Information for hosts

Introduction

The internship programme is one of the semester-long educational programmes available to UBD undergraduate students during the third year of their degree, the Discovery Year. The objective of the internship programme is to expose students to real-world working environments and to enable them to acquire first-hand experience of applying their theoretical knowledge and training to practical problems. Students undergoing the internship programme are expected to nurture work discipline, improve collaboration and interpersonal communication skills with peers, and develop a suite of technical skills appropriate to the place of work.

Duration and start dates

  • Students are placed with hosts twice a year–once in January and once in August.
  • Each placement lasts a minimum of 14 weeks.
  • It is very common for hosts to request students be attached with them for longer than the minimum period, and this is easily arranged (subject to agreement from students as well).

Mathematics programme overview

UBD Mathematics students are trained in the following key areas prior to undergoing their internship:

  • Mathematical methods for the sciences
  • Linear algebra and its applications
  • Ordinary differential equations
  • Complex analysis
  • Multivariate calculus
  • Numerical analysis
  • Intermediate statistics

In addition, students take several “breadth” modules from other faculties, ranging from languages, programming, religious studies, and many more.

Internship places for Mathematics students

The extent to which the DY programme adheres to the academic discipline varies from faculty to faculty. For instance, chemistry students would benefit from a professional lab attachment, but for mathematics students there is no clear cut equivalent of a chemistry lab per se (or at least, there are not many such places).

Nonetheless, mathematics students have successfully undergone internships at the following places:

  • Banks and insurance companies
  • Government agencies e.g. MOH, MOE, MOFE, AMBD, BIA
  • Local startup companies
  • Community outreach organisations e.g. Green Brunei
  • Oil and gas companies
  • Schools

Tasks given to students vary widely. Examples include administration, human resource, accounting, purchasing, logistics, research assistant, teaching, events organising, and many others.

At the end of the day, we find that students benefit greatly from this internship experience not for the direct tasks that they are involved in, but rather the other invaluable, positive externalities that result from it: networking, communication skills, problem-solving skills, cultural competence and professional behaviour, to name a few.

Process

Prior to the start of the internship period, the DY advisor will write to hosts to request for internship placements for the students.

If this is successful, students are notified and a start and end date will be agreed upon. Students will then report for work on the agreed date and may begin the onboarding process with their hosts.

For the duration of the internship, students are expected to adhere to company regulations including dress code, working hours, etc. We find it is beneficial for the students when they are treated as an equal member of the organisation.

Renumeration for students are at the discretion of the hosts.

Supervisors and assessment

UBD requests that each student be assigned a supervisor at work. This will be the focal person which the student may refer to for any work-related matters.

The supervisor will also be responsible for completing the assessment for students’ performance during the internship period.

The supervisor assessment is one of three crucial components (the other two being a written report and oral assessment done by UBD staff) in order to satisfy the DY programme requirements. Supervisor assessments are therefore very important and are taken very seriously by all involved.

Final remarks

The DY advisor shall be the focal point at UBD pertaining to internship matters for the students.

We welcome long-standing partnerships and collaborations from industry for the placement of students during their Discovery Year programme.

Last updated on Jul 20, 2022