All students at the University of Manchester will soon be expected to take part in work placements or exchanges, according to its vice-chancellor, who has stressed that three years solely spent in academia is not enough preparation for the changing world of work.

Every undergraduate programme at the Russell Group university will contain an element of practical experience going forward, Duncan Ivison, who has led the university since August 2024, has announced.

Students will be expected to use the period after exams in the summer term to take part in internships, placements, joint projects or exchanges – across all disciplines.

The move mirrors professional taught degrees in areas such as medicine and teaching, where on-the-job experience is an essential part of the course.

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Ivison said that universities needed to equip students with more chances to “put their learning into context”.

“When they’re with us, we need to pull into our students’ experience more of what they would have normally got in that traditional first job out of uni – practical, diverse experiences”, he told .

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“Employers and industry partners hugely value the disciplinary insights students bring. It’s giving our students a chance to put their learning into context. It doesn’t matter if you’re a history student or a chemical engineer. What does it mean to take those skills and apply them to the problems of a customer or patient or government agency?”

The general public increasingly lacks confidence in universities, with increasing numbers questioning whether a degree is worth the expense.

The issue has been exacerbated by concerns over ballooning student debt and the difficulties many have experienced securing graduate-level roles.

The rise of artificial intelligence is expected to reshape and replace many roles that graduates traditionally would have filled, leading to calls for universities to look again at the skills they are passing on to the next generation.

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Ivison said that evidence from the 500-odd students doing internships this year showed that they come back feeling more “confident describing their relevant skills and are more job-ready”.

“There’s no constraint on discipline. [It] gives our students the confidence that you have got a valuable skill set that you can then take out into the labour market.

A Manchester spokesperson said that the aim of the initiative was to make these “opportunities a normal part of university life, not something students have to find separately or access through personal contacts”.

“This is about helping students apply what they are learning in practice and build the confidence, judgement and adaptability that employers increasingly value. It is about strengthening academic education by helping students see how their knowledge, judgement and skills matter beyond the classroom.

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“This approach is designed to work across all disciplines, not just traditionally vocational subjects, and reflects Manchester’s strong links to employers and organisations across the city region.”

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com