A guide for Employers

Postgraduate ICT Students on Work Placement

Do you have limited IT resources or a requirement for special project work to be undertaken?

If the answer is yes, we have students with a wide range of work experience studying level 8 and 9 programmes in Web Technologies, Software Development and Cloud Computing who are seeking work placements.

Introduction

Why should you recruit a postgraduate work placementstudent

Practical Information

Postgraduate Programme Subjects

What languages, programmes and technologies have students worked on?

What can MSc in Cloud Computing and MSc in Web Technologies students do during their Industry Dissertation

Interested? What to do next

What Employers Say

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National College of Ireland is very proud of its 61 year history of providing quality education; incorporating participation, collaboration and applied problem solving strategies and we have recently opened our Cloud Competency Centre in the heart of Dublin’s IFSC. From its inception, the Centre has been conceived as a global hub of cloud computing, postulating one of the most unique technological offerings of its kind.

The postgraduate programmes in the Centre include:

• Higher Diploma in Science in Software Development

• Higher Diploma in Science in Web Technologies

• MSc in Cloud Computing

• MSc in Web Technologies

Work placements and industry dissertations are a core element of postgraduate degree programmes within the School of Computing in National College of Ireland. These placements are managed by the Career Development and Employability Service and, within this, the Work Placement Office works with almost 200 computing students annually who actively seek work placements in industry.

Our Computing postgraduate programmes are designed with real world applications in mind and we are very proud to continually work with industry—from large multinationals to small SMEs across all industry areas—who help inform our course development and delivery.

INTRODUCTION

Why should you recruit a postgraduate work placement student?

• Students on HEA ICT Skills programmes- Higher Diploma in Science in Software Development and Higher Diploma in Science in Web Technologies, have a previous history of employment, so their skill set includes a wealth of practical experience and knowledge from the workplace. Many already have a higher education qualification but have taken the pro-active step of up-skilling or cross-skilling within IT and can make an immediate contribution to your organisation.

• Students on the MSc Cloud Computing and MSc Web Technologies include technical graduates, industry experts, system administrators and those with an interest in expanding their computing background and practical experience in cloud and web technologies.

• Give something back. Your organisation will play an essential part in providing students with meaningful experience that enhances their employability skills.

• Work placement employees can provide not only relief for short-term peaks in workload, but also research skills for special projects and proofs of concept.

• Your organisation gains from the enthusiasm, fresh perspective and energy of talented postgraduate students eager to learn.

• Employing placement students gives your organisation an opportunity to evaluate a student’s potential as future employees and to develop a talent pipeline.

• Faculty advisers and academic supervisors endeavour to closely monitor students’ work and typically become an excellent resource to your organisation.

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PRACTICAL INFORMATION!

Are there any rules about placements?

Placements need to give the students practical work experience in ICT and should be directly relevant to the student’s postgraduate programme. Placements must be supervised by an IT professional in your organisation.

We regard the placement as a three-way partnership between the employer (your organisation), the student, and the College. Staff from the School of Computing will visit students and their work supervisors during the placement period.

How long are work placements for?

Higher Diploma in Science in Software Development and Higher Diploma in Science in Web Technologies

The placements are for a 3 month period. After 3 months, the student has fulfilled the minimum requirement for the award of the Higher Diploma. Students on these courses undertake a work placement module having completed all their examinations and, as they are not returning to College, students can normally be available to remain in employment for a longer period if both parties are in agreement.

MSc in Cloud Computing and MSc in Web Technologies

Whilst undertaking an industry dissertation, students on the MSc in Cloud Computing and MSc in Web Technologies are required to carry out an interdisciplinary research project that combines both research and technical skills to investigate, design, produce, and evaluate an innovative cloud solution or technology. This industry dissertation is for a 3 month period and takes place once the student has successfully passed all modules. As students are not returning to College, they can normally be available to remain in employment if both parties are in agreement.

