SPUR Project

2010 winner (11 of 19)

What academic value does a sandwich placement add to the learning experience of an undergraduate student

Supervisors: Felicity Miller (Business Improvement), Dr Jens Binder (Psychology)

Nottingham Trent University is one of the top ten universities in England and Wales for its graduate employment rate. Whilst there is substantive evidence suggesting placements have a direct impact on graduate employability there is less evidence to show the academic value of the placement year. The project seeks therefore to research the pedagogic value, specifically in regard to student academic achievement, that can be attributed to a sandwich placement. Student tasks will include a literature review, including current Government policy relating to the significance of industrial placements, development of the research design and analysis methods, preparation of a large data set for statistical analysis, extensive data analysis on secondary data, assistance with writing up the findings.