The Role of Work Placement in Engineering Students' Academic Performance

Engineering graduates without industrial experience may find that employment is difficult to obtain immediately after completing their studies. This study investigates the impact of two arrangements of work experiences; short term (over 12 weeks, STP) and long-term (over 52 weeks, IBL) on academic grades. This study involved 240 undergraduate mechanical engineering students. Results from the study indicated that students who spent time on work integrated learning or IBL in their penultimate year of their engineering course obtained better grades than those who did not undertake such a placement. The findings of this work have highlighted the relevance of work experience to improved academic grades for engineering students. An additional outcome was that some students were offered ongoing employment at the conclusion of their placement. Limitations of the study include factors external to the industry based work experience which may influence student grades. It is proposed that tertiary institutes embed a lengthy work experience program within the engineering academic syllabus.