Industry Placement

The Industry Placement module involves an industry experience placement with a ATU Connemara approved manufacturing company or other organisation associated with the furniture and wood products industry. It is a progressive extension to the academic, practical and management skills developed during the programme. Students will be given an opportunity to apply their knowledge, skills, and learning in a real-world environment while applying academic theory from their programme learning.

Students will actively engage in self-directed learning to facilitate successful integration into the host organisations day to day and planned operations and projects. Students will complete academic reports and presentations during the placement to demonstrate experiential learning and skills development. Students will submit placement reports detailing their learning experiences and will be required to make a presentation to a group of academic and industry stakeholders upon successful completion of the industry placement module.

To facilitate the completion of modules while on placement students will be required to work 4 days per week with the placement company and will have one day per week for online module delivery and to focus on completing industry focused applied projects for blended delivery modules specific to the student’s programme.

Students will gain valuable insights into current work practices and identify potential graduate employment opportunities. The module shall address the professional practice required by students entering and participating in the modern workplace. Each student is required to undertake the industry placement module in the third year of their programme, occurring from September to May.

1. Develop work-related skills and professional practice in project work, product quality, deadlines, and budgets.

2. Enhance career and industry knowledge and best practice.

3. Demonstrate the ability to record work experiences and practices and communicate in an academic format.

4. Apply academic theory to commercial projects in a professional environment.

5. Demonstrate an ability to work efficiently and effectively as part of a team and integrate as a productive member of the host organisation.

6. Engage in self-directed learning while working in industry to aid in the development of key professional and transferrable skills.

7. Critically evaluate and reflect on their placement experience in terms of personal development and assess the effect of their placement experience on their future career prospects.