How to apply

Local placements (located in the greater Sydney area) may be considered if they satisfy the following conditions:

• The Placement is consistent with Government directives and guidelines relating to travel, social distancing and hygiene measures.
  
• The placement meets standard SCIF3199 requirements.

If the placement is conducted remotely (the student is required to work from home), additional safety parameters must be followed:

• Students will complete a workplace safety assessment prior to receiving approval to work at home.
  
• Students will ‘clock in’ and ‘clock out’ to maintain a real time record of their work hours.
• Students will only work between 8am to 6pm on workdays.
• Students will report any incidents of accident or injury within one business day.   

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation all international work placement experiences are on hold until further notice. Students must carefully consider any decision to travel and heed the advice of the Australian Government. It is recommended that students consider all alternative options to international travel for work placements, where possible. 

Expressions of Interest for SCIF3199 International Placements

UNSW Science is NOT accepting SCIF3199 applications for international placements at this time. It is possible, however, to submit an 'Expression of Interest' (EOI) for international placements scheduled in 2021 or 2022. This EOI allows students who are considering an international placement to notify UNSW Science and check if the placement would meet SCIF3199 requirements under normal circumstances. 

If the work placement is considered appropriate and the student is eligible for SCIF3199 enrolment, we will 'acknowledge' the expression of interest and contact the student when SCIF3199 applications are open for international work placements. This 'acknowledgement' is NOT the same as approval. Approval for SCIF3199 will only be granted when it deemed safe and appropriate for students to undertake international work placements.   

When will applications for SCIF3199 be accepted for international work placements? 

Formal applications for SCIF3199 with international placements will only be considered if and when: 

• direction and advice from the Australian Government deems it safe to travel to the location of the placement.
  
• UNSW formally permits students to travel internationally for course credited work placements.  

If an application is approved, the approval is contingent on the international placement proceeding as planned. If the placement provider offers alternative programs (virtual placement or domestic placement) as a contingency plan, SCIF3199 approval is NOT automatically transferred to the alternative experience. Approval for SCIF3199 will be revoked and students must reapply for SCIF3199 with details of the alternative placement option they intend to complete.   

International work placement programs

Due to the uncertainty around international travel, most international work placement programs will have a 'Final Call' date, when the placement provider will make a final decision if it safe to continue with the placement as planned. This is usually 3-4 months prior to the planned departure date. In submitting an EOI form, students will be asked to provide their placement provider's 'Final Call' date in the submission.  

Students are reminded that a work placement is only ONE COMPONENT of SCIF3199. Students are expected to satisfactorily complete SCIF3199 activities and assessment tasks alongside their work placement experience. This work placement may take the form of a traditional internship in industry, or a global immersion program. Students do NOT receive SCIF3199 credit by simply completing an international internship or immersion program.  

Start researching companies to intern for.

Think about what sort of occupation or industry interests you and what kind of organisation could offer this kind of experience.

Ask your fellow students, supervisors, family and friends if they know anyone you could contact within their networks. Try to find a connection within the industry you are interested in.

Networking is helpful when finding internships and when looking for work after you finish your studies. Make sure the organisation you approach for a placement will be able to provide an experience that is relevant to your Science degree and desired career direction.

Once you have made contact with an organisation or company, you should send them Information for Internship Hosts as well as a link to the UNSW Science Work Placement page. This page will let them know of what’s required as a host.

If your internship host company has any questions you cannot answer, ask them to contact the Science Student Centre.

If you have confirmed a host organisation, you will need to download the Work Placement Agreement form and complete your application for the SCIF3199 subject. The form has 3 sections - one for your placement supervisor to complete; one for you to complete, and one for UNSW to complete when you have submitted the form. 

Once you have completed the form, you need to submit it to The Nucleus Student Hub via the 'Ask a Question' form at unsw.to/webforms.

After your application has been submitted, please wait until we contact you directly advising you of your approval for the subject. It may take a while for the approval and documentation to be finalised. If you have not heard from anyone for a few weeks, please contact science.industry@unsw.edu.au and we will follow this up for you.

You cannot enrol yourself into the SCIF3199 subject through the normal enrolment process. The enrolment team will manually enrol you into the subject once the approval has been confirmed by the Course Convenor.

In the meantime, we recommend that you enrol in a ‘second choice' subject in the event that your internship is not appropriate for SCIF3199. The enrolment team can drop you from this 'second choice' if your SCIF3199 application is successful.