Practical guides
Running your year-long project
The project runs from the first month to the last and is reviewed at every stage. It is the work you will show, and the one that gathers everything the programme teaches. Here is how to choose it, slice it and run it.
What makes a good topic
A good topic is small, real and useful. Small, because it will run over twelve months alongside the modules. Real, because a case drawn from your own environment produces constraints you cannot invent. Useful, because the final output gets shown: it is what you place in your portfolio, and it beats an exercise with no audience.
- A scope you can describe in one sentence
- A real case, drawn from your activity or environment
- A final output you can show
- An identified audience, however informal
Slicing the project into milestones
- 01
Milestone 1 — frame it in one page
The problem, the scope, the audience, the expected output. One page reviewed early avoids three months of drift.
- 02
Milestone 2 — establish the baseline
What already exists, measured or described. It is the baseline your output will be compared with at the end.
- 03
Milestone 3 — produce a first version
Incomplete but whole: a rough whole beats a perfect part. Review then bears on the structure.
- 04
Milestone 4 — integrate the review
Rework the flagged points, one by one. One integrated review beats ten accumulated ones.
- 05
Milestone 5 — test with the audience
Have the target person read or try it. Their feedback says what no internal review can.
- 06
Milestone 6 — finalise and present
The presentable version, with what was learned. That is the piece that joins your portfolio.
The project within the programme
- project run from first month to last
- 1
- milestones reviewed across the year
- 6
- catalogue modules to draw on
- 181
What each milestone gains you
| Milestone | What you submit | What the review gives back |
|---|---|---|
| Framing | One page: problem, scope, audience | A tightened scope, holdable over twelve months |
| Baseline | What exists, measured or described | The comparison base for the final output |
| First version | A rough whole, end to end | A structural review, before the detail |
| Final version | The presentable output | A showable piece for your portfolio |
Questions about the project
Can I take a topic from my job?
That is the most favourable case: constraints are real, the audience exists, and the final output serves twice — it validates the project and produces a deliverable usable in your role. Simply check what you are free to publish.
What if the topic turns out too broad?
Tighten it at the next milestone rather than waiting. Framing is reviewed early precisely for that, and a reduced scope leads to a more demonstrable final output than a vast project left unfinished.
Is the project assessed at every milestone?
It is reviewed at every stage, which spreads the effort and avoids a final scramble. Assessment terms appear in the project brief, before you start, as for any output in the programme.
Explore next
- Requesting a reviewRequesting a review of an IHETC assessment: an unconditional right, published route, acknowledgement within two working days and reasoned answer within ten.
- Tracking your progressMeasuring your progress in an IHETC programme: hours kept, modules validated, credits acquired and project progress, recorded monthly.
- The second attemptPreparing a second attempt at IHETC: resits included in the fees, using named feedback and a work plan targeted on the gaps.
- Switching pathSwitching programme mid-course at IHETC: reasoned request, modules kept, schedule adjustment and switch calendar.
- Pausing and resumingPausing a year at IHETC and resuming later: reasoned request, retention of credits, effect on the payment schedule and resumption terms.
- Building your portfolioBuilding your portfolio during an IHETC programme: selecting outputs, presentation, showcasing the year-long project and linking to the award.