Business Systems Cooperative Education Program

Monash University Ian Martin Clayton School of IT Phone: + 61 3 9905 5806 Ian.martin@infotch.monash.edu.au May 2008
Vignette title and details	Bachelor of Business Systems Cooperative Education Program incorporating two full time industry-based learning placements of 22 weeks each and a scholarship of $36,000.
Discipline	Information Technology
Employment sector	Multi sector
Student numbers	35 to 40 students per year.
Optional/compulsory	Compulsory for students in the industry based learning stream of the Bachelor of Business Systems. Optional for students in the Bachelor of Commerce/Business Information Systems.
Credit bearing	Students are assessed on placement and receive a mark & grade for their industry based learning placements; each placement is equivalent to three coursework units.
Assessment	Written mid-placement performance evaluation by industry supervisor 20%. Written end-placement performance evaluation by industry supervisor 30%. Oral presentation at Monash University 25%. Daily log and written reports 25%.
Payment	The students are paid tax-free scholarships by Monash funded by the industry partners of the program. The level of scholarships is determined from time to time by the steering committee of the program. First year $6,000, Second year $15,000. Third year $15,000.
Number of staff involved	One director of IBL program (academic staff) One full-time manager of IBL program (admin staff) Course leader of Bachelor f Business Information Systems
Weblink	http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/promotion/industry.html#ibl
Key words	Monash University; Industry based learning; Cooperative Education Program

Overview

The program was set up in 1998 as a cooperative education project, at the initiative of the Business Council of Australia and with the support of the Federal Government, between industry and Monash University. The program is managed by a steering committee consisting of representatives from industry partners, current and past students, and the Clayton School of Information Technology. The objectives of the program are as follows.

• Produce computer literate, confident, articulate and worldly graduates, who have the knowledge of and familiarity with the needs, methods and attitudes of business.
• Design and maintain an academically rigorous program that meets university criteria for a degree and fulfils legitimate employer needs for graduates skilled in information technology.
• Attract the best students into information technology, who may otherwise take up competing professions.
• Provide a quality education that is relevant to the current needs of the students, industry partners and the wider information technology industry, while maintaining an unyielding commitment to sound educational principles.
• Create a group of graduates with an education that combines classroom and on-the-job learning that prepares them for immediate productive employment and rapid promotion into broader management.

Structure of program

The program started in the Business and Economics faculty in 1988 and moved in 1990 to the Information Technology faculty. Processes and practices have been refined over time. The Melbourne business community is well aware of the program. Many alumni now provide placements for students because of their successful involvement as students.

Benefits for employers

• Access enthusiastic and high performing undergraduates
• Have tasks professionally completed in a cost-effective way
• Bring fresh energy, new ideas and perspectives to the organisation
• Contribute to the training of emerging professionals
• Evaluate potential employees
• Access high performing undergraduate pool for graduate recruiting purposes

Benefits for students

• Gain valuable workplace experience relevant to their field of study
• Develop career opportunities and explore career options
• Apply theory learned in the classroom to real work situations
• Develop practical workplace skills
• Earn while they learn
• Gain insight into how organisations operate
• Clarify career aspirations
• Build valuable contacts within industry

Special features

Successful placement of students

• Students who meet the academic hurdles and apply to enter the IBL program are interviewed by some industry partners. Students, who are deemed suitable by industry partners for the IBL stream, are accepted into the program and start to receive their scholarships.
• In second year all IBL stream students are interviewed by industry partners, who then nominate the students suitable for placements at their companies. Based on these nominations IBL stream students are allocated to companies for their first and second placements.
• In the winter semester of second year IBL students undertake a professional communications unit prior to starting their first placement.

Managing the students on placement

Each IBL student is visited three times on each placement by the director of the IBL program or the Bachelor of Business Information Systems course leader, who meet with the student and supervisor to ensure the supervisor understands his or her program obligations and to review placement progress.

Preparing students for graduate employment

Graduate outcomes are outstanding. All graduating IBL stream students, who enter the graduate employment market, receive graduate offers. Many students receive multiple offers. The great majority of offers come from industry partners.

Feedback from IBL students

I would like to thank you for all the support and encouragement during my time in the IBL program. Over the last three years I have learnt so much (especially since I came from an extremely non-IT background). The IBL program has helped me become a more confident and mature individual. I would not be in the position I am if it werent for IBL. So thank you very much for allowing me the opportunity to be part of such a beneficial program and for helping me to grow into the person I am today.

I have found myself learning things I never imagined I would learn on placement. My goals and future aspirations have been changed dramatically by the conversations I have had and by my experiences. My placement has provided me with an understanding about the industry I will soon be entering that I thought would never have normally been available to me as a student.

I gained a wealth of new skills on the project, many of which I could not have learnt from university classes simply because they are non-technical in nature and are to do with adapting to a professional workplace. Although I dont wish to take away from the value of the new technical skills I acquired, it is the new business skills I acquired which I feel was the most beneficial aspect of the IBL program.

Future work

Industry based learning opportunities have recently been extended to undergraduate Computer Science and Software Engineering students at the Clayton campus. Students studying those degrees commenced placements for the first time in January, 2008 at Coles, IBM and ManageSoft.

In 2008, industry based learning opportunities are being proposed for undergraduate students in Information Technology and Systems at Caulfield and Berwick campuses.

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