Are student placements the positive disruption needed to enhance efficiency and rejuvenate office dynamics?

Our close-knit team of creative engineers at 4c Engineering in Inverness enjoy getting stuck into challenging technical problems and devising high quality solutions – but we also understand the importance of nurturing the next generation of talent.

With a long-standing commitment to supporting young people, we have hosted several placements over the past five years – most recently, we hosted 英国格拉斯哥大学 student Emma Chan last summer, with help from the Northern Innovation Hub’s (NIH) Technology Placement Programme.

We tasked Emma with researching the economic impact and business potential of peatland restoration using a mix of desk research, site visits and interviews with regional stakeholders and industry experts during her 12-week placement.

Emma was fantastic, she was assured and competent with the project we set her and was quickly able to self-manage much of her role. While I joined her on the site visits, she required only light direction as she was able to deliver large parts of the project of her own accord.

Business benefits of hosting a student placement

The placement proved highly beneficial, with Emma making a substantial and innovative contribution to our business. Her fresh perspectives and positive disruption added a new dimension to the office environment during her placement.

There were also elements of the placements that were key learning points for 4c Engineering, including the adoption of AI (artificial intelligence) in a consultancy context.

Exploring new technologies can be a challenge for companies amid their busy schedules but Emma and I experimented with the use of AI to help streamline our practices and found it particularly helpful in capturing transcripts from Teams meetings and interviews. Emma's input helped us not only identify how it can be used to our advantage but accelerated our adoption - this has now become a valuable tool for the business which has enhanced our efficiency.

Nurturing the next generation of talent

Young people are the future and we as local employers have a moral obligation to play an active part in their development. There is a huge demand for work experience opportunities, moving students out of the comfort zone of academia to widen their skillset and confidence, and help them understand what they want to focus on after university. However, the availability of funding can often constrain these valuable opportunities.

The NIH Technology Placement Programme offers organisations of all sizes in the Highland Council area up to 70% funding for a student or graduate placement to help businesses keep up with the pace of technological change and accelerate growth through innovation.

After finishing her 12-week placement, we continued to support Emma, keeping in touch to offer additional ad hoc work and keep her up to date on the development of the report she’d helped produce – ensuring she was named as a contributing author. This has also helped Emma grow her industry contacts and improve her employability.

Technology Placement Programme

Overall, the experience was extremely positive for both the student and participating business. From our perspective, we’ve helped develop a young person ready to succeed in a future role, while also improving our own productivity as a result.

Find out more about the funding available through the Technology Placement Programme here.

Article by 4c Engineering project manager Peter Macdonald .

NIH’s range of programmes are delivered by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and funded through the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal.