The main goal of the Practicum is to provide students with supervised practice in order to apply what that they have learned in the real world within a working environment that realistically reproduces the conditions that they are likely to encounter in their future workplace. Practicum tutors shall be responsible for providing students with guidance, advice and encouragement. Regular meetings shall be scheduled with tutors beforehand.
From the viewpoint of competences, the completion and defence of the Practicum shall assure that students achieve a level of application and synthesis in the following specific competences:
• SC16 Ability to relate what consumers or customers want and need to what the technology can offer
• SC17 Ability to decide between buying, developing or applying technology across the whole range of process, product and service categories of a business or institution
• SC18 Ability to understand the market, trends and needs for technology products or services
• SC19 Ability to develop and deploy an informatics solution in a business environment
A critical issue for the sound development of this subject is the choice of Practicum, which must meet the following conditions:
• Focus on professional practice, that is, it must be of real value to a real user;
• Be defined with a wide enough scope for students to be able to develop a number of different specific competences;
• Be ambitious enough for students to have to explore a minimum number of the concepts and techniques learned in subjects addressing the subject matter taken previously;
• Require the participation of a previously established number of members;
• Draw on students' creativity and originality and their personal skills with regard to teamwork, real problem solving, the development of ideas, models or prototypes, and the writing and presentation of technical reports, etc.
The Programme Academic Committee shall annually draw up a list of practicums, as well as put forward and coordinate the members of the academic staff acting as Practicum tutors.
• Acquire spoken and written communicative language competences (comprehension, expression, etc.) in national or international academic or professional environments
• Learn the necessary techniques to draft a report on work completed in a national or international socio-linguistic environment
• Adapt to new national or international academic or professional environments
• Gain work experience of the usual job responsibilities of a practising engineer in a real business environment
• Train to design the key aspects of a project
• Train to work as a member of a team in any appointed position
The School of Computer Engineering's External Relations Office (OREX) will provide support and guidance regarding work placements by:
• providing students with advice and assistance to find and secure work placements,
• monitoring the conduct of external placements,
• advising all parties on methodological issues.
Before students enrol for this subject, the External Relations Office must ensure that there is a guarantee of the learning goals being satisfactorily achieved and that all enrolled students have definitely been selected and accepted by a partner company.
In advance of enrolment, students opting for an external placement to complete their Practicum shall have to submit a Practicum statement of interest form to OREX in the month of:
• May to conduct the Practicum in the coming first semester (as of September)
• November to conduct the Practicum in the coming second semester (as of February).
Students must attach a copy of their CV.
NOTICE: There is an option to carry out Practicum together with Master Thesis. See more info here.
The student shall have to consult the profile and activity of the UPM's partner companies (see the COIE and School of Computer Engineering websites). The student shall have to select one of the offers posted at the COIE portal or otherwise propose another to OREX). In any case, the UPM shall have to have a signed and valid educational cooperation agreement with the aforesaid company. The company shall conduct its own selection processes, recruiting the students that best suit its requirements and needs.
1. The student shall have to enter the selection process at his or her chosen company.
2. The student shall notify OREX of his or her acceptance by a company. OREX shall then appoint an external tutor (previously put forward by the company).
3. The student shall submit the following documents to OREX by the specified deadline for approval by the External Placements Commission:
4. The External Placements Commission shall meet before the enrolment period to approve or reject the proposals submitted by students and decide whether or not the proposals are suitable for achieving the goals of the Practicum and the learning outcomes described in the degree programme curriculum report.
Students shall be required to put in 30 placement working hours for every Practicum ECTS credit (at 30 hours per ECTS credit, the requirement for 12 ECTS is 360 hours per external placement). Note that the official working hours shall be at most 7 hours per day (Non-european students have specific regulation, please check information at OREX).
The deliverable reports must be submitted before the date of assessment established in the semester/academic year exam schedule.
Important note: The student is entirely responsible for assuring that the placement/contract that he or she has selected meets the specified Practicum time requirements before enrolment. COLFI provides the student with administrative assistance but is not responsible for either the company or the student complying with the terms of the placement/contract.