Remuneration

It is recommended that students in placements are economically remunerated. However, the College on occasion accepts unpaid placements from employers. We suggest that employers who are unable to pay a full wage cover at least travel and subsistence expenses. We welcome the opportunity to speak with employers about payment rates and options.

The JobBridge initiative, part of the National Internship Scheme, can be a useful resource to recruit students in a funded ICT Skills Conversion Programme (typically a Higher Diploma) and in receipt of social welfare.

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• Object Oriented Software Engineering • Software Development • Web Design • Computer Architecture, Operating Systems and Networks • Introduction to Databases • Advanced Programming • Data Structures and Algorithms • Web Services and API Development • Project • Career Bridge – Career Management Skills

Semester 3• Work Placement

POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMME SUBJECTS

Higher Diploma in Science in Software Development

Higher Diploma in Science in Web Technologies

• Introduction to Computing and Web Technologies • Client Side Web Technologies • Server Side Web Technologies• Web Application Development • Rich Internet Applications • Project • Career Bridge – Career Management Skills

Semester 3• Work Placement

MSc in Web Technologies

• Deployment• Usability Testing and Implementation• Enterprise Frameworks• Web Application Frameworks• Cloud Computing• Technology Entrepreneurship• Enterprise Game• Advanced Client Side Scripting• Advanced Rich Internet Applications

Dissertation Categories• Industry Dissertation (with work placement)• Research Dissertation

MSc in Cloud ComputingCore Modules

• Cloud Architecture• Cloud Security• Research and Development in Computing I• Research and Development in Computing II• Business Strategies for Cloud Computing

Infrastructure Specialisation• Cloud Infrastructure Management• Data Storage and Management• Virtualisation

Software Specialisation• Cloud Application Development• Advanced Client Side Development and User Experience• Cloud Application Services

Dissertation Categories• Industry Dissertation (with work placement)• Research Dissertation4

WHAT LANGUAGES, PROGRAMMES AND TECHNOLOGIES HAVE STUDENTS WORKED ON?

MSc in Cloud Computing

Hardware: x86 Servers and WorkstationsNetworking: Ethernet (IEEE 802.3 LAN technologies), Wireless (IEEE 802.11 technologies), TCP/IP Operating Systems: Windows and LinuxVirtualisation Software/Management: VMWare, Microsoft Hyper-V, XenCloud Platforms: Eucalyptus, OpenStack, AzureDeployment Platforms: Microsoft Azure (PaaS) and Amazon Web Services (IaaS)

Programming Languages: Java, Ruby on Rails, C#, SQL

MSc Web Technologies

Hardware: x86 Servers and WorkstationsNetworking: Ethernet (IEEE 802.3 LAN technologies), Wireless (IEEE 802.11 technologies), TCP/IP Operating Systems: Windows and LinuxWeb Development Platforms: Microsoft .NET and LAMP (Linux, Apache HTTP Server, MySQL, and PHP)Deployment Platforms: Microsoft Azure (PaaS) and Amazon Web Services (IaaS)

Programming Languages: Java, Ruby on Rails, C#, SQL

Web Languages: HTML, XML, JavaScript

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WHAT LANGUAGES, PROGRAMMES AND TECHNOLOGIES HAVE STUDENTS WORKED ON?

Higher Diploma in Science in Software Development

Hardware: x86 Servers and WorkstationsOperating Systems: WindowsNetworking: Ethernet (IEEE 802.3 LAN technologies), Wireless (IEEE 802.11 technologies), TCP/IP Web Development Platforms: LAMP (Linux, Apache HTTP Server, MySQL, and PHP)Applications/Frameworks: Microsoft Office, Dreamweaver, Rational Rose

Programming Languages: Java, Ruby on Rails, C#, SQL

Higher Diploma in Science in Web Technologies

Hardware: x86 Servers and WorkstationsOperating Systems: WindowsWeb Development Platforms: Microsoft .NET and LAMP (Linux, Apache HTTP Server, MySQL, and PHP)Applications/Frameworks: Microsoft Office, Dreamweaver, Rational Rose

