All students must submit a report on their placement as part of the formal evaluation of the placement. Your Co-op Report should give a sound insight into your co-op placement, and should show the link between your studies and your placement.  Your report is assessed by an academic member of staff and graded on a pass/fail basis.

When do I submit my report?

The deadline for submitting your report is normally in Week 1 of the first college semester after co-op has finished. Please note that these deadlines apply to all students, regardless of the location of your co-op.

Where do I submit my report?

Your report must be submitted online through the student portal.  You will be issued with an electronic receipt once you submit your report. 

Remember, your report has to be signed by your employer. Late reports will only be accepted with a fine.

Any incomplete reports will not be accepted and will be liable for the fine after due date.

 

It's a good idea to keep some record of your work while on placement as this will help you when it comes to writing your report. Keep track of things like:

  • What happens on your placement each day
  • What you learn from each experience
  • What training you are receiving
  • How you can improve on your performance and get more out of your work environment

Before writing your report, you should think about the following:

  • Describe the company/organisation, its activities, locations, employees, culture, goals, structure and customers.
  • What are your daily responsibilities?
  • Give details of meetings you attended and the level of your involvement.
  • Describe any projects and work completed.
  • Describe your contribution to the overall operation of your employing organisation?
  • Have you had any successes or any difficulties that you've had to overcome?
  • Are there things that have turned out differently to what you had expected?
  • What skills have you developed on the job?
  • What is the most enjoyable part of the job? Least enjoyable?
  • Overall, how would you rate this experience?

Please note there are formal and compulsory Co-op Report Guidelines for all UL students going on placement. These guidelines are there to help you to present and structure your report.

The most interesting Co-op Reports:

  • Give a real feel for your organisation and your role within it
  • Demonstrate the link between the worlds of work and study
  • Demonstrate a personal, authentic reflection on your learning

Co-op Report Guidelines

The following guidelines set out the presentation and structure that you must follow when preparing your report:

  • Cooperative Education Report must be a minimum of 10 typed pages, not including log books (if applicable) and appendices. 
  • The cover page of the report must include details such as the submission date, your name and ID number, your course, employer, employer address, the start and end dates of your placement, your supervisor and the university academic staff member who completed your faculty visit. Click here to access the Cover page template. 
  • You must use A4 paper, single line spacing in 12-point font.
  • Your Coop Report must be signed and stamped by your company supervisor. In the case where you are unable to obtain a signature and stamp, you may provide an email from the employer. The content of the report must be approved by your employer who may require you to make changes to meet with their policy on Confidential or Proprietary Information.
  • Students should be aware that the regulations regarding plagiarism also apply to Coop Reports.

 

Your report must adhere to the following structure:

  1. Summary of Placement (min. 1 page)
  2. Brief history of the company, including details of the product/service (min. 1 page)
  3. Structure of the organisation and student's department (min. 1 page)
  4. Student's main responsibilities (min. 2 pages)
  5. Opportunities for Learning during Coop (min. 4 pages) - Use your pre-Coop and post-Coop Skills Assessment Forms as a guide; you must also include these in the appendices.
    From the Reflective Assessment section of the website, choose a minimum of four skills categories and discuss the role of Coop in developing those skills. You should write a minimum of one page per skill category.
  6. Coop Grading Sheet
    This is compulsory for all students in the School of Engineering (Mechanical, Aeronautical, Biomedical and Design & Manufacture) and should be included in your report directly after the cover page.
  7. Log Book
    This is compulsory for all Engineering students excluding Product Design & Technology students and should be attached to the Appendices section of your report.  All Engineering students must keep a written record of their training in a Log Book. It's a good idea to write up your log book weekly. Most students compile it electronically. It's a helpful way of tracking your progress and your academic visitor will expect to see it during a faculty visit.Your log book is a compulsory element of your Coop Report and should be attached as part of the Appendices section. See a sample log book.
  8. Split Placements
    If you complete a split placement, only one Cooperative Education report is required to cover both assignments. This report will not be significantly longer than the standard Coop report. However, you may spend more time reporting on one Coop placement rather than the other, particularly where an enhanced learning experience has taken place. Complete section 5 of the report "Opportunities for Learning during Coop" only once. In addition only one set of pre and post coop learning assessments is required when submitting your report.
  9. Apendices
    - Copies of your completed Pre- and Post-Coop Skills Assessment Forms (compulsory).
    - Copies of reports, drawings, etc. produced for the company (optional). Remember if you are reproducing any documents, you must ask permission from your employer to do so.
    - Log book (for Engineering students excluding Product Design & Technology).
    - Journal (for Performing Arts students).

All Cooperative Education Reports must adhere to the guidelines outlined above, however there are certain courses where guidelines vary slightly due to the nature of the placements:

Performing Arts students and Equine Science students must adhere to different guidelines.

 

  1. Gather the files you need:
    - Cover Page ( Click here to access the Cover page template).  In the case where you are unable to obtain a signature and stamp, you may provide an email from the employer.
    - Main body of your Coop Report 
    - Pre and Post Coop Skills Assessment (Instructions available here) 
    - Additional appendices (if required) 
  2. Collate all documents by copying and pasting into one Microsoft Word file in the order mentioned above
  3. Convert the whole file to PDF and save as one document per the steps below:
    - From Microsoft Word - Click File - Save As
    - Browse for where you would like to save the file
    - Click on the dropdown menu for Save as type and choose PDF
    - Name the file with your personal details per the naming convention: Student ID Number_Name
  4. Submit your Coop Report:
    - Visit the student portal at: https://www.si.ul.ie/urd/sits.urd/run/siw_lgn and log in.
    - Click on ‘Student Records (UL)
    - Within the ‘Cooperative Education & Careers Division’ section click on ‘Submit my Cooperative Education Report’
    - Read and follow the submission instructions presented on screen
    - Click ‘Next’
    - Click ‘Browse’ to attach a pdf file
    - Click ‘Upload File’
    - Click ‘Finish’