Only external placements whose proposals have been approved before enrolment by the External Placements Commission shall be valid for the Practicum.
OREX shall assign a member of the degree programme academic staff as an academic tutor. The academic tutor shall follow up the conduct of the external placement for the purposes of the Practicum. The academic tutors shall be proposed by the School of Computer Engineering heads of department at the request of the Practicum coordinator in proportion to the department's degree programme credit load.
Both the academic and professional tutors shall liaise and communicate with each other for the purpose of supervising the external placement. Section 5 gives a brief description of the roles and responsibilities of the academic and professional tutors.
The student shall complete the external placement and shall submit his or her and the tutors' interim and final reports.
a) Reports by external tutors
The external tutor shall issue an interim and final report assessing the conduct of the placement, including his or her ratings of student performance.
The interim report shall be submitted at the halfway point, and the final report shall be submitted at the end of the placement. Both reports shall be signed, scanned and submitted electronically.
b) Reports by students
The student shall electronically submit to his or her academic tutor:
• An interim report halfway through the placement
• A final report at the end of the placement.
The interim report shall describe the technical and professional activities performed by the student and shall include the following points:
• Student's personal data
• Name and address of the placement provider
• Specific and detailed description of tasks, work performed and departments to which the student has been assigned by the placement provider
• Rating of the tasks carried out with respect to knowledge and competences acquired as part of the degree programme
• List of problems addressed and problem-solving procedure
• Identification of learning achievements throughout the placement
• Assessment of placement and suggestions for improvement.
The final report shall have to address the following points:
• Student's personal data
• Name and address of placement provider
• Specific and detailed description of tasks, work performed and departments to which the student has been assigned by the placement provider
• Rating of the tasks carried out with respect to knowledge and competences acquired as part of the degree programme
• List of problems addressed and problem-solving procedure
• Identification of learning achievements throughout the placement
• Assessment of placement and suggestions for improvement
• A diary or log of activities
• An analysis of the working conditions experienced during the placement
• A discussion of the characteristics of the work environment and organization of the placement provider
• A personal assessment of the experienced in terms of learning.
c) Reports by internal tutor
Academic tutors shall provide students with guidance for writing their placement reports. Both tutors may contact each other to coordinate student follow-up.
Assessment
1. In view of the interim reports submitted by the professional tutor and student, the academic tutor shall conduct an interim assessment halfway through the external placement. After the submission of the final reports, the academic tutor shall put forward a numerical score rating the placement and student attainment depending on the conduct of the placement.
2. The academic tutor shall submit the academic record consisting of the reports by both tutors and the student's final report to OREX for overall assessment and to be forwarded to the External Placements Commission within the stipulated deadline.
3. In view of the reports issued by the assessment committees, the board shall issue the respective final grades.
Coordinator
The subject shall be coordinated by a member of the degree programme academic staff appointed by the dean of the School of Computer Engineering.
Apart from a coordinator, the subject is also governed by a commission.
External Placements Commission
The members of the External Placements Commission shall be as follows:
• The coordinator who shall act as chairperson
• A representative of the degree programme curricular track commission for optional subjects
• School of Computer Engineering heads of department and departmental sections or deputizing academic staff
• One representative of each School of Computer Engineering department and departmental section appointed by the respective head of department
• Additionally, the commission shall, subject to the number of enrolled students, be rounded out with more academic staff until the number of commission members is roughly equal to half of the number of enrolled students. The academic staff members shall be proposed by the heads of department at the request of the coordinator and shall be distributed by departments in proportion to each department's degree programme credit load.
Tasks of the External Placements Commission
• Evaluate the official external placements proposals submitted by students and decide which are suitable for achieving the Practicum goals and the learning outcomes described in the curriculum report for the degree programme and, where appropriate, recommend the amendment or rejection of the proposal.
• Suggest improvement actions if there are considered to be significant deviations from the student's original work plan.
