INDUSTRIAL PRACTICE - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module provides a portfolio of professional development appropriate to the expectations of the graduate’s technical discipline. The module will include developing the ability to interrogate theoretical knowledge learned at the university with applied professional skills and maximise the potential to succeed in the global job market. The Industrial placement is an excellent opportunity to explore and practice reflective and experiential learning by promoting reflection on the development of professional skills and critical thinking about the ways to improve these. Reflection, critical thinking, and analytical skills will be developed during the placement and while writing the report.

Module provider

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Module Leader

ANTONIJEVIC Milan (Chst Chm Eng)

Number of Credits: 60

ECTS Credits: 30

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Year long

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

This module provides students with:

• A guide to the employability support available at Surrey.


• Pre-placement learning on reflection and reflective writing as well as professionalism in the workplace.


• Periodic discussion between student and mentor.


• Awareness of professional behaviour, standard practice and sustainable practice relevant to the sector/industry.


• Reflection on daily activities and adoption of STAR (situation, task, action, response) or other similar approaches in completing reports.


• The significance of a personal and professional development plan and career goals.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate:

• Engagement with employability, including identifying one's skills and experience, organising that information into a form legible to employers, and presenting it in an appropriate way to apply for positions.


• Practice job interview skills through student-driven workshops.


• Engagement with the variety of employability events at Surrey by attending at least one such event.


• Reflection on their goals and the skills needed to achieve them, through a career reflection exercise.

 

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Placement meeting 1, a student should present a 10–15-minute oral presentation on the overview of the placement activities and skills acquired (addresses learning outcomes: 1 and 2)


• Industrial visit, a student will present the advancement in personal and professional skills developed during placement and critically evaluate the ability to conduct a project (addresses learning outcomes: 1 and 2)


• Intermediate reflection on the progress of industrial practice placement in terms of further development of skills and identification of skills that are required (addresses learning outcomes: 2, 3 and 4)


• Placement meeting 2, a student should present a 10–15-minute oral presentation on the placement activities since the last visit which should include skills acquired and suggestions for further development (addresses learning outcomes: 1 and 2)


• The final report comprises the work/tasks undertaken in addition to critical evaluation of the skills developed during the placement as well as requirements for further development (addresses learning outcomes: 2, 3 and 4).

 

Formative assessment:

The formative assessment will consist of question/discussion sessions with the academic mentor during regular visits and meetings. In addition, many in-placement tasks will act as formal assessments and students are encouraged to reflect on them in summative assessments.

 

Feedback:

Students will receive feedback from an academic mentor during regular contacts and site visits. In addition, verbal feedback will be provided regularly by the industrial supervisor/line manager, which should be used to identify areas of acquired expertise the areas for further development.

Module aims

• Widen the knowledge base through obtaining `real workplace´ experience in an industrial or other suitable organisation.
• Enhance the level of personal and professional development, with specific relevance to transferable skills and competencies required for graduate roles after the year in the industry.
• Link academic theory with practical by enabling the application/testing of knowledge and understanding derived from a taught portion of the programme in an industry setting.
• Build on interpersonal skills to enable effective interaction with a range of specialists for the purpose of problem-solving.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

 

• Enable students to develop desired transferable and employability skills in a work-based learning environment.


• Equip students with reflective practice principles.


• Develop the personal responsibility approach to knowledge acquisition in the work environment.


• Develop work ethics, sustainable thinking, resilience, and digital, global and cultural capabilities.

The learning process will be developed using Driscoll’s model of reflection.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: CHEM045

Other information

Surrey's Curriculum Framework is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas:

 

Employability: This module allows students to both understand and actively participate in a range of elements related to the identification, development, and presentation of relevant skills. In addition, this module allows students to acquire and practice attributes in real-life situations and understand, from that opportunity, what the key skills are required for different roles within the industry/company. Coupled with the development of critical thinking, reasoning, decision-making, collaboration, leadership, reflection and other transferable skills, this module is pivotal for career development and job acquisition.

 

Digital Skills: Students will significantly enhance their use of word processing software for report writing, other important job/instrument-related software and the use of scientific databases for research. Furthermore, students will have the opportunity, based on placement company/industry, to work using a plethora of digital tools and communication devices. This will provide them with the latest training opportunities leading to the development of vital digital skills.

 

Global and Cultural Capabilities: Students will join a multi-ethnical environment when studying and more so when in industrial practice placement as a majority of companies have a very ethnically diverse workforce. Furthermore, many companies may be multinational, and students will be exposed to working with people from different countries and time zones which will significantly add to their global and cultural capabilities. Academic and industrial tutors will work on the appreciation of a diversity of cultural experiences so that students can engage effectively with people from different backgrounds.

 

Sustainability: During the year in placement students will be exposed to a different work environment/industry which will inevitably have some sustainability agenda that students will be able to engage with and understand thereby developing necessary sustainability skills. Likewise, their relocation may require some adjustments to their lifestyle which may lead to a more sustainable travel and leaving, skills well desired nowadays.

 

Resourcefulness and Resilience: The need to solve problems will be almost an everyday task for students while in industrial practice placement which will increase the resourcefulness and resilience of the students as there will be many situations where the experiment/task does not work immediately, and the student will have to keep trying, adjusting strategy, continue be motivating while repeating the task until there is a success. Furthermore, students may often find placement opportunities which are further than their residence which will inevitably require thinking and the analysis of the situation. This will further lead to them developing resilience and resourcefulness while trying to adjust to new ways of operation.  

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.