Five step process to help support your student throughout their Research in Practice placement journey
Step 1 Placement pre work
Your student will be asked to invite their allocated contact from the Research in Practice team (along with their allocated contact from the SCDTP Senior Management Team) to a supervision meeting in the first few months of their first year for a research conversation about their Development Needs Analysis.
This meeting is an opportunity to talk through early thoughts on suitable Research in Practice placement options and timelines for going on placement. You are a vital part of helping to consider the research / transferable skills that the student can offer their placement host and those that they will develop through the placement.
In preparation for helping students to decide on an appropriate placement, the Research in Practice team present placement opportunities throughout the year. These placements may require a degree of flexibility on timing to accommodate the right opportunity.
Alternatively, you or your student may prefer to set up a placement using your own networks, and the Research in Practice team can also support that.
A note about international placements
Following updated guidance from the ESRC in March 2026, in which they emphasised their preference that placements are undertaken in the UK, the following key criteria will need to be met if your student is considering setting up an international placement using your or their own networks:
- the proposed placement clearly meets development needs documented on their DNA record;
- there is clear evidence that they cannot develop equivalent skills / experience / networks, which will be central to their development as a social scientist and their future career goals, in the UK; and
- the cost to the SCDTP does not exceed £1,000.
Guidance for International RiP Applications provides further information on how the criteria are judged and proposals should be discussed with the Research in Practice team at an early stage.
Step 2 Placement application process
Once your student has been offered a placement by a suitable host organisation, they will need to complete the SCDTP Placement Application form for final approval of the proposed placement and any funding support requested (up to a maximum of £1,000 to cover placement travel and accommodation expenses).
As the supervisor, you will need to review and sign the form.
Step 3 Other pre-placement paperwork and actions
To help support your student with any finance queries, you can refer to the SCDTP Finance Guide which also includes useful guidance on travel.
Your student will need to complete a Risk Assessment for their placement travel, no matter how infrequent or local that travel may be. Please use the Risk Assessment template from your university and email a copy of the completed Risk Assessment to scdtp@soton.ac.uk
International students will need to notify their university Visa Team that they are going on placement.
Set up a contact plan
Please set up a contact plan with your student for the duration of the placement. The level of contact can be determined between you and your student to allow you the opportunity to check in with your student on how they are progressing through their placement.
Examples of things to consider when creating a placement contact plan:
- At minimum, contact from the student to confirm they have arrived at their placement destination safely.
- At minimum, contact from the student to confirm that they have returned from their placement destination safely.
- As the student’s line manager, supervisors are recommended to check in with their student at least once a month. This depends on the length and location of the placement.
- If the student is in a high risk or very remote environment, an appropriate communication plan is recommended taking into consideration sporadic communication channels and the potentially hazardous location.
- Part of the contact plan should include transitioning back to university studies, recognition of the student being away from their project for a considerable length of time and best practice to support the student back to their project.
The Research in Practice team will also contact the student periodically throughout their placement to see how they are getting on.
Step 4 On placement
Through your contact plan, you can check in with your student on how they are getting on with their placement.
If at any point during the placement your student needs support because they are unwell or do not feel safe, please contact scdtp@soton.ac.uk for next steps.
Step 5 Post placement support
Your student may need support returning to their PhD project post placement, especially if they have been away for 6 months. You should also offer support for their post-placement reflective learning and the associated assessed assignment.
