Working together to promote excellence in Physics Employer Engagement Plan SEPnet Steering Board Wednesday 17 September 2014

Working together to promote excellence in Physics Employer Engagement Update - Undergraduates Summer placements increased from 51 in 2013 to 60 in placements fully or part-funded by employers, WP or other schemes (Excel/Santander (6 in 2013). 16 new regional employers submitted projects including 12 SMEs. 15 additional non-SEPnet placements (8 SpIN, 3 IOP and 4 additional other) compared with 7 non-SEPnet placements last year. A target of 30% increased employer engagement from 2013 has been exceeded overall through an increase in summer placements, site visits and employer talks and workshops (52% increase overall for all interventions). Annual Students’ Expo on 12 November, Royal Academy of Engineering Keynote speaker – Juliet Davenport, CEO at Good Energy

Working together to promote excellence in Physics Launch of GRADnet Employer Engagement Programme Employers to offer: o Short consultancy projects 2-3 weeks o Short block placements 1-3 months o Site visits, work shadowing, mentoring Longer placements employer funded or part Santander- funded Legal agreement templates cover: IP/use of university equipment/delivery expectations/H&S/remote working Guidelines for students and employers in place Policies relating to suspension of studies vary at each institution (from 1 – 3 months) Relevant quality enhancement managers and GRADnet PGR training directors have approved guidelines Placements supported but will be managed on a case by case basis initially Interest from at least 17 employers to date

Working together to promote excellence in Physics GRADnet Employer Engagement Programme Targets for some of the PGR industry experiences have been achieved with over 10% of all physics PGRs (out of a cohort of 500) gaining industry experiences in the following ways: 76 PGRs attended the 4-day GRADnet Summer School which included participating in an industry challenge and industry talks 69 have participated in other employer engagement activities including site visits to employers, CV workshops run by employers, 2 have secured placements, 1 supported into full-time employment.

Working together to promote excellence in Physics GRADnet Employer Engagement Programme SME networking event, 2 September, QMUL Over 100 registered (62 attended - 30 employers, 19 students and 13 staff) Panel included 3 SMEs, representatives from KTN and National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) Evening included network training for PGRs, speed networking and launch of industry mentoring and employer engagement programme Attendees found event valuable to learn what is going on industry, what physics students do and want and discover that employers do want to hire PhDs Aim to follow up and track positive outcomes 2nd event – April at Royal Holloway (for RHUL, OU and Herts) 3 rd event – Sept at Southampton (for Soton, Surrey, Portsmouth)

Working together to promote excellence in Physics Employer Engagement Plan Undergraduates MilestonesDeadline Carry out an audit of current employer engagement activity December 2013 Expansion of the summer internship programme for UG students evenly across partners From April 2014 on-going Employer input (including SMEs) into physics UG curricular October 2014 Increase the number of industry experiences (eg employer or other funded internships, industrial site visits, employer talks, employer workshops, employer projects) 30% in 2014, 40% in 2015, 50% in 2016

Working together to promote excellence in Physics Employer Engagement Plan Postgraduate Research Students MilestonesDeadline At least 1 employer engaged in skills training per partner 1 by 2014; 2 by 2016 A database set up to track and collect PGR destination data across institutions October 2014 Employer input (including SMEs) into physicsJanuary 2015 Provision of 8 week flexible industrial placements for PGR students January 2015 PGR students engaged in KE placements with employers January 2016 Deliver industrial placements and other industry experiences eg (e)mentoring support, site visits, work shadowing, pitching to employers 100% of SEPnet PhD students and 10% of all physics PGRs in 2014; 20% of all PGRs in 2015; 30% in 2016

Working together to promote excellence in Physics Employer Engagement Plan Knowledge Exchange MilestonesDeadline Development of KE studentships and fellowships January 2016 Work with industry to develop entrepreneurship skills training January 2016 Contribute to establishing significant new SEPnet industry collaborations/projects across partners 4 by 2014; 6 by 2015; 9 by 2016