The Bologna undergraduate professional study programme at the Department of Textiles, Graphic Arts and Design (Graphic and Media Technology and Textile and Clothing Production) calls for a 15-week industrial work placement in the 5th semester.
The industrial placement of Graphic and Media Technology students takes place in smaller and larger graphic, media and paper processing companies, in publishing, design and advertising agencies, in media companies, in educational institutions, in research institutes working in the field of graphic technologies, in sales and in public administration.
The industrial placement of Textile and Clothing Production Students takes place in smaller and larger textile, clothing and leather companies, in stores offering textile service activities, in the area of styling, in theatres, museums and restoration centres, in educational institutions, in research institutes working in the field of textiles and in public administration.
General Overview of Industrial Placement+
Generally speaking, industrial placement can be divided into informative familiarisation with the company or working environment and partially active and active participation of the student in work assignments under the supervision of a mentor. The general plan is the following:
Week 1: Informative familiarisation with the workings of the company includes getting to know the organisation of the company, the information flow, the organisation of the work process, methods of collecting and processing data, the work flow between departments and services, how quality assurance is organised, etc.
Week 2 and 3: Partially active familiarisation with the work process, taking on minor work assignments in the following direction: development – planning and design – manufacturing – manufacturing process – quality control.
The remaining 12 weeks: Active participation in the work process. This phase, which is the most important one, should allow the student to actively participate in one of the following areas: development, planning and designing products and manufacturing processes, managing finished manufacturing processes and quality control.
The degree of active involvement depends on the size and type of the company’s manufacturing programme and is the result of cooperation between industrial placement at the Faculty and the mentor who is in charge of carrying out industrial placement at the company.
Choosing Companies and Mentors:+
The basic principle when choosing companies where the industrial placement is to take place is their readiness to actively involve students in the manufacturing process as well as their readiness to transfer their specific knowledge to the students. A company mentor is employed at the company in question, has an educational level that is not lower than the one the student will obtain following the end of his or her studies and has work experience in the appropriate area of expertise. In exceptional circumstances, individual companies, where none of the employees fulfil the conditions necessary to become a mentor, may appoint someone who has the most experience with demanding and responsible duties.
The Mentor's Role at the Company and Faculty+
A mentor at the company is supposed to enable and allow students to have the opportunity to take part in industrial placement and under their supervision gradually get involved in the work process with the aim of obtaining the acquisition of the necessary information regarding the workings of the company. It is recommended that the Faculty mentor and the subject of the written paper be determined prior to the start of the in-company placement or three weeks after the start of the placement at the latest. The Faculty mentor works together with the company mentor to prepare a specific industrial placement programme and helps the student by providing advice and consultations.
The Role of the Industrial Placement Coordinator+
A university coordinator takes over the organisation and forwarding of individual industrial placement opportunities and partially assumes a mentoring role.
Monitoring or Recording Industrial Placement by the Student and Preparing a Seminar Paper:+
During in-company placement, the student keeps a diary on the basis of a general proposal and a specific training programme. The end result of the industrial placement is a seminar paper that the student prepares on the basis of the diary and the results of the in-company placement and hands it in to the Faculty mentor two months after the end of the placement at the latest. Following the in-company placement, the student fills in the Report on Completed Industrial Placement.
Assessing Performance at the End of Industrial Placement:+
The company mentor mainly assesses the individuality and performance of the student when it comes to his or her active participation in the work process by filling in the Certificate on Completed Industrial Placement. The company mentor then sends the Certificate and the examined seminar paper to the Faculty mentor, who then gives a further evaluation of the industrial placement. The Faculty mentor enters the final evaluation of the industrial placement into the student’s “indeks” (the identity and grade booklet). The grade is descriptive (i.e. “pass”). The entry of the grade into the student’s electronic “indeks” is performed by the industrial placement coordinator.
Undergraduate Thesis Idea:+
We ask students as well as Faculty and company mentors to carry out the industrial placement programme keeping in mind that it can be later used to write an undergraduate thesis (the experimental part and an expansion of the seminar paper).
For information on industrial placement, please contact:+
mag. Mirjam Leskovšek, univ. dipl. inž.
III. floor, room no. 316
praksa@ntf.uni-lj.si
Tel.: 01 / 200 32 66