About the Micro-Internship Programme

• Gain employability skills and enhance your CV – acquire a range of employability skills such as problem-solving, self-management, presentation and communication skills, and commercial awareness (see more on our Employability Skills webpages). These skills are highly valued by employers and the ability to demonstrate them on your CV, cover letter and in interview is vital during the recruitment process.
• Exploration and insight – micro-internships allow you to explore career options, gain insight into a sector that is new to you, or experience an area outside of your academic field. If you are considering pursuing a career in a certain sector, a micro-internship is a great way of helping you to decide if you might like to pursue it further.
• Variety on offer – because placements are both short and voluntary, a great variety of organisations are able to offer placements through the programme, many of which would not ordinarily be in a position to support interns – in particular start-ups and charities.
• Gain contacts – placements provide a fantastic opportunity to network with professionals in your chosen field, with some micro-internships leading to further work experience or career opportunities.
• Convenience – all micro-internships last 2-5 days and take place at the end of term, so you can gain work experience even if you have a busy academic schedule.

Where

Depending on the project, the internship host will decide if your placement is to take place fully in person, fully remote or a hybrid of both. The internship host will reimburse you for reasonable travel and lunch expenses (on submission of receipt) for any days you are required to be physically present as part of the placement. 

When

The Micro-Internship Programme runs three times a year - taking place at the end of each term, before the next academic year starts. The Micro-Internship Programme 2022/23 placement dates are as follows:

• Winter Vacation: 5-9 December OR 12-16 December 2022
• Spring Vacation: 13-17 March OR 20-24 March 2023
• Summer Vacation: 19-23 June OR 26-30 June 2023

Usually, micro-internships are full-time hours (for example - but not limited to - 9am-5pm) each day, although this is decided by the host and will be communicated to you before your placement. Some hosts offer flexible working hours, and this is usually stated in the advert. Therefore, please ensure before applying that you are available during the placement week. Please be aware of differing time zones when accepting a placement and make your micro-internship host aware of any potentially conflicting time zones. 

All matriculated students, both Undergraduate and Postgraduate (Taught and Research) can apply to all cycles of the Programme.

Unfortunately, visiting students, MBA and EMBA students (Saïd Business School) are unable to apply. We encourage MBA and EMBA students to access the Saïd Business School Careers Service.

No. Micro-Internships are voluntary learning and development opportunities and therefore unpaid. However, host employers must reimburse students with both local travel and lunch expenses on submission of receipts for any day the student physically attends their placement or is required to travel as part of the placement. If the micro-intern completes the placement remotely from home, the host will not be required to cover any part of their expenses. 

Each term the Internship Office runs a workshop that covers what the Micro-Internship Programme is and what to include in your application. These will be advertised each term on CareerConnect.

Any further questions?

Please contact us! You can email micro-internships@careers.ox.ac.uk.

To keep updated with the launch of vacancies and deadlines for the submission of applications, make sure you check the Careers Service news page regularly, sign up to our Internship Alerts mailing list, and follow the Internship Office on Facebook.