Academics Case Studies
Imperial College London
Adrian Hawksworth, Student Placement Officer at Imperial College writes:
Imperial College London, as one of the founding members of IAESTE in 1948, continues its commitment to exchange students for technical experience to this day. Indeed the strength of IAESTE since its inception has been to remain one of the most valuable mechanisms for obtaining diverse training opportunities around the globe for undergraduates. All trainees, whatever their destination, are normally pursuing the challenge of an IAESTE placement on a voluntary basis, and for Imperial College this meets our expectation that our undergraduates actively seek out learning opportunities for which there is significant added value.
In return for placing its undergraduates in a variety of destinations - on or off the beaten track - Imperial College provides 10-15 meaningful research-based placements. The IAESTE trainees who subsequently arrive each summer are those who have illustrated a desire to take up the challenge of working at a top-class research university....and, of course, are often drawn by the delights that London itself offers! Imperial and London are a good combination!
All IAESTE trainees are hosted by the College through its very active Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme. All engineering and science departments at Imperial College are involved in both UROP and IAESTE, with central co-ordination provided by the College's Student Placement Officer who liaises closely with IAESTE UK. The College requires the host supervisor to provide a bursary for the visiting trainee which is then topped up by the College with the express purpose of covering the cost of the in-house accommodation. As with any responsible host organisation Imperial College ensures that all placements are managed effectively and that trainees have access to facilities which can enhance their stay, for example, library and sport centre access.
Every July visiting IAESTE trainees to the UK congregate at Imperial for the annual reception, along with university and industrial collaborators. IAESTE UK look after all the visiting trainees to the UK, not just those at Imperial, while IAESTE associations around the globe fulfill the same task through which Imperial's undergraduates are rewarded so fully.
