CEED Program Qld links university students with industry/government partners ... for completion of specific industry-based projects, as part of their studies.
Since 1994, over 640 CEED projects have been successfully completed by students (at at 2008 - over 80 projects per year), and the project numbers are growing.
Industry-based training is integrated with the student’s university degree - students gain credit points/units towards their degree for completing a project, and are assessed by their university. Because the project is integrated with study, the student works on their project throughout the semester (on-site with their industry host) for minimum of 3 days/week throughout the semester (working around other lectures/tutorials/exams). Some Engineering students are able to work 4 or 5 days/week on their project – it depends on how many units/credit points they are allocated for a project, in their course/degree.
Projects are available for Engineering, Information Technology, Business and Science students – final year undergraduate, some Honours, coursework Masters.
Currently, students from three Universities are able to participate in CEED projects – the University of Queensland (UQ), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), and the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). Most CEED projects are located in/around South-East Queensland - including Toowoomba, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Brisbane. However, projects are sometimes based in regional areas – subject to student availability.
According to past CEED students, they most valued the meaningful industry experience, the chance to apply theoretical knowledge on a real life project, being responsible for planning and managing a project to completion, building industry contacts, the project results look good on the resume, a tangible industry project to talk about at future interviews, and employment opportunities which may result from the project.
CEED students receive a scholarship (tax-free). The scholarship is released to students in two x milestone payments – the 1st is paid on completion of the project plan/proposal (around week 3 or 4 of the project). The 2nd (final) scholarship payment is released upon satisfactory completion of the project.
All students have the benefit of co-supervision – a supervisor/mentor at the company and an appropriate academic supervisor, with CEED monitoring the student’s progress from start to finish. Co-supervision helps the student to achieve the best possible result for their project CEED is also available throughout each project, to help solve any issues/problems that may arise during the project. We want to help all parties achieve a successful project outcome.
CEED also provides students with training and guidance in project planning and management, to help them develop a comprehensive project plan/proposal in the first 2-3 weeks of their project. This emphasis on solid project planning and management is a key to the success of CEED projects.
Because of CEED's emphasis on solid project planning, management and industry experience/mentoring, students are being awarded very good grades for their CEED projects - over 80% have received a Grade 6 (Distinction) or Grade 7 (High Distinction) each year, since 2004. There is no minimum GPA for CEED project eligibility ... these results were achieved by students with a wide range of course GPA's. Therefore, some CEED students have gained a 'boost' to their GPA, at the end of their degree. High GPA students can also feel confident that they can maintain a Grade 6 or 7 average by completing a CEED project.
What CEED projects are not ...
They are not what is usually referred to as vacation work, work experience or employment. CEED projects are specific projects that can be completed by a student as part of their coursework, and can be assessed by the university in the same way as any other final year thesis, Honours or coursework Masters project. However, some CEED projects do commence over the summer vacation time .... but these project extend throughout 1st semester. These ‘extended’ projects are offered by companies in instances where the project is too big to be completed in 1st semester alone, or when there is quite a bit of research / learning curve involved at the front-end of the project.
Students are not usually paid a wage/hourly rate for CEED projects - they receive a (tax-free) scholarship. Note that students must enrol in CEED projects (and pay associated university enrolment fees) for the project, as they would for any other subject/elective.
Where do the projects come from? 
CEED sources a variety of industry-based projects for students – we are regularly talking to companies and government, looking for suitable projects. Projects usually arise from an industry partner/client's need to undertake research, product development or improvement in an area where the company needs extra resources, or lacks specific expertise. Sometimes companies also view CEED projects as a way to identify future employees, who work well in their company ‘culture’ ... and can later become part of their graduate recruitment program.
CEED clients enjoy the opportunity to provide students with mentoring and ‘real-world’ training, and a good start to a student’s professional career. At the same time, CEED provides companies (large and small), plus State and Local Government with a cost-effective alternative for completing specific projects.
CEED ensures that all projects are of sufficient difficulty and scope to be reported as a final year undergraduate thesis project, Honours or Master's thesis. If required, CEED involves academic staff from UQ, QUT or USQ to determine the suitability of a project and to ensure that the project result can be achieved within the timeframe allowed for assessment purposes. All projects are advertised to students who have registered with CEED (online), for a project in that area (i.e. IT, Marketing, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Biotechnology, etc).
Through an application and interview process, clients choose which student/s they’d like to offer the project to. CEED manages this process for students and clients, to help ensure a good ‘match’ of students with projects.
