Work Attachments & Internships

Introduction

For students enrolled in a full-time programme at SUSS, you must complete a mandatory work attachment (WA) as part of the graduation requirements. The WA helps you to make connections between your academic studies and the realities and requirements of the working world through a supervised work placement with a Host Organisation (HO).

The WA should commence by the end of Year 2 and completed before the start of Year 4 of your studies. You are advised to apply 6 to 9 months ahead of your planned start date of the WA. This is because companies typically need some measure of lead time for their administration, and moreover, you would want to secure a place in advance of the competition from students of other universities who are eyeing the same work attachments.

The duration of the WA should be at least 24 weeks (use the WA Calculator to check that the duration of your WA is at least 24 weeks). The WA may be carried out locally or overseas; choose the latter if you wish to fulfill your Overseas Experience requirement at the same time. You may do your WA at a start-up, SME, MNC or Social Service Organisation/ Social Enterprise; choose the last if you wish to work on your community engagement project at the same time, more details can be found here. You could apply for your WA with:

1. SUSS' approved corporate partners (through the CEL Portal)
2. Companies independently sourced by you, provided that the job description and company are approved by SUSS (local companies must be registered with the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and companies abroad must be a business entity that has been registered with the relevant equivalent local authority).

Your performance during the work attachment will be evaluated. The evaluation will be based on feedback from your direct supervisor in the HO and from your WA Mentor, as well as on the submission and quality of the WA assignments. The academic grades are Pass with Distinction, Pass, or Fail. There is no letter grade and no computation of the grade in your Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). Students with a Fail grade will be required to repeat the WA until their work performance improves.

The WA Guidelines can be found on CEL Portal under "Shared Documents".

Work Attachment

Internship

Unlike the WA, Internships are not a graduation requirement. Internships are full-time or part-time or temporary work you do to gather work experience, acquire work-related skills, earn pocket money, and build your contacts.

Many employers these days consider not only your educational qualifications, but also your professional, i.e. work, background during hiring. Therefore, you should have the appropriate educational background as well as relevant work experience. You are strongly encouraged to do internships to strengthen your professional profile.

Local SUSS students on Internships and Work Attachment are exempted from making CPF contributions and SDL.

Internships done locally (local internships) are managed entirely on your own. While CareerDev may advise on the resume and cover letter, you will source for the internships yourself and start working whenever you can.

Full-time students who have decided to work with Social Service Organisations/ Social Enterprise and want to fulfill CE requirement at the same time may submit his/her CE Proposal (downloaded from Canvas) to Office of Service-Learning and Community Engagement. 

Overseas Work Experience

"This internship was the most challenging yet most meaningful internship that I have had thus far. I had to step out of my comfort zone, be a little bolder and a little more willing to try things."

— Grace Chiam (Class of 2015, HRM) | Interned at Shanghai Baosteel Group