• Participate, together with the acacemic tutor, in the placement assessment committees. Each student's work shall be assessed by the academic tutor and two members of the External Placements Commission. The assessment shall take into account the reports by the academic and professional tutors and the student's final report.
• Put forward changes to this policy for consideration by the Programme Academic Committee and approval, where appropriate, by the School of Computer Engineering's Academic Policy Committee.
Subject exam board
The dean shall appoint the members of the External Placements Exam Board for each degree programme (at least fifteen calendar days before the start of the enrolment period for the first semester of the academic year). This exam board shall be composed of five members of the programme's academic staff. The dean shall also appoint the board's chairperson and secretary, where the other members shall act as full members.
The exam board is responsible for submitting and signing the Practicum final grades.
Credit recognition for previous work experience in lieu of the Practicum shall comply with the procedure approved for the purpose by the Governing Board on 26 November 2013:
• Credit recognition shall be stated in the academic record but shall not be graded and shall not therefore be taken into account for scoring purposes.
• Credit recognition shall be in lieu of full subjects only.
• The ratio of number of ECTS credits eligible for recognition to total working hours of professional experience shall be a maximum of 6 ECTS per year of full-time work experience. The recognition shall be proportional to the length of the applicant's professional experience and employment status (full-time or part-time). Therefore, students shall have to certify to having the equivalent to at least two year's full-time professional experience for credit recognition for work experience in lieu of the Practicum.
The procedure for credit recognition shall be as established in the Credit Recognition and Transfer Regulations, art. 6, subject to the following specifications:
• Students shall submit the application to the Associate Dean of Postgraduate Studies and Research, attaching the following documents certifying to professional activity:
The respective academic policy committee or equivalent shall issue a report. Apart from considering the respective documents, the academic policy committee may, for the purposes of this report, conduct an additional assessment of the applicant in order to find out whether or not he or she has acquired the competences corresponding to the credits to be recognized. This assessment may be conducted by means of interview or standard competence acquisition tests.
• The Credit Recognition and Transfer Committee shall make the decision granting or rejecting credit recognition.
The third provision of the educational cooperation framework agreement signed by the partner organization, student and tutors states:
“THIRD: The School of Computer Engineering shall appoint a member of the academic staff as academic tutor. The academic tutor shall provide the student with methodological and technical advice. Likewise, the partner organization shall appoint a professional tutor. The professional tutor shall provide the student with guidance, supervision and advice in the course of the placement at the partner organization. The professional tutor shall write and forward a final report (and possibly an interim follow-up report if called upon to do so by the university) upon completion of the placement.”
The academic tutor provides methodological and technical advice with respect to placement administrative procedures: dates, forms, task feasibility, etc. The academic tutor shall also ensure that the student is qualified to perform the assigned tasks. It is the professional tutor's job to "f) Provide any additional training required by the student to complete the placement" (see excerpt from Royal Decree 1707 below).
The SIXTH provision of the educational cooperation agreement reads:
“SIXTH: The students shall conduct the placement subject to the system and working hours determined in the individual agreement under the supervision of the professional tutor (also called partner organization tutor or external tutor) appointed by the partner organization, who shall have the role and responsibilities established in Royal Decree 1707/2011, art. 11.2, and to regular follow-up of the training received, without there being, as already stipulated, any employment relationship between the students and the aforesaid organization such that the person doing the placement shall, for all intents and purposes, have the status of UPM student.”
Excerpt from 1707/2011 (December 2011) regarding the rights and duties of tutors:
Article 11. Rights and duties of the partner organization tutor
1. The partner organization tutor shall have the following rights:
a) To recognition by the university of his or her placement activity under the terms provided in the educational cooperation agreement
b) To be informed of the policy regulating external placements and about the training plan and conditions of its development
c) To receive any information and support required for the purposes of fulfilling his or her responsibilities
d) Any other specific points stipulated by the university.
