Internship Report Template

Department of Engineering

Title

http://placements.eng.cam.ac.uk
June 2019
Contents

1. Introduction

2. Requirements and aims

(a) Relevant experience
(b) Tier 4 visa
(c) Paying tax

3. Health and safety

(a) The law
(b) During your internship
(c) Working abroad
(d) Student safety checklist

4. Documenting your internship

(a) Internship summary
(b) Internship report
(c) Employer review
(d) Student feedback
INTRODUCTION

This booklet will take you through the steps you need to take in order to qualify for the CUED
Industrial Experience requirements. Once you have completed all the sections, you should then
present the document to the Industrial Placement Coordinator for confirmation that you have met the
requirements.

All students are expected to conduct themselves admirably whilst on their internship and you may be
invited back by your employer the following year. You may be offered a permanent role on graduation
as a result. Whilst not everyone wishes to return, please keep in mind that a future Cambridge
engineering student may wish to follow in your footsteps and it would be helpful to me if you could
ensure that you complete all the details on the employer's organisation so I can easily maintain
contact with them in the future.

I hope you enjoy your experiences and I look forward to hearing all about them on your return.

Vicky Houghton
Industrial Placement Coordinator
[email protected]

BNO-41
Department of Engineering
University of Cambridge
Trumpington Street
Cambridge, CB2 1PZ
http://placements.eng.cam.ac.uk
http://www.facebook.com/CUEDIE
Tel:  (+44) 1223 332791
REQUIREMENTS AND AIMS

The Faculty Board of Engineering have agreed that students are required to complete a minimum of
six weeks of relevant industrial experience by the end of Part IIA of the Engineering or Manufacturing
Engineering Triposes [by the end of the third year].

Please note you DO NOT have the summer between year 3 and 4 available to complete the
placement.  Our recommendation is always to aim to complete the work in the summer months
between year 1 and 2 AND/OR the summer between year 2 and 3.

What is relevant industrial experience?

Relevant industrial experience is defined as work of a technical nature that is related to the subjects
studied in the Engineering Tripos and the Manufacturing Engineering Tripos. It may involve research,
design, development, testing, manufacturing, construction or research work, and should include
interaction with the work of others who are likely to be professionally qualified.

What are the aims of an internship?

- To meet the tripos requirements
- To give understanding to academic principles and added relevance to course work
- To develop analytical, problem solving, practical and presentation skills
- To develop an understanding of commercial, time, practical and human restraints
- To develop personal skills in particular self-management, working in teams, relating effectively
to others and customer/client relationships
- To develop your careers aspirations and future decision making in this area

Tier 4 visa
As an undergraduate registered on a UK course, you have the right to work full-time during vacation
periods.  Current regulations can be found at https://www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa/overview.
General advice can be provided by the International Student Team
www.internationalstudents.cam.ac.uk

Paying Tax
If you have a job when you’re a student you may need to pay Income Tax and National Insurance.  If
you are not a UK resident, you may have a National Insurance (NI) number printed on the back of
your biometric residence permit (BRP). You do not need to apply for a National Insurance number if
you already have one, or one is printed on your BRP.

If this is the first time you have worked in the UK, do not have a National Insurance number, you will
need to apply for a National Insurance number from HM Revenue and Customs.

As you are unlikely to earn enough to meet the annual tax threshold, it is likely you will pay too much
tax.  To get this money back, you can claim a refund from the HMRC.  

Non-UK students working in the UK

Some double-taxation agreements mean you do not pay UK tax on your income if you work while you
are a student. Visit the HRMC website for the current agreements.
https://www.gov.uk/student-jobs-paying-tax
HEALTH AND SAFETY

CUED takes certain steps to ensure your Health and Safety while on an industrial placement and you
will have received a Health and Safety briefing during your first week at the Department of
Engineering.

You need to complete a risk assessment form prior to going on your placement. This must be
completed by ALL undergraduates who will be working away from the University of Cambridge. If you
are undertaking an internship, whether to meet the Industrial Experience requirement or for your
personal development, a risk assessment must be completed

The form should be submitted on Moodle, https://www.vle.cam.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=167941,

ideally 2-3 months in advance of the activity, or as soon as possible. You must inform us of any
changes to plans following submission of the form.

