Information for Industrial Mentors

How much time am I expected to spend with the students?

We would expect you to meet once, face-to-face, with the students at the start of the project and then be in contact with them (usually via email) approximately once a week. One team member will be nominated to act as a point of contact.

What is the time scale of the project?

Date Activity
Mid September Deadline for proposals
7 - 11 October We will contact you to confirm the names of your students and discuss a visit to your company.
21 - 25 October Face to face meetings with students ideally combined with industrial visits. Students have their first meeting with their Academic Supervisors.
October - December Students should have e-mail or other weekly contact with you plus regular (2-weekly) meetings with Academic Supervisors.
January - February 2020 Continuation of group project work and regular interactions with both supervisors.
TBC February Project presentations and group assessment. You are invited to attend.
TBC February (approx) Students work with Academic Supervisor to decide upon an aspect of the project for each of them to write up individually.
TBC March (approx) Students hand in a draft report to Academic Supervisors.
TBC April 12 noon Student report deadline.

When and where is the presentation lecture? And can I come?

Of course! We would love to see Industrial Mentors at the presentation - it is a good opportunity to see the end ‘product’ of the project. The presentations will take place in Oxford in February 2020.

Are the students able to visit my company?

We would love our students to visit the company and hope that this can be combined with the face-to-face meeting at the start of the project. If not, we hope a visit can be arranged at some point during the project period, although we do appreciate that visits are not possible for all our collaborators.

What about health and safety?

Students will write a risk assessment in collaboration with the project team and internal supervisor. For any projects with practical work based at the external institution, we will need to see a risk assessment before the work starts.

What projects were offered last year?

Projects offered in 2016 - 2017 included: Sampling Verification Techniques (Airbus), Laser communication for unmanned airborne vehicle and space missions (Archangel), Nocturnal Cloudspotting (Biral), Mind Reading with Virtual Reality (MeVitae).

Am I expected to read the student reports before submission?

In a word, no! You are, of course, very welcome to contribute if you wish, but please discuss this with the internal supervisor.

Any other questions?

In the first instance, please send all questions/comments/feedback to Hannah Glanville (hannah.glanville@physics.ox.ac.uk).