Have you considered taking on a university placement student? If not, you could be missing out on an opportunity to bring fresh ideas, new skills and emerging talent into your organisation. 

A placement student offers much more than an extra pair of hands. They bring up-to-date academic knowledge, enthusiasm and fresh perspectives, alongside a willingness to learn, take responsibility and make a difference.

The experiences of UEA’s 2025/26 placement students demonstrate just how much they can contribute. At the UEA’s annual Placement Year Celebration and Awards, sponsored by Enterprise Mobility, students were recognised for their achievements across sectors including business, retail, education, pharmaceuticals and health and social care.

Here are just a few examples of the difference they made.

Fresh perspectives can lead to better solutions

Economics student Honey Hargreaves developed an AI-powered language validation tool during her placement. Having identified limitations in machine-generated translations, she created a solution projected to save her team more than 120 hours in 2026. This is a great example of how a student can bring fresh thinking to an existing business challenge.

Students can take on real responsibility 

Norwich Business School (NBS) student Farooq Raza took the lead on an early talent onboarding programme, supporting apprentices, graduates and placement students. Meanwhile, at womenswear brand With Nothing Underneath, Shania Sylvester successfully planned and briefed a week of campaigns alongside her usual workload, impressing her employer with her creativity and enthusiasm.

They can make a difference to people and communities 

NBS student Timi Oyebolu helped organise and co-host his host company’s first Black Inclusion Week Panel, bringing colleagues and senior leaders together to discuss representation and inclusive workplace culture.

Elsewhere, Psychology student Georgia Badenoch became an important member of the team at Norwich-based Change Grow Live, supporting colleagues and service users across detox and duty services during busy periods.

These examples show that placement students aren’t simply there to gain experience. Given the right opportunity, they can become valued colleagues who contribute meaningfully to an organisation. 

The benefits work both ways 

For employers, hosting a placement student can bring a range of benefits:

• Additional capacity to support projects and day-to-day activities.
  Fresh ideas, perspectives and up-to-date knowledge. 
• Opportunities to improve processes and explore new approaches. 
• A chance to identify and develop future graduate talent. 
• Opportunities for existing staff to develop mentoring and management skills.
• Stronger links with UEA and the local graduate talent pool. 

For students, a placement provides the opportunity to apply their academic learning, develop professional skills and build confidence and resilience in a real working environment.

Could your organisation benefit? 

You don’t need to be a large organisation to host a placement student. UEA students work with employers across a wide range of sectors and business sizes. What matters is providing meaningful work, opportunities to contribute and the support to develop. 

A placement can start with a specific role or project, but the potential goes much further. Over the course of a year, a student could help solve a business challenge, improve a process, bring a new perspective or become a valuable addition to your team. 

Find out more about working with UEA placement students on UEA Career Central’s employer website.