Horizon Doctoral Training Centre students are required, as part of their studies, to undertake an internship with an industry partner, relevant to their chosen research project. These placements generally last 3 months but are flexible in duration.
Previous internships have varied from employment within large industry research labs distributed across the globe to experience of working with small cutting-edge creative companies to deliver innovative new public experiences.
Internships should be found within the first 36 months of a PhD although the start date of internships is negotiable. The ideal starting time is when taught courses have finished, usually during the summer of the first year.
What are the benefits of internships?
Student benefits
- Networking / relationship building
- Time to focus on research other than that of their chosen PhD focus
- Experience of industrial research as opposed to academic research
- Potential for advanced job prospects
- Develop and understanding of the challenges of working in industry
- Chance to live and work in a new environment and experience living in another country
Employer benefits
- Provide trial periods to potential future employees
- Increased productivity – extra set of hands
- Enhanced perspective – fresh ideas and specialised strengths and skills sets
- Give back to the community - enhances the local workforce as a whole
- Support students through mentoring and knowledge exchange
How to organise internships?
This can happen in a variety of ways
- Industry Partners approach Horizon with a potential internship and Horizon match students to internships.
- Students may approach a company directly proposing an internship.
- Students may approach Horizon with a company that they would like to work with
- Students may be approached directly by an Industry Partner
What does it cost?
Salary is negotiable and is discussed directly between the company and the student
What is expected?
- At the end of the internship the students write a report worth 20 credits of their course reflecting upon, and evaluating, their experience
- Employers will be asked to evaluate the student’s performance.
For further information please contact
Bronya Norton
Knowledge Transfer Officer
Horizon Digital Economy Research
University of Nottingham Innovation Park
Triumph Road
Nottingham
NG7 2TU
Tel: +44 (0) 115 7484021
Mob: 07763 567240
bronya.norton@nottingham.ac.uk