Programming Languages: Java, Ruby on Rails, C#, SQLWeb Languages: XHTML/HTML, XML, JavaScript

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Within the MSc in Cloud Computing and MSc in Web Technologies students who choose the industry dissertation path are expected to undertake a work placement. The placement is intended to provide valuable experience to the student by not only spending time working for an organisation external to NCI, but also carrying out a relevant project in cloud computing or web technologies respectively. As the project normally entails that the student develops a relevant piece of applied research, the symbiosis NCI-hosting organisation is typically regarded as a research designated environment.

Included below is a list of possible research topics. This list is purely a guide and not exhaustive so please do contact us to discuss your research proposal.

• Ingenious porting and deployment of 3-tier applications • Balancing of Computation, Networking, and Storage• Trusted Environments in Cloud Computing• MapReduce on Cloud• Opportunistic/Voluntary use of Cloud resources

Placement opportunities that may suit the MSc students include junior roles as:

• Software Developer Cloud Computing • Software Systems Architect Cloud Computing • Cloud Platform Developer • Cloud Services –Software Engineer • Enterprise Solution Architect• Web Technologist• Technical Support Engineer• Web Application Developer

WHAT CAN MSC IN CLOUD COMPUTING AND MSC IN WEB TECHNOLOGIES STUDENTS DO DURING THEIR INDUSTRY DISSERTATION?

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What can Higher Diploma in Science in Software Development and the Higher Diploma in Science in Web Technologies students do on placement?

Included below is an indicative but not exhaustive list of opportunities at a junior level that would typically suit work placement students from the Higher Diploma in Science in Software Development and the Higher Diploma in Science in Web Technologies.

• Web Developer • Ruby on Rails Developer • XHTML and JavaScript Developer • Java Developer

• Support Engineer • Technical Support • Software Engineer

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INTERESTED? What to do next! Pre-Placement Process

Initial Letter of Intent In the first instance we would like you to confirm in principle that you may be able to provide work placements by completing our draft letter of intent.

Contact Contact the Work Placement Office to discuss your requirement.

Job Description Prepare and forward a detailed job description to the Work Placement Office.

Advertise Job Details of all opportunities are advertised to the classes by the Work Placement Office and students express their interest in the opportunity to the Work Placement Office within 2 working days. We encourage employers to consider the benefits of taking more than one student.

Be a Guest Speaker We would be delighted to welcome you to National College of Ireland to present both your company and the opportunity to the class of students. Please speak with the Work Placement Office to arrange a presentation.

Review CVs The Work Placement Office forwards CVs to the organisation. The organisation selects students to interview (organisations are advised to interview as soon as

possible after receipt of CVs, as students may be placed elsewhere in the intervening period)

Interview & Select • The Work Placement Office contacts students and organises all interviews. • All offers must be made via the Work Placement Office. (Students can apply to several organisations but must accept the first firm offer of placement made to them via the Work Placement Office.)

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Contracts & Agreements • The College strongly advises that organisations issue a fixed term contract of employment together with details on their policies/work practice procedures to students. • A tri-party agreement will be signed whereby the College, the student and the employer sign and pledge their intention for a successful placement.

During Placement

An Induction The student’s placement should commence with an induction process which will familiarise them with the company, culture, working practices and health and safety. The benefits of having an induc-tion far outweigh the initial effort required.

Review & Sign the student’s monthly reports Work supervisors must approve and sign the student’s Monthly Learning and Final Work Placement Report.

Site Visit by the College The College will schedule a site visit to your office approximately midway through the placement. In some instances, a visit may not be possible and in such circumstances the assessment may be conducted by phone.

Issues with the student during placement Please notify the Work Placement Office immediately should you experience any issues with a work placement student.

End of Placement Process

Feedback Employer’s feedback will be sought on completion of the work placement. Information such as whether they would consider rehiring the student, any improvements that could be made to the placement program or any feedback on course module design is welcome.

