Guidance for students taking part in the University of Sheffield’s Postgraduate Advantage Scheme
Important - to take part in the Postgraduate Advantage Internship scheme, you must register at:
Planning your internship
The Postgraduate Advantage Scheme (PAS) is a wonderful opportunity for you to gain work experience with organisations that may otherwise be unable to offer internships. You are free to approach any organisation and negotiate an internship project with them, providing they are:
●A small commercial firm*- this means that they have less than 250 employees and a turnover of no more than £25.9 million
●A public sector organisation
●A charity
●A social enterprise
*Please note, small commercial firms which hosted a PAS intern in the last academic year will not be eligible in this round.
The recruitment process
There are two routes through which you might be recruited into an internship:
●Route 1-Apply to a Postgraduate Advantage Scheme vacancy advertised on MyVacancies. To find the PAS internships, use the search term “Postgraduate Advantage Scheme”. Applicants will usually be interviewed by the host organisation and will be informed if they have been selected.
●Route 2-Most students choose to approach organisations directly. This gives you a chance to create an internship opportunity that is tailored to your interests and career aspirations.
Contacting potential hosts
If you choose to contact organisations directly and ask them if they might be interested in hosting you, then please follow these guidelines:
●Your internship must be a graduate-level role (not casual work such as bar, cafe or retail) and should be a project with a specific deliverable such as a marketing campaign, a business plan, a set of recommendations etc.
●Remember that any time you communicate with another organisation, you are a representative of the University of Sheffield so please be polite and respectful.
●The people that you contact are unlikely to know anything about the Postgraduate Advantage Scheme, so you will need to explain it to them. You can send them a copy of the document entitled ‘Guidance for hosting a student through the University of Sheffield’s Postgraduate Advantage Scheme’ which you can download from the PAS website at:
●Do not focus just on how the internship will benefit you - instead be prepared to explain why you would wish to work for that organisation in terms of the skills and experiences that you might bring to them. Show your enthusiasm by explaining how the internship relates to your career plans and your subject of study.
●Remember that you can complete your 100 hours internship in a way that suits you and fits in with your studies. You might choose to do a few hours a week, or work full-time during any breaks you have, such as around Easter. Please remember though that if you are an international student, you are limited to working a maximum of 20 hours per week.
All PAS internships must be completed by July 2016
The bursary
When you have agreed an internship with a host organisation, you must complete a bursary application form and this must be approved by the University of Sheffield PAS team before you can start the internship. For successful applicants, the bursary will be paid in two instalments of £500 each, and will be paid directly into your bank account. The University must receive evidence that you have completed 100 hours of work during your internship and therefore we will ask you to complete timesheets, which your host will sign.
Preparing for your internship
Before you start your internship, it will be helpful if you can agree the following things with your host:
⇒the purpose of your project and how it sits with the aims of the organisation
⇒the deliverables for the project and how you will produce them (e.g.
a set of marketing materials, regular contributions to a blog, a written report)
⇒a project plan, including milestones
⇒a list of resources/reading that will be useful for you to read
⇒your thoughts about the other things you hope to get from the internship in
terms of skills development, career exploration and professional networking
It would also be useful for you to find out as much as you can about the culture of the place you will be working, including:
၀ / Normal working hours၀ / Dress code
၀ / Coffee/lunch arrangements
၀ / Drug/alcohol policy
၀ / Working from home policy
၀ / Who to talk to if you are concerned about something
၀ / Level of formality
၀ / Internet usage policy
၀ / Mobile phone usage policy
၀ / Social activities
Documents you need to complete
Before you can start your internship, you must complete the following:
- Eligibility to work check (this will usually be done at the compulsory briefing session)
- A bursary application form
- If you are an international student, a signed declaration that you will work no more than 20 hours during your Masters programme. Remember that the number of hours you do on your internship will add to any hours of paid work you already have. The two together must not be more than 20 hours per week.
- A signed Tripartite Agreement (this document will be signed by you, your host, and by the University of Sheffield)
- The bank details form in MUSE -so that we can pay your bursary into your bank account
- When you have completed 100 hours , you will be asked to complete a case study and a reflection on what you’ve done and learned during the internship
Your first day
We have asked your host to make sure that you receive an induction on your first day. Depending on the size and type of organisation that you’ll be working in, your induction may include:
၀ / Who will be your line manager၀ / How your progress will be discussed - e.g. formal weekly meetings, or more informal chats over coffee
၀ / Desk space
၀ / Procedures for out of hours or lone working
၀ / Emergency procedures
၀ / Health and safety issues
၀ / Introduction to other team members
၀ / How to use/log into IT systems
၀ / Dealing with difficult customer/client situations
၀ / Location of bathrooms
၀ / Storage of personal items (coats, bags, valuables)
၀ / Site layout including any restricted areas
၀ / Information about other sites
၀ / Arrangements for sick leave and holiday leave
၀ / Policies around absenteeism and lateness
၀ / Transport/parking/bicycle storage
၀ / Security, keys and swipecards
၀ / General administration procedures
၀ / Stationery and supplies
What to do if you have a problem
If there is a problem (such as illness, unavoidable lateness or absenteeism), you must let your host know immediately. It is not acceptable to apologise after the event - you must contact them as soon as you become aware of the problem.
If you are concerned about your work (for example, you are not clear about what is expected of you) then you should speak to your line manager as soon as possible. If you are still concerned, please contact Judith Greenall or Hilary Jones at the Careers Service:
Judith Greenall: 0114 222 0911
Hilary Jones: 0114 222 0932
Careers Service reception desk: 0114 222 0910