While the semester internships are unpaid, the sandwich programme placements are normally remunerative. Students are given responsibility for the development and implementation of systems and projects integral to their host company. Because of the nature of the work undertaken, students are supervised closely by the workplace supervisor and a university staff member. Students not only work for an employer, but relate their academic study to their workplace, benefitting from the focus on a specific organisation or project to a greater extent than is possible with traditional academic instruction. They learn from real problems and in a real situation.
Some employers also have better equipment and technology than academic institutions.
Students are then assessed by their institutions, through portfolios which include reports on work experience, appraisals of projects, self-evaluation of performance and evidence of project outcomes. Changes in UK law relating to work permits for overseas students mean that work placements will no longer involve bureaucratic tangles. However, students are not permitted to work for more than 20 hours per week during term time, except in approved placements. The DfEE, which funds eight projects to increase the quality and quantity of work experience opportunities in the UK, recognises the immense value of these placements for students in higher education. It gives them the opportunity of understanding the work environment and the business culture.