Information for Students
For a successful PIPS placement, projects should meet these criteria:
- Unrelated to PhD Research: Projects must be outside the scope of the student's specific PhD research to broaden their experience.
- Outside Academia: Academic and research institute roles are generally not suitable, even if unrelated to the student’s field of study. However, projects offering a distinctly different setting and skill set (particularly non-lab, transferable skills) may be considered.
- Challenging and Relevant: Placements should be structured to challenge the skills of a postgraduate student, focusing on independent, impactful work.
Example PIPS Placements:
- Research and Analysis: Well-defined desk-based research projects or reviews of production techniques.
- Marketing and Business: Involvement in marketing, publishing, sales, or business development.
- Legal and Consulting: Projects in legal settings, internal audits, or consultancy roles.
- Teaching and Public Engagement: Teaching placements (e.g., through programs like Researchers in Residence), or science outreach and public engagement.
- Policy and Government: Policy development within government departments, local authorities, charities, or research-funding organizations.
- Intellectual Property and Media: Roles in intellectual property rights (IPR) management, media, press offices, or science publishing.
These opportunities allow PhD students to apply their research skills in diverse, real-world contexts while enhancing work-related and transferable skills.
iCASE Studentships
Collaborative Awards in Science and Engineering (iCASE) studentships operate under distinct funding conditions and guidelines for industrial placements, separate from the PIPS program. iCASE students should consult their PhD offer letters and connect with their academic supervisors for specific details regarding their industrial placement requirements, funding arrangements, and eligibility criteria.
For any further clarification, iCASE students are encouraged to coordinate with their university’s designated contacts for doctoral training and development, who can provide guidance tailored to iCASE requirements.
PIPS Timing and Duration
PIPS are bespoke to each student and thus there is a great deal of flexibility around when the student should undertake their placement (subject to the needs of the host organisation). A placement can be started any time during their second year and be completed by the end of their third year. It is expected that PIPS planning will be carried out with the student and supervisor in order to minimise disruption to research/fieldwork etc.
Each PIPS placement must total the equivalent of 3 months, but students have flexibility in how this time is structured. They may complete their placement as a single 3-month block or as a series of shorter blocks over an extended period, depending on what works best for both the student and the host organisation.
This flexible structure allows the placement to fit around the student's PhD commitments and can be adapted based on the nature of the project and any specific requirements of the host. Discussions between the student, their supervisor, and the host organisation are encouraged to determine the most suitable arrangement.
PIPS Planning and Process
The tabs on this page details and navigates you through the planning and process stages.