If you are staying in University accommodation and undertaking University related work (i.e. UROP)
you DO NOT have to complete a risk assessment.

There is a detailed checklist below for you to follow and the employer will also be asked to assess
your Health and Safety awareness. In this document, there is a letter highlighting health and safety
awareness which should be forwarded to your future employer.

Health and safety law

Various Acts cover Health and Safety, primarily the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974). It ensures
that the company should:

1. Have a written Health and Safety Policy available for inspection.

2. Undertake risk assessments in all appropriate areas of work.
3. Have a formal procedure for recording accidents.

Current Health and Safety guidance is available http://www.hse.gov.uk/workers/index.htm

During your internship

If you are asked to handle or operate any equipment make sure you receive:
- full operational instructions.
- awareness training on potential hazards.
- emergency procedures if appropriate.

Make sure you are eligible by law to operate machinery or equipment e.g. forklift truck drivers require
appropriate training and certification.

If you have any concerns about Health and Safety on your placement, raise them with your workplace
supervisor, appointed Safety Officer or management. If they cannot be resolved by the organisation,
you should contact the Industrial Placement Coordinator or alternatively the Deputy Head of
Department (Teaching), Dr. Claire Barlow, Tel: +44 1223 332625

Insurance
No special insurance considerations required of an employer to host a student but it is expected that
the company will hold Employer Liability and Public Liability certificates (as is standard business
practice) registered at http://www.fsa.gov.uk/fsaregister
https://www.abi.org.uk/products-and-issues/products/business-insurance/liability-
insurance/employers-liability-insurance/work-experience-students/

Working abroad
For students working abroad it is suggested that you check with the Foreign Embassy of the country
they are intending to visit. You are advised to take out appropriate travel and medical insurance if you
are going to work abroad, particularly if you are a EU citizen working anywhere outside the member
states, or you are a non EU citizen working in another EU country outside the UK.
Many countries have reciprocal health arrangements especially inside the European Union, which for
UK and EU citizens will be covered by the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

For overseas students returning to their own country they should check for to the appropriate
legislation.

STUDENT INTERNSHIP SAFETY INDUCTION

This student safety checklist for internship students is for guidance. All on site safety
requirements MUST be adhered to. Below are items you need to be made aware of.
1 Fire evacuation and assembly points
2 Location of fire alarm call points and extinguishers
3 First Aider and first aid facilities, accident reporting
4 Personal Protective equipment where issued (with instruction as required) (You
have a duty to report any damage, loss or defects of issued items to your local
supervisor)
5 Housekeeping, toilet facilities, locations where you can/cannot eat and drink
6 Observation of safety signs e.g. noise areas, safety specs etc
7 Transport movement on site e.g. fork lift truck
8 The known local safety hazards applicable to a process or procedure
9 Check if relevant Risk and C.O.S.H.H assessments available
10 Permits to operate/work where applicable
IF THERE IS ANYTHING ABOUT HEALTH AND SAFETY YOU ARE NOT SURE
OF – ASK, NEVER ASSUME

All employees have a duty as follows:-

It shall be the duty of every employee while at work:

(a) to take reasonable care of the health and safety of HIMSELF/HERSELF and of
OTHER PERSONS who may be effected by her/his acts or omissions at work.
And
as regards and duty or requirement imposed on his/her employer or any other
(b) person by or under any of the statutory provisions, to co-operate with him/her so
far as is necessary to enable that duty or requirement to be performed or complied
with.

No person shall intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interest of
Health, Safety or Welfare in pursuance of any of the relevant statutory provisions.
It is important that you ensure ALL items on the checklist and any other local health and safety
concerns are explained to/and understood by you. Please remember item 12, the organisations
would rather you asked than assumed.
DOCUMENTING YOUR INTERNSHIP

Letter of introduction
This is a letter you can to give to your employer to remind them of their Health and Safety
responsibilities.

Internship summary
An overview of the internship details.

Internship report
Confirmation from your employer is necessary and should preferably be in the form of a signed report.
We ask for details of the duties, tasks and your responsibilities you have undertaken, however we are
sympathetic to confidential information. Please ensure you do not compromise yourself or your
employer. A template is provided for you to use, however it is acceptable to use your employers own
reporting systems.
The detail must include, as a bare minimum:

 Your name and college.

 The start and completion dates of the internship.
 A description of your activities, preferably in the context of the company's activities.
 A counter-signature from your supervisor or a manager.
 Their name and contact information (email address will suffice).

Employer review
This should be filled in by your employer and is a chance for you to gain some useful feedback on
your performance. It is suggested that you arrange a suitable meeting with your manager prior to the
end of your internship to allow the report to be verified and counter-signed before your departure.

Student feedback
Your chance to tell us how you undertook your search and

Internship article
The communications team at the Department of Engineering feature articles about our students on
their industrial summer placements and UROP projects. These articles are published both on the
Department website and in the printed Department newsletter which is sent to over 19,000 alumni
around the globe. This provides an opportunity to increase the profile of your host organisation and
yourself. If you would like to be involved, in order to put together these articles we ask you to take
plenty of relevant photos (and videos) whilst you are on your placement.

The communications team can write up the article from a brief interview with you and using your
placement report, but your photos can really help to make the article eye catching when competing
with all the other news in the Newsletter. Some video footage can be embedded into the web version
of the article.

If your placement article is published, this will give you a large amount of exposure to an enormous
number of alumni and a web link that can be added to your CV. If you need any more information,
please contact Jacqueline Saggers and Charlotte Hester at [email protected]
 To whom it may concern
Date: September 2, 2021

You have kindly agreed to take one of our undergraduate engineering students into your organisation
for a period of work. In order to prepare our students for the placement, they have been briefed on
Health and Safety matters during the academic year and have been issued with a checklist to remind
them of the basic responsibilities of both parties. You should be aware that this may be the student's
first work experience therefore we ask you to give your close attention to the following matters:

We expect that you comply with all the current relevant Health and Safety legislation that affects your
organisation and once a student is on your premises he or she will be given the temporary status of
"employee" in respect of Health and Safety.

All students received a briefing on Health and Safety at work, which can only cover points of a general
nature. We request that you induct the student as you would any other new employee and indicate
any hazards that specifically relate to your operations, which could affect the student.

We request that you give particular attention to the level of awareness of the student when making
any risk assessment, and where necessary, provide suitable supervision, training and personal,
protective equipment if required.

Hopefully all the above matters are straightforward, however if there are any points that give you any
concern, please contact me immediately.

Yours Sincerely

Vicky Houghton
Industrial Placements Coordinator

Department of Engineering
Trumpington Street
Cambridge, CB2 1PZ
00 44 1223 332791
[email protected]
INTERNSHIP SUMMARY

NAME:

COLLEGE: CRSID:
Year of entry:

INTERNSHIP DETAILS

Name of organisation:

Full postal address of organisation:

Contact or Supervisors name:

Contact or Supervisors job title:

Contact or Supervisors email:

Organisation website:
Start Date: End Date:

BRIEF OUTLINE OF ACTIVITIES

Complete prior to the start of your internship and submit to

 VICKY HOUGHTON Industrial Placement Coordinator, BNO-041
 [email protected]
INTERNSHIP REPORT

DATE: SIGNED (Student):

DATE: SIGNED (Supervisor):
I certify that this accurately summarises the work undertaken by:

Student Name: College:

Start date: End date:

Organisation:

Supervisor Name: Position:

Signature: Date:
Please ensure the company employer details on the summary page are correct before signing.
EMPLOYER REVIEW

This is optional but provides the student with feedback on their performance during their placement.
Please indicate the most appropriate description for each category.

Attitude to Work

Will the student ask for more work or look for jobs to do?
1. Hard working, strong enthusiasm for the job.
2. Interested in most aspects of work, makes efforts to improve standards.
3. Shows some enthusiasm, a steady approach to routine work.
4. Does what is required but can be without interest or enthusiasm.
5. Reluctant to work, lacking interest or enthusiasm.

Output of work

Does the level of work produced fit the student's level of experience and knowledge?
1. Outstanding in the amount of work he/she does.
2. Completes a great deal of work.
3. Output satisfactory.
4. Does rather less than expected.
5. Output regularly insufficient.

Organising and planning abilities

Does the student have the ability to organise the work effectively?
1. Shows high degree of initiative with organising his/her work load.
2. Can safely be left in charge to monitor own work load.
3. Is able to organise work with minor instructions.
4. Works well with direction, can show signs of planning abilities.
5. Needs someone to organise work for them.

