EMPLOYER PROJECT

Click this link to submit your project proposal online. 

CONSIDERATIONS for COMPANIES or EMPLOYER when SUBMITTING their PROJECT PROPOSAL:

When you submit your project proposal, you agree to the following guidelines. These guidelines are in place to ensure that the proposed project meets the needs and expectations of all stakeholders.  

1. In most cases, project teams (comprising of undergraduate students) in their final year) will do the project in UNITAR classroom. However, occasional on-site or online meetings at your company’s premises can be arranged.

2. Proposed projects should provide a clear value proposition for both students and your organization. These projects can cover relevant areas such as ICT or AI applications, Multimedia PR Content, Graphic Design/Animation, R&D, Education, Engineering, Marketing Plans, Business Plans, HR, Sales, Finance, Accounting, Mass Communication, and Hotel and Restaurant Management. UNITAR students are highly capable and seek challenging opportunities. These projects offer an excellent chance for talent spotting, scouting and new products or service innovation.

3. Project cycles typically range from 5 to 8 weeks or 10 to 16 man hours work duration in length, and each cycle may involve an entirely new team of students. Therefore, projects should have a well-defined objective achievable within a single project cycle. Additionally, if a project spans multiple cycles, there is a mechanism for this for having a new project team. 

4. Proposed projects should avoid being mission-critical in nature or requiring a production-quality finish. Instead, prototypes, business models or frameworks, and R&D projects are more appropriate.

5. UNITAR project teams operate at a professional level. They are expected to adhere to schedules, produce meaningful deliverables, and engage with key stakeholders. UNITAR aims to achieve four goals through this initiative: (i) Joint Research Publications: We can collaborate on publishing project outcomes in academic journals or industry publications, crediting lecturers, students, and your organization as co-authors; (ii) Investment in Teaching and Learning (T&L): Your grant or funding directly supports the development of future-ready skills for our students and lecturers, ensuring we remain at the forefront and aligned with the industry expectations; (iii) Knowledge Transfer: We encourage knowledge exchange through exchanges, workshops, guest lectures, or other collaborative activities, allowing employer professional expertise at a workplace to directly benefit our students and faculty; (iv) Industry Recognition: Outstanding projects may be nominated for industry awards or receive recognition for their innovation, enhancing prestige for both your organization and the participating students and lecturers.

6. An essential aspect of the project experience for UNITAR students is their immersion in the real world during project work. To achieve this effectively, the Employer or Partner Company should allocate time from their project/process owner, executive sponsor, or relevant senior management and technical staff to engage and mentor our students and lecturers throughout the entire project.

7. To ensure effective collaboration and successful project execution. Each project has at least three different pre-arranged/scheduled project meetings between the Employer or Partner Company and Lecturer. Each project meeting is 45 - 60 minutes (maximum per meeting):

7. • Project Kick-Off (KO) Date: This can be done online or in-person on-campus. Employers are to explain their company, business, industry sector, and project requirements. It sets the foundation of understanding their business, the project challenge, the people,  and the industry they belong.

   • Project Mid-Checkpoint (CP) Date: This can be done online or in-person on-campus. The student group presents their work-in-progress to employers. Employers provide feedback to the team and assess whether the project is on-track or off-track against its objectives.

   • Project Completion Delivery (CD) Date: Ideally held at the employer’s office or boardroom. A select project team presents and delivers the project’s outcomes or deliverables to the employer. 

8. After the project delivery date, the employer or partner will issue certificates or letters of appreciation, or recognition to individual members of the project team including the lecturer. Additionally, the employer may choose to offer the best-performing student a job or internship, provide a conditional job offer for employment, or present an industry project award during the UNITAR convocation to the deserving student.

9. The employer or partner company project owner will take on a multifaceted role, acting as an industry advisor, coach, and mentor to the students as they do this employer project research work. 

10. We highly value and recognize the contributions of our Employer or Partner Company who participate in this strategic initiative. Your involvement will be recorded and appreciated by the UNITAR Leadership Team. Here are some specific ways we acknowledge your contributions:

• Joint Research Publications: We can collaborate on publishing project outcomes in academic journals or industry publications, crediting lecturers, students, and your organization as co-authors.

