TTFPP
Training students through community-based learning
Our Programmes
Four programmes, one idea
Every UDS student leaves the campus and works in a real setting before they graduate. These are the four programmes that make that happen.
Learning where the work is
The four flagship programmes look different from one another — a trimester in a village, a block in a district clinic, a term in a classroom, a period inside a firm — but they rest on the same idea: that a graduate who has only ever studied a problem is not the same as one who has worked on it.
All four are coordinated by DCROP, which handles allocation, the agreement with the host, supervision in the field and the follow-up afterwards.
The flagship programmes
COBES
Bridging education, communities and society
Teaching Practice
Preparing teachers for national development
Industrial Placement
Building industry-ready graduates
How they fit together
Early years: TTFPP
Students meet a community properly for the first time, live there for a trimester and work to a brief the community helped write.
Alongside: COBES
Health and allied health students work at household level, repeatedly, from early in their studies.
For teachers: Teaching Practice
Student teachers carry a real timetable in a partner school for a full term, under supervision.
Before graduating: Industrial Placement
A supervised working period inside a firm, an agency or an agribusiness.
How to take part
Check which programme applies to you
TTFPP is for all undergraduates. COBES, Teaching Practice and Industrial Placement depend on your school and programme of study.
Watch for the placement notice
The directorate publishes placement and allocation notices through your school each trimester.
Submit what is asked for
Usually a short statement of interest and your programme details. Industrial Placement asks what kind of work you are looking for.
Attend the briefing
Every cohort is briefed before departure on the community, the brief, conduct, safety and what you are being assessed on. It is not optional.
Dates are announced through your school each trimester. If you are unsure which programme applies to you, contact the directorate and ask before the notice goes out rather than after.
What students get
Supervision in the field
Academic supervisors visit placements. You are not left to work it out alone.
A briefing before you go
Conduct, safety, and what is expected of you in someone else’s community.
An agreed brief
You arrive with a problem already defined with the community and the assembly.
Assessment on real work
You are marked on what you did, not on an essay about what you might have done.
A reference that means something
Placement hosts and supervisors who can speak to how you actually work.
A possible research topic
A great many final-year projects start in a field placement.
Student voices
“I learned more about extension work in one trimester in the field than I could have read in three years. I also learned to listen first.”
“My placement was in a village clinic two hours from the campus. It is the reason I chose community health.”
Common questions
Do I have to do field work?
For most UDS undergraduate programmes, yes. The Third Trimester Field Practical Programme is part of the degree, not an optional extra.
Where will I be placed?
Somewhere in the northern regions, allocated by the directorate. You will be told your community and your brief before you travel.
Will I be on my own?
No. Students are placed in groups, hosted in the community, and visited by academic supervisors during the placement.
What does it cost me?
Arrangements for accommodation and support are confirmed by the directorate each trimester. Ask at the briefing, or contact the directorate directly if you have a specific concern.
Can I choose my Industrial Placement?
You can say what kind of work you are looking for, and the directorate matches you against the employers on its list. A placement you have found yourself can sometimes be approved — ask first.
Partner With Us
Let’s work together to create sustainable communities through teaching, research and innovation.