Attitude to working in groups

Does the student prefer working alone or with others?

1. Participates fully and effectively as a team member.
2. Sensitive to role of others - contributes occasionally to team effort.
3. Understands own role and relationship to other group members.
4. Performs own role adequately, but not aware of effect on the group effort.
5. Does not comprehend need for co-operation and prefers to work alone.

Safety awareness

Does the student understand the need for safety regulations and act responsibly?
1. Always observes and applies high standard of safety.
2. Works safely, exercises caution with unknown factors.
3. Works safely under supervision.
4. Has shown little safety awareness.
5. A careless attitude to safety.
Speed of learning

Once you have explained a task, were you confident the student is able to carry out the work?
1. An exceptionally quick learner.
2. A quick learner.
3. Learning ability satisfactory.
4. Unable to comprehend some instructions.
5. Has difficulty grasping new concepts.

Quality of work

Can you expect work to be done to a set standard or do you need to check everything?
1. Distinguished for accurate and thorough work.
2. Maintains a high standard.
3. Work is generally of good quality.
4. Quality is inconsistent.
5. Inaccurate and slovenly in his/her work.

Self confidence

Does the student realise his/her abilities?

1. Has positive and confident approach to work/new tasks.
2. Confident on routine work, cautious with new work.
3. Well-practised tasks confident, very cautious with new work.
4. Works well but lack of confidence impairs performance.
5. Potentially useful worker but lacks self-confidence.

Working with people in authority

How does the student respond to authority?

1. Inspires confidence and communicates well.
2. Works well with those in authority.
3. Lacks some confidence in communicating with authority.
4. Responds to direction but does not communicate well.
5. Tends to show negative attitude to those in authority.

Timekeeping

When late, does the student give genuine reasons for lateness?
1. Always on time, sometimes early, very reliable.
2. Usually reliable, only occasional lapses.
3. Fairly reliable, sees need for punctuality.
4. Has difficulty in keeping time, sees need for promptness.
5. Very unreliable, does not see need for being on time
STUDENT PERFORMANCE

An opportunity to say a few words outlining the student’s strengths and weaknesses or skills you feel
they would benefit from developing for the future.

NAME SIGNATURE

DATE POSITION IN COMPANY

STUDENT FEEDBACK
To be completed by the student. Please delete as appropriate

Which year have you just completed?

1A , 1B, 2A, 2B

How did you find out about the internship?

Through the Industrial Placements team, newsletter or CHOICE database / Through another
university contact (student, careers service, careers fair or college) / Through other contact (family,
friend) / I found it myself (please specify how).

What resources provided did you find the most useful?

http://placements.eng.cam.ac.uk / The CHOICE database / The notice board in the Inglis corridor
/The weekly newsletter / Drop-in session on a Wednesday / Meeting with the coordinator / Didn't use
any of the resources available.

What did you find the hardest part in securing an internship?

What additional support would you have found useful to have?

Searching for placements / More help with my cover email/letter / Finding accommodation / More
help with my CV / Advice on online applications / Interview skills.

Did you meet with the coordinator while searching for a placement?

Yes / No

What was the name of the organisation?

Which city were you based?

How many weeks did you work?

What were your weekly earnings?

Unpaid / £1-£200 / £201-£250 / £251-£300 / £300-£350 / £351-£400 / £401-£450 / £451-£500 / Over

£500

What other benefits did you obtain?

 Free lunch / travel expenses / leaving bonus / social events / gym membership?
Any other perks or points worth mentioning?

Where did you stay for the duration of your internship?

At home or with someone I knew / accommodation provided by my employer / College

accommodation / temporary accommodation I found myself?
If you arranged your own accommodation, how did you find it? Please be specific.

If you were to give yourself retrospective advice in searching, securing and undertaking your
internship - what would it be?

Could you provide us with a summary of your internship experience to share with others?
The good bits, the bad bits and things you wish you had known which would have made it
easier. This section may be added to the CHOICE database.

Complete and submit to

 VICKY HOUGHTON Industrial Placement Coordinator, BNO-041
 [email protected]
If you would like to submit your student feedback anonymously, please use the Fast Feedback Facility
http://to.eng.cam.ac.uk/teaching/apps/FFF/