• Investment in Teaching and Learning (T&L): Your funding directly supports the development of future-ready skills for our lecturers and students, ensuring we remain at the forefront of industry trends.

• Knowledge Transfer: We encourage knowledge exchange through workshops, guest lectures, forums, focus group discussion, or other collaborative activities, allowing your expertise to directly benefit our students and faculty.

• Industry Recognition: Outstanding projects may be nominated for industry awards or receive recognition for their innovation, enhancing prestige for both your organization and the participating students.

11. Students and lecturers involved in the project will make every effort to safeguard the employer’s interests and confidential information. They will not share the content of their project findings and reports with other individuals or other employers outside UNITAR and its partner universities without prior permission or approval from the project sponsor from the Employer or Partner Company. The Intellectual Property exclusively belongs to the employer or partner company who sponsor and provided the project.

12. UNITAR students or lecturers may sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with the employer/partner when necessary.

13. UNITAR may showcase the outcome of the Employer Research Project, including your organization's logo, for presentations, marketing, and publicity purposes. We will ensure all sensitive data or private and confidential information to our Employer or Partner Company is excluded  or spelled-out clearly.

14. After the project completion and final presentation by the project team, the employer or partner company will provide feedback on the students’ performance in the project work.

15. For effective project management and successful outcomes. Employer, Partner Company, and Lecturer to remember and adhere to or follow the generic schedule and timeline for:

• Project Proposal Sourcing and Curriculum Mapping Dates (3 months before the admission or intake dates):

  • For September intake: June, July, August

  • For January intake: October, November, December

  • For May intake: February, March, April

• Project Kick-Off Dates:

  • September/October

  • January/February

  • May/June

• Project Innovation Showcase and Exhibition:

  • March

  • July

  • November

16. Complete documentation of an Employer Project execution is required (Employer Project Proposal, Employer Project Requirements Specification Document, Employer Project Calendar Schedule Meeting)

GLOBAL PROBLEM: 90% of employers are looking for practical experience than academic qualifications. Students are ill prepared and do not know what they really want to do; 88% of employers say that soft skills are more important than academic results. Employer trust and confidence in Higher Education is low. Fresh graduates are not ready and competent to work. Students, Lecturers and Employers must have a platform to collaborate in crafting a solution from “outside-in” perspective attempting to provide solution to the problems and challenges of the employers and industry. Employer owns the project and own the intellectual property.

OUR SOLUTION: Students and lecturers will engage in practical experiential learning focused on the PAIN POINTS of the company for problem-solving and problem-finding aligned and mapped in their courses, sponsored and facilitated by employers from various industry sectors. Employers will present real-world problems related to products or services directly to students and lecturers in the classroom. Working in project teams, students will conduct research to identify and understand these problems, approaching them from an external perspective rather than an internal one. Project teams will receive a preparatory session from the employer, hold mid-checkpoint review meetings to align expectations, and ultimately present their innovative collaborative solutions to employers in a corporate boardroom setting. This experience gives students and lecturers a taste of boardroom dynamics and professional presentation skills. This approach benefits all parties involved—employers, lecturers, and students—by facilitating potential career matches early, fostering career conversations, and expediting hiring decisions. The Employer Project Research initiative is UNITAR's unique method of integrating career readiness solutions into our curriculum, ensuring that our students develop future-proof talent. It represents a genuine innovation and collaboration between employers and academia, providing students with real workplace experience from the classroom to the boardroom.

We invite employers and partners to submit their project proposal and we will have a deep dive with our lecturers solving the PAIN POINTS of your business and industry sectors where you are in. Employer intervention is what we needed to prepare and spot the talent that the employer needs.

Click and download this as your reference sample for Employer Project proposal document.

Click and download this as your reference for Lecturer's Employer Project Requirements Specification Document to be shared to all students (Mapping the Project to their Courses Learning Outcomes.