Further Employment Employers wishing to retain work placement students for further employment should discuss the options available with the NCI Work Placement Office.

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WHAT EMPLOYERS SAY!“Our NCI student joined Microsoft Ireland in order to get first-hand experience with building international software, having a strong technical background from the National College of Ireland he quickly exceeded our expectation by completing new and challenging projects at a professional level. Our student’s passion for designing and developing software is evident in his work and he went above and beyond by volunteering for charity work and initiating side projects with other Microsoft interns”.- Microsoft

“At Datalex we are a world class provider of travel ecommerce. We bring those standards to our search for top talent.We were delighted therefore to participate in the Student Work Placement Programme at the National College of Ireland. Our experience both of the student and the support from the college itself has been excellent. We would have no hesitation in recommending the National College of Ireland’s Work Placement Programme and look forward to partnering with them in the future”.- Datalex

“The process of a placement was hassle free. The student we received was excellent. If an opportunity arose in the future I would contact him as he was a perfect match for our company and for our team. He was extremely professional and flexible. I would recommend him for any future employment”.- Arvato Finance

“Our NCI student demonstrated great initiative, team work, ability to learn quickly. He took on responsibility for tasks we would normally give to a permanent employee .This scheme has been very beneficial to the student and to Intel.”- Intel

“Rentview as a start up had a critical need for a graphic designer intern. We engaged with the National College of Ireland and they sent along CV’s on prospective candidates. We were delighted with the quality of work produced by our intern, who helped design brochures, business card, advertisements, web pages, logos and much more. This work proved valuable for such an early stage start-up company”.- Rentview

“Our NCI student provided us with much needed help to address both our day to day tasks and one off requests, definitely a valuable resource to have across the board. In summary the student placement programme from the National College of Ireland was a valuable exercise to be involved with and would recommend to any other Company”.- DAA (Dublin Airport Authority)

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WHAT EMPLOYERS SAY!“Camara took on several placement students from NCI and were absolutely delighted with the support and standard of work which we received from them. We found the students to be enthusiastic, motivated and eager to learn and we certainly hope to take on more students in the future. I would highly recommend this programme to any company”.- Camara

“The NCI Student Placement Programme has assisted AMT-SYBEX by allowing such activities as internal software development, research, testing, analysis and release preparation to be ably carried out by our NCI placement student. In general it opens companies up to fresh ideas, new perspectives and approaches to particular areas, increasing awareness in the relevant discipline, and also provides a fast track link for the employer to a future workforce.

The NCI Student Placement Programme establishes a good link back to third level to provide the student with exposure to the workplace, to various work related skills, allowing them to put academic theory to practice and assist with personal and professional growth.”- AMT-SYBEX

“NCI work placement students have contributed greatly to the work of HEAnet. We have come to expect a very high standard from those students that present for interview and we look forward to working with the NCI Student Work Placement Programme for many years to come.”- HEAnet

“Our experience with the NCI placement programme has been excellent. The recruitment process itself was very well organised, easy to manage from our point of view and it took up very little time. The two students that we took on worked out extremely well. They were very productive from early on in their placement and we found them a pleasure to deal with throughout. We will hopefully be offering employment to them both and would have no hesitation in working with the NCI programme again”.- Ultan Technologies

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National College of Ireland, Mayor Street, IFSC, Dublin 1

For more information or to submit a work placement opportunity please contact the work placement office:

Siobhan MocklerWork Placement Office Career Development & EmployabilityTel: (Direct): +353 1 4498558Email: siobhan.mockler@ncirl.ieWeb: www.ncirl.ie/careers

Kate CoughlanWork Placement OfficeCareer Development & EmployabilityTel: (Direct): +353 1 4498586Email: kate.coughlan@ncirl.ieWeb: www.ncirl.ie/careers

National College of IrelandMayor Street, IFSC, Dublin 1Tel: (Reception): +353 1 4498500Fax: +353 1 497 2200