University of Birmingham (UoB) Graduate Internships Programme

• ITS Digital Innovation Developer
• ITS Process Improvement Analyst
• Legacy Fundraising Intern
• Go Global Coordinator
• External relations Digital Marketing Assistant
• EDI Mentoring Assistant

Doing an internship is a fantastic way of gaining valuable work experience, skills and confidence. It’s a way for you to maybe trying a role which you’ve never thought of doing before – using valuable transferrable skills from study and / or previous work experience / extra-curricular activities during your time at university.

“According to the ISE Development Survey 2019, the importance of work experience is highlighted by the fact that 87% of respondents agreed that students who had completed an internship or placement had better skills than those who did not have this experience.” Prospects.ac.uk

Our success from the last two years running this programme testifies to the boost doing an internship here at UoB can give to your future employment prospects, whether you decide to apply for jobs here afterwards or elsewhere.

The UoB Graduate Internships Programme offers:

• Real work experience – departments have a real need to fill and welcome the support and skills of our graduates
• Paid experience ­– our internships offer above the national minimum wage payment
• Projects – the University offers plenty of exciting projects to get involved in
• Skills – an opportunity for you to utilise existing skills and gain additional skills both soft and technical
• Boost your job prospects
• Industry insight -  gain experience in H.E. as well as sectors within this-  helping in your career decision making

“Whether or not you have an interest to work in Higher Education, I think the internships act as a great starting point for your career journey. Through my internship I developed my soft and hard skills and came out of the role with quantifiable achievements that I could reflect on in applications and interviews.

Furthermore, the University has a great working culture that will encourage you to try out new things and learn as much as possible in the short time given. I think the flexibility of the roles mean they can be of value to all graduates and I would definitely recommend others to apply.” 

“I would definitely recommend the programme – I felt very lucky to take part. It was a great opportunity to do interesting and challenging graduate level work, and my team were so welcoming. I received lots of feedback and support throughout the whole internship, and the experience helped me feel much more confident and prepared going into my new job.” 

“When I started the internship I was surprised by how much freedom I was given to run my project – I really enjoyed being able to manage my own work and learned a lot as a result.”

Applicants must meet one of the following criteria (UK home Undergraduate student graduating in 2025/ UK home Undergraduate student who graduated in 2024 and are not pursuing further studies): 

1. Birmingham Scholars, defined as:

• Students in receipt of a Pathways to Birmingham - (P2B) which includes the programmes Access to Birmingham, Routes to the Professions, National Access Summer School)
• Students in receipt of a Realising Opportunities offer
• Students in receipt of a Sanctuary Scholarship;
• Care experienced or Care Leavers 

2. And/or students who have a home address in an IMD Quintile 1 (indices of multiple deprivation, IMD Deciles 1 and 2, lowest 20%)  neighbourhood *

*If your home address is in Northern Ireland you will need to contact us with your home postcode so that we can check your eligibility to apply. For more information about how the University aims to improve access, provide equal opportunities and enable progress through higher education and in to graduate levels roles click here: Widening Participation and Access - University of Birmingham

If you are unsure of whether you meet the criteria (or have not been contacted directly), please contact the Work Experience Team at workexperience@contacts.bham.ac.uk

Working in HE

Many of our interns have been pleasantly surprised at the amount of job roles available within universities besides academic roles.

Higher Education is a large, global sector, and with over 170 institutions in the UK alone there are a huge range of opportunities.

As the environment around us changes, Higher Education is becoming increasingly competitive and fast-moving, making it an exciting and dynamic sector in which to work.

Part of the excitement of working in Higher Education is interacting daily with highly intelligent people, contributing to the education of future generations and engaging with cutting edge research.

Universities are large and complex organisations and, working alongside academics, the most successful Universities need strong Professional Services - talented people working in all sorts of diverse and challenging roles.

Working at the University of Birmingham

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university.  We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site.  On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

So I applied  for the Internship scheme, because I felt like I needed more experience, kind of like in media and communications, which is what my internship focused on. And I didn’t really know much about Higher Education and opportunities that were kind of in this industry.

Previously, I kind of worked in Sustainability and Fashion and I would like to go more into a marketing or comms role. So this internships, kind of allowed me to have this experience working in media and communications, working in marketing and events, and kind of utilising my creative kind of passions, I guess.

Hi everyone, my name is Seerut and I am a Postgraduate student studying Education and Social Justice at the University of Birmingham. After finishing my undergraduate degree, I got the opportunity to do a summer internship  at the Public Affair at UoB.

This was a fantastic learning opportunity for myself as I got first-hand experience into the Higher Education Sector and also gained some insight. This was a 13-week placement and I had gotten so much out of my first job, and now because of this experience, I am now in a position to apply for other roles purely because I have the experience. So evidently, experience counts a lot no matter what field you decide to go into working.

There is also a great financial ease as well which helped me plan the next steps in my career, so it is a paid experience. I strongly recommend all students to apply for any future internships that may take place I guarantee that you will get a lot out of this. It will enhance your skill set, boost your confidence for your work life and also expand your knowledge. Even if you don’t have any interest to the Higher Education sector, I strongly recommend that you apply.