2. The partner organization tutor shall also have the following duties:
a) Host the student and organize the activity to be performed according to the provisions of the training plan
b) Supervise student activities, provide guidance and monitor the conduct of the placement in a spirit of mutual respect and commitment to learning
c) Inform the student about how the organization is structured and works and any applicable policy, especially concerning safety and occupational hazards
d) Liaise with the university's academic tutor in order to carry out the activities stipulated in the educational cooperation agreement, including any amendments to the training plan that may be necessary for the normal conduct of the placement, and report or solve any incidents arising in the course of the placement and control leaves of absence to sit exams
e) Issue the interim and final reports referred to in Royal Decree 1707, art. 13
f) Provide any additional training required by the student to do the placement
g) Provide the student with material resources required to do the placement
h) Help and encourage the student to put forward innovative, improvement and enterprising proposals
i) Grant the university's academic tutor access to the organization for the purpose of fulfilling his or her responsibilities
j) Keep any information that he or she learns about the student in his or her capacity of tutor confidential
k) Provide the student with help and assistance during his or her placement at the organization to solve any professional issues with respect to the performance of his or her activities at the organization.
Article 12. Rights and duties of the university's academic tutor
1. The university's academic tutor shall have the following rights:
a) To effective recognition of his or her academic activity under the terms stipulated by the university according to its bylaws
b) To be informed of the policy regulating external placements, as well as the training plan and conditions to which the placement of the student to be tutored is subject
c) To have access to the organization for the purposes of fulfilling his or her responsibilities
2. The university's academic tutor shall also have the following duties:
a) Ensure that the placement is conducted according to the training plan, guaranteeing that the placement working hours are compatible with the student's academic, training, representation and participation commitments
b) Effectively monitor the placement, liaising for this purpose with the partner organization tutor and reviewing, if appropriate, the follow-up reports
c) Authorize any amendments of the training plan
d) Assess the placement of the tutored student according to the stipulations in Royal Decree 1707, art. 15
e) Keep any information that he or she learns in his or her capacity of tutor confidential
f) Report any possible incidents arising to the university body responsible for external placements
g) Ensure, and where appropriate request, that the necessary assistive resources are made available so that students with disabilities have equal opportunities of doing their placement without discrimination subject to the principles of universal accessibility.
• Regulations on External Placements (passed by the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid's Governing Board on 28 February 2013)
• Regulations on Assessment Systems for Training Processes Connected with Master's and Bachelor's Degree Programmes whose Curricula Comply with Royal Decree 1393/2007 (passed by the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid's Governing Board on 22 July 2010)
• Procedure for credit recognition for work or professional experience (passed by the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid's Governing Board on 26 November 2013)
• ANECA-approved Master in Informatics Engineering degree programme curriculum report
• Royal Decree 92/2014, of 20 July 2014, regulating external academic placements for higher education students
• Royal Decree 1493/2011, of 24 October 2011, regulating the terms and conditions of General Social Security System coverage for people participating in training programmes in implementation of the stipulations of the third additional provision of the Social Security System Upgrading, Adaptation and Modernization Law 27/2011, of 1 August
Report due dates for the first semester of the 2017/18 academic year:
- Interim reports
External tutor's report 26th October 2017
Student's report 26th October 2017
Academic tutor's report 3rd November 2017
- Final reports
External tutor's report 18th December 2017
Student's report 18th December 2017
Academic tutor's report 10th January 2018
Report submission procedure
Reports by external tutor
Subject to mutual agreement between the tutor and student, the student shall submit a signed and scanned copy of the report via the Virtual Classroom portal for inclusion in his or her record and consultation by the academic tutor. Even if the report has been uploaded to the Virtual Classroom, the external tutor shall also forward a copy to OREX, which shall be delivered by email, regular mail or in person by the student (in a sealed envelope).
Student reports
The student shall submit the report via the Virtual Classroom portal.
Reports by academic tutor
Subject to mutual agreement between the tutor and student, the student shall submit a signed and scanned copy of the report via the Virtual Classroom portal for assessment and inclusion in his or her record.
The academic tutor is also required to forward a signed copy to OREX by internal mail.
