Onboarding students

Pre-Induction

• Student to complete right-to-work checks via Unitemps
• Remind student to set up their staff IT account via Unitemps
• Check if student requires a laptop (if necessary for project)
• Check if student has reasonable adjustments/accessibility requirements
• Check students have virtual/physical access to all required spaces
• Assign student a mentor/direct point of contact
• Check if project work is eligible for Warwick Award
• Arrange meetings to introduce student to team/stakeholders

Induction

• Hold introductory team/key stakeholder meeting
• Explain context of project and desired outcomes to student
• Ensure relevant training (e.g. via Moodle) is completed
• Check-in with student re personal development and required skills support
• Set the student's first task
• Send students induction document/student handbook- we recommend that you keep notes throughout your preparation process and share these with students

Email

Responsibility of: Unitemps and manager

Setting up a staff account with Unitemps:

When communicating with Unitemps about a job advertisement, it's a good idea to confirm that you'd like the successful candidate(s) to have a staff account. We advise against candidates using their student email for work purposes, as they won't be able to access staff-specific pages and it's important that they're treated as staff members.

Laptop/computer

Responsibility of: ITS and manager

University-owned laptops:

It's important to be aware that not all students will have a personal laptop. Especially if students are working with confidential data, it is better to provide them with a university-owned device. You may have a departmental process for requesting short-term loans for laptops - if not, you can request one below:

Stakeholders/meetings

Responsibility of: manager, administrator

Introductory meetings:

Remember to set up a meeting to introduce new student team members to key stakeholders, such as the wider project team/service owners etc. Ensure students are invited to any existing meetings which are relevant to their role.

It is important to allow enough time for these meetings in a student's schedule - for example, if your student is working 5 hours per week, but 4 of these are taken up by meetings, they may struggle to complete any initial work or training. It is a good idea to plan their induction time carefully.

Access (physical/virtual)

Responsibility of: manager, ITS, wider team

Granting students access:

Before starting their role, please ensure students have access to:

• Buildings/rooms used by the project team;
• Shared drives/folders online;
• SharePoint/Teams sites;
• Resource accounts relevant to the project or team.

Make sure you're also aware of any access requirements or adjustments which may need to be made for the student in advance of them starting the role.

Admin buddy/mentor

Responsibility of: manager, buddy

Support outside the team:

If possible, allocating the student a 'buddy' or mentor for their role can be an important source of support and comfort. This is designed to be an approachable person that the student can direct questions to, however mundane or 'silly'.

If you run roles on a cyclical basis, and so have some more experienced student team members on-hand, using these students as mentors can work well.

We recommend a 10-minute weekly check-in between a student and their buddy/mentor for their first few weeks. After this, it can be done as time allows and as needed.

Phase 1

During the first few meetings (e.g. week one), it's important to introduce the student(s) to what they'll be working on.

Consider allocating them small tasks to familiarise them with the team's working and communication style.

Example of what to include in Phase 1, for more details to see what you may want to cover in these see the relevant links below:

1. An introductory meeting
2. Explaining the project context
3. Independent reading/research
4. Setting the first task

Phase 2

The second phase (e.g. second week) is a good time for students to start being introduced to stakeholders, familiarising them with who they're working with.

It's also a good time to implement any training, as they will have a better understanding of the project context.

Example of what to include in Phase 2, for more details to see what you may want to cover in these see the relevant links below:

1. Meeting stakeholders
2. Personal development task
3. Relevant training
4. Continuation of first task, or progression to subsequent tasks

Phase 3 onwards

As students settle into their role, you can start to assign them more independent tasks.

The suggestions below might be useful to keep in mind when planning their workload and to-do list.

Example of what to include in Phase 3:

• Check-in meeting with manager/buddy

• Key stakeholder meetings

• Personal development tasks
• Any remaining or additional training (ad-hoc as needed)

IMPORTANT

We recommend doing a short weekly check-in with students throughout their time in role to help them feel that, if needed, they have somewhere to raise concerns and highlight any needs without needing to specifically ask for it (which can be intimidating).

If your project falls under the category of co-creation, there is already a section for this in the Warwick Award.

If the co-creation role doesn't suit your project, you can enquire with the Warwick Award about gaining recognition.

Students are also eligible for a LinkedIn badge when they complete a co-creation role and the Warwick Award requirements.