Requesting and matching with projects
What is a project on Riipen?
A project is a problem or an area of opportunity for a business that students can help provide value to. Employers looking to collaborate with students can connect with educators by creating a project describing their business needs. Projects are posted to the marketplace on Riipen, where they can be requested by educators. They can also be submitted directly to courses or internship programs.
Requesting projects
Once your course or internship program is published, you can send requests to employers to have your students work on their project. Employers can also send requests by submitting projects to your course or internship program. A request must be accepted or declined within 21 days. When browsing the marketplace, you can browse by subject category and location.
Before requesting projects or accepting requests from employers:
- Review the company’s profile. While project pages contain a short description about the company, reviewing a company’s profile can provide you with more context that otherwise wouldn’t be available by just reading the project. To go to a company’s profile, click on the company name or logo in the top-left corner of any project page. Here, you’ll find details about the organization, as well as a link to their website.
- Read feedback provided by previous students. Companies who have previously completed projects through Riipen will often have reviews completed by students that they collaborated with. To read the feedback for any company, go to their profile and click on the feedback tab on the left-hand menu.
Matching with a project
Before committing to a project, it is important to have a phone or video call with the employer to discuss the suitability of their project. Examples of topics to discuss with the educator:
- Does the project meet the needs of the course learning objectives and fit within the students abilities? If not, you can propose changes, or you can mutually agree on a revised project scope.
- What resources will students need to get started? Confirm if you need students to sign any paperwork? Is an NDA needed?
- What is the timeline for the project and is it suitable for the number of hours required?
- What is the expected level of communication? How often will students be contacting the employer, and how quickly are they expected to reply to student enquiries?
- If both parties decide to work together, the request recipient can accept the request. Click the inbox icon at the top-right corner of your screen to view any pending requests.
Extra Resources
