
Industry capstone projects are available to students who are eligible to complete CYBR7901 and CYBR7902. Students who are interested in an industry capstone project are required to advise the EAIT Student Employability Team by completing the industry capstone project EOI form, which will be provided by the course coordinator, by no later than Week 4 of the semester prior to commencing CYBR7901.
Bachelor of Regional and Town Planning and Master of Urban and Regional Planning Industry Placement
Bachelor of Regional and Town Planning students can elect to enrol in PLAN4130.
Master of Urban and Regional Town Planning students can elect to enrol in PLAN7130.
You must follow our six-step process before you can enrol in PLAN4130 or PLAN7130.
Step 1 - Check your eligibility for the course
Once you've found a WIL placement course that fits with your program, check the course profile to make sure you're eligible to enrol in the course in the semester you'd like to complete your placement.
- satisfy the course prerequisites
- have room in your program to include the course if it's an elective.
Step 2 - Register your interest in the course
Let us know in advance that you're planning to enrol in a placement course so we can send you updates, share opportunities and remind you about key dates.
You can do this by:
- visiting InPlace (UQ's placement management system) to register for the course, year and semester that you plan to enrol
- logging in to access and apply for relevant opportunities.
Visit our Blackboard site – to view an InPlace user guide with instructions on how to register your interest in a placement course.
Note: You won't be able to enrol in your course on mySI-net until we've confirmed your placement in InPlace (see step 6.)
Step 3 - Find an industry placement
Placements for PLAN4130 and PLAN7130 are student self-sourced.
Here are some tips to self-sourcing your placement
- research organisations that you aspire to work with when you graduate and connect with alumni from your program on LinkedIn.
- take advantage of the career development resources available on the EAIT Employability website to help you write your application and prepare for interviews.
- Complete EAIT Career Kickstarter Program
- Utilise EAIT’s free resume feedback tool – VMock
- apply to the host organisations you've identified, long before you plan to enrol in a WIL placement course.
- Some organisations:
- advertise student employment, vacation work or scholarships
- have a structured industry placement program in-place
- may be interested in hosting a student but not actively advertise positions.
Potential host organisations
Research organisations with which you'd like to undertake your placement or that you aspire to work with when you graduate. Types of organisations that might interest you:
- Consultancies – delivering urban planning solutions for clients
- Non-profit or non-government organisations – advocating for a particular cause/segment of society/community/the environment
- Government – local council, state departments, federal agencies
- Industry – companies with an urban or rural focus or whose activities involve planning
- Research facilities – e.g., CSIRO or other Universities
Information sessions for urban planning students on work experience and placement opportunities are held regularly. Monitor the UQ Planning Community Blackboard Site for upcoming dates.
If you need inspiration, check out the following links:
- Career possibilities for the BRTP or MURP
- Planning Institute of Australia
- Search for people who have graduated from your program on LinkedIn
- Organisation of Planning Students (OOPS)
- EAIT Student Employability Facebook Group
- UQ StudentHub jobs board
- Local Government Association of Queensland
- Queensland Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning
If you're having trouble identifying organisations to approach or need some guidance to align with your values or career goals, contact the Course Coordinator, Stephanie Wyeth.
Step 4 - Apply to enrol
You'll need to complete an application form with input from your supervisor at your host organisation. You can download the form from the Shared Documents Tab via InPlace.
You must submit your completed application on the InPlace portal. Make sure you've completed step 2 above to gain access to the correct portal for your course, year and semester.
You must submit your application to enrol in a placement course by the submission deadline.
Enrolment semester | Portal opens | Submission deadline |
Semester 1 | 1 November (previous year) | 31 January |
Semester 2 | 1 April | 30 June |
Summer semester | 1 August | 31 October |
We'll assess your application and refer it to the Course Coordinator for approval.
Once it's approved, you'll receive an email confirmation from the EAIT Student Employability team.
Step 5 - Complete your pre-placement requirements
Before you can enrol in your WIL placement course, you'll need to satisfy all relevant pre-placement requirements.
Mandatory requirements
5 in 5 OHS module.
Students must complete the 5 in 5 Module prior to commencing their placement. The 5 in 5 module can be accessed here.
The course consists of 5 modules covering key OHS topics:
- Induction
- Occupational Violence
- Travel
- Specific Workplace Hazards
- Personal Safety
At the end of each Module you will complete a Knowledge Check of five questions to confirm your understanding of the Module. Each combined Module/Knowledge Check should take no longer than five minutes, and you must achieve 100% on all five Knowledge Checks to be 'compliant' with this requirement.
Other requirements
You may also be required to:
- provide proof of your immunisations (if your host organisation has mandatory requirements)
- register your travel details through either the EAIT Domestic Travel Form or EAIT International Travel Form (if your placement requires you to travel away from your normal residence during the semester) https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/immunisation-and-disease-screening/student-immunisation-requirements
- obtain a Blue Card (if your placement involves working with children)
- provide evidence of a criminal history check (if required by your host organisation.)
Once your WIL placement is confirmed, you'll be advised if you must satisfy any other requirements.
Step 6 - Enrol and attend your orientation
When we've confirmed your placement in InPlace and you've satisfied all your pre-placement requirements, we'll give you permission to enrol in your WIL placement course on mySI-net.
For most courses, you'll attend a mandatory orientation session before you can commence your placement.
Check your timetable in mySI-net and watch for announcements on your course's Blackboard site (login required.)
Unpaid Work Experience
What is unpaid work experience?
- Unpaid work experience is a type of on-the-job training that is not a requirement of your studies. It allows you to enhance your learning in an organisational environment to gain a competitive edge in the job market.
- By spending time in a workplace, you will discover more about workplace processes and communication, build your interpersonal skills and access a new professional network.
- There are some strict conditions around unpaid work experience. These experiences need to be focussed on learning and aligned to your area of study. There are also restrictions on how many days you can engage in unpaid work experience.
For more information, including UQ approval process, please review the UQ Unpaid Work Experience website.
Travel
If your work experience is in a location that requires you to travel more than 50km from your usual place of residence for your placement and includes an overnight stay, you must register your travel details through either the EAIT Domestic Travel Form or EAIT International Travel Form.
Mandatory immunisations
For your own safety and the safety of others, you may be required to demonstrate appropriate vaccination or evidence of immunity to vaccine-preventable diseases before commencing your work experience. Requirements will depend on the policies of the host organisation at the time of approval. Where evidence of vaccination or immunity is a mandatory requirement of the work experience host organisation, UQ will request this evidence from you through the Student Immunisation Evidence Request process.
Engineering Professional Practice
The Engineering accrediting body Engineers Australia, states that 'exposure to professional engineering practice is a key element in differentiating a professional engineering degree from an applied science degree' and requires engineering graduates to have exposure to professional practice.