InternPlus – Enhancing the Campus Wayfinding Experience

The InternPlus Programme has operated successfully since July 2016. Since its inception, it has seen over 70 University of Aberdeen undergraduate students complete an InternPlus internship giving them invaluable experience. The initiative offers students the opportunity to contribute to defined projects or activities within the University during term time, within a supervised and supportive environment which helps develop transferrable skills for future work or study. InternPlus students complete their internship part time (up to 15 hours per week) during the University’s academic year alongside their studies.

The InternPlus Programme is designed to provide key support to a wide range of University departments during the academic year. This project is only available to enrolled undergraduate students at the University of Aberdeen who are expected to graduate in 2025 or 2026.

School/Section

Estates & Facilities

Staff Category

Secretarial

Duration of Post

Fixed Term (9 months or less)

With our expansive campuses and often complex buildings, it can often be a challenge for students, staff and visitors to find their way through our buildings to classes and events.

These challenges have been reflected in student feedback during a consultation exercise by the University’s Wayfinding Working Group which had members from Toolkit, Student Experience, Small Works, and Estates & Facilities.

Following on from this consultation, illustrated outdoor maps were produced and made publicly available. The next phase of this work is to, using Google Indoor Maps, develop internal building maps, showing areas such as lecture room, offices, and laboratories.

Google Indoor Maps allows editors to overlay building blueprints onto University buildings on Google Maps, then add directions, room numbers, etc. Once all the information has been added, users will be able to zoom in on regular Google Maps to see the indoor floor plan of a building. Users can also use a search box to search within the building once zoomed in.

This collaborative project will focus on the development of Google indoor maps for the Old Aberdeen campus buildings, working with colleagues across the University to develop a tool that will enhance the student wayfinding experience on campus.

Beyond this, the tool has the potential to enhance the accessibility of the campus for those with additional needs (i.e., highlighting spaces with wheelchair accessible computer labs, etc.). A final component of this project is to research the full potential and flexibility of the software for improving operations in other areas of the University.

Are you interested in getting involved in the next digital chapter of our campus? Are you looking for a project that will enhance day-to-day life of staff, students, and visitors, while also laying the foundation for elevating accessibility of the campus for those with additional needs? Then this joint project with Estates & Facilities and Digital is for you!

We are looking for a confident, independent student who is comfortable with architectural drawings, design software, and working with mapping focused software. The role involves collaborating with multiple teams and stakeholders to develop digital online maps of our Old Aberdeen Campus that will form part of our public wayfinding experience.

This InternPlus project is only open to undergraduate students at the University of Aberdeen who expect to graduate in 2025 or 2026.

Salary will be at the appropriate point on Grade 2, £21,543 per annum, pro rata (11.35 per hour).

Any appointment will be made subject to satisfactory references and probation period.

For further information on various staff benefits and policies please visit www.abdn.ac.uk/staffnet/working-here  

This role is based in the UK and as such the successful candidate will be required to live and work in the UK.

This post does not meet the minimum requirements for visa sponsorship under the Skilled Worker Route. We are therefore unable to consider applicants for this post that require sponsorship to work in the UK. 

The candidate appointed to this post may be eligible for homeworking on an occasional or regular basis.  For more information please refer to our Homeworking Policy. 

Applications should include a curriculum vitae (no more than two sides of A4) with an accompanying covering letter (no more than one side of A4), outlining your reasons for making an application. We would strongly recommend that you make use of the University’s Careers and Employability Service to support you in your application.

Online application forms are available at www.abdn.ac.uk/jobs

The closing date for receipt of applications is 29 October 2023

Should you wish to make an informal enquiry please contact:

Chris Forman, Architectural Technician

[email protected]

Please do not send application forms or CVs to Chris.

Please quote reference number INT23A03SX on all correspondence.