Projects are created by employers seeking to work with learners who are a member of an experience. A project outlines a real-world problem or an area of opportunity for a company that learners can address. This allows learners to gain real work experience that they can include on their resumes and showcase to future employers. The flexible nature of most projects also allows learners to continue full-time studies alongside completing the project.
Main benefits of working on a Riipen project:
Gain real work experience that you can put on your resume and showcase to future employers.
Collaborate with industry professionals to develop practical skills relevant to your field.
Build your professional network by working directly with companies
General
Before learners can start a project, they must be a member of an experience. Experiences represent a specific type of learner opportunity, either as part of a class or with a co-curricular program, and will have projects which meet their criteria available inside of them. Once learners have joined an experience, they can access a list of available projects. Projects may be assigned to learners in three different ways:
Self-assign
Learners can start working on any available project they choose.
Invitation only
Experience administrators will assign projects to specific teams or learners.
Application
Learners must submit an application to work on their desired project. The employer will then review the application and may choose to either accept or decline it.
The project assignment method is determined by the experience administrators.
How to
View all projects in an experience
To view all available projects for an experience you are a member of, follow these steps.
Navigate to the "My Experiences" tab in the main navigation menu.
Click on the experience for which you want to view projects. Note: You can view the project assignment type in the last column of the table.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to find a table listing all the projects available for this experience.
The projects you see here are all the ones that the experience administrators have approved and made available to the learners of the experience.
View a project
To view a specific project's details including problems, scope, deliverables, company details, and more, follow these steps.
Navigate to the "My Experiences" tab in the main navigation menu.
Click on the experience for which you want to view projects.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to find a table listing all the projects available for this experience. Click on the project you wish to view.
Aside from the project details, you will encounter one of three possible options depending on project assignment type configured by your experience administrators:
A “Start project” button - in this case you may start the project right away (see below).
An “Apply” button - you must submit an application to the employer to work on the project. (see below)
No button - this means the experience administrators will be assigning learners to projects directly and you must wait for your invitation to a given project.
Start a self-assigned project
Picking and starting a project is only available to you if the experience administrators have configured the experience to allow learners to self-assign to projects.
To self-assign and start a project, follow these steps:
Navigate to the "My Experiences" tab in the main navigation menu.
Click on the experience for which you want to start a project in.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to find a table listing all the projects available for this experience. Click on the project you wish to start.
Click the “Join project” button.
After clicking "Join Project," the first step is to form your team. Give your team a name and invite other team members if necessary. You can only invite other learners who are part of the experience.
Note: If your experience administrator has set the experience to be completed individually, you will not see an option to add team members, and your team name will be your own name.
Next, prepare an introductory message to the employer. This is your chance to introduce the team and make a strong first impression. Propose a time and date for a kickoff meeting to discuss project details.
Click "Submit" and you're all finished! This action confirms that your team has started the project and initiates a chat conversation with the employer you can use for further communication.
You may be required to complete mandatory surveys and agreements before starting your project, depending on the requirements set by the experience and project administrators.
Start a project from an invitation
Starting a project from an invitation is only available to you if the experience administrators have configured the experience to only allow projects to be assigned by invitation.
To start a project from an invitation, follow these steps:
If you received an invite email, open your invitation in your email and click the "Accept" button. You will be placed into the team and redirected to your team page. If you did not receive an invite email, Navigate to the "My Projects" tab in the main navigation menu and click the team you have been placed in.
Click the “Start project” button.
After clicking "Start Project," the first step is to view your team. Your experience administrators will have possibly added other members to your team through the same process.
Note: If your experience administrator has set the experience to be completed individually, you will not see an option to add team members, and your team name will be your own name.
Next, prepare an introductory message to the employer. This is your chance to introduce the team and make a strong first impression. Propose a time and date for a kickoff meeting to discuss project details.
Click "Submit" and you're all finished! This action confirms that your team has started the project and initiates a chat conversation with the employer.
You may be required to complete mandatory surveys and agreements before starting your project, depending on the requirements set by the experience and project administrators.
Apply to a project
Some experiences may require you to apply to projects in order to work on them.
If your experience administrator has enabled this setting, once you've joined an experience you will see an "Apply" button on all projects within that experience.
Complete the steps below to apply for a project:
Follow the steps outlined above to view available projects.
On the project of your choice, click the "Apply" button in the top right corner.
Note: if this isn't shown, it may be because either the employer or your educator has turned off applications or set an application due date that has now passed.
Create a team name and enter the email addresses of your team members. Your team members must also be enrolled in the experience.
Note: If your experience administrator has set the experience to be completed individually, you will not see an option to add team members, and your team name will default to your own name. Instead, you will have the option to add your resume and work experience to the application.
Answer any screening questions set by the employer. If the employer hasn't set any questions, you won't see this step.
Introduce yourself and your team (if applicable), and tell the company why you are interested in this project.
Click "Submit" to submit your application, whether you're working individually or as part of a team. This will also create a chat conversation between your team and the project administrators.
The employer for the project will now review your application and may contact you for additional information about you and your team.
You'll be notified when your application has been accepted or declined. If your application is accepted, click on the notification and you will be directed to your team where you can start your project.
Best practices
Be professional and polite in all communication with the company. Designate a team lead to handle communication so that the company is not inundated with too many messages. Do your best to respond to the employer's messages within 24 working hours.
If you're working in a team with multiple members, only one person needs to "start the project"; however, all members must complete any required agreements or surveys set by the project or experience administrators.
You can contact an employer via the Riipen chat for the duration of your project
Refrain from seeking out personal contact information for the employer as they may wish to retain some degree of privacy.