UWE Bristol internship scheme 2024–2025

The Internship Scheme opened on Monday 21 October and will remain open until available funding has been allocated.

148 hour internship scheme

Our fully funded internship scheme has been developed to support our students in their professional development. By taking part in the scheme, you will mentor your intern and provide professional support, helping to inform their long-term career decisions and build their confidence and skills. An internship may be the first time an intern has worked in professional environment, therefore patience and guidance are essential throughout the internship.

In return, you will work with one of our talented students who will bring with them their up to date industry knowledge helping to boost your business by undertaking a short term project or task.

The scheme is designed for students to work part-time during their studies alongside other commitments and provide them with a steady wage. A longer-term internship is also useful for employers to develop a project or task.

The 148 hour internship suits project work with weekly meetings and check-ins with the student. Ideally, the work should be offered flexibly (and remotely if appropriate) so students are able to complete work at times that suits them including weekends if necessary. At the point of recruitment, you should discuss the student’s commitments with them and create a working agreement between you whilst ensuring mentoring and training are woven throughout the internship.

Information and eligibility

Organisations

  • Open to all organisations.
  • The intern must not have worked for you in any capacity before and can take part in one internship per year.
  • For third-sector organisations, previous volunteers are eligible to participate.
  • You can employ one intern per internship scheme.

Students

The scheme is open to:

  • UK domiciled students on an undergraduate degree course
  • UK domiciled students who graduated in 2024
  • International students currently studying on a Bachelors, Masters or PhD course.   

Students completing UWE Bristol-accredited Foundation degrees in partner Further Education colleges are eligible providing there is evidence that they are continuing their studies with UWE Bristol in September 2025.

Nominated interns who have contacted you speculatively are eligible, provided they meet the above criteria.

The scheme is not available to:

  • UK domiciled students on a postgraduate course, including PhD students.
  • International graduates.

Payment and wages

  • Duration – 148 hours in total. We recommend this is worked over a maximum of 12–14 hours per week.
  • Intern wages – interns will be paid the Real Living Wage 2024/2025 which is £12.60 per hour. You will pay the student via PAYE.
  • Subsidy – UWE Bristol will provide 100% of the funding for your Intern’s wages, this totals £1,864.80 for each internship. This will be paid to you when the internship finishes. 
  • All internships should be finished by September 2025.
  • Funding is allocated on a first come, first served basis.
  • The salary provided has been informed by guidance from the Living Wage Foundation in respect to national living costs and appropriate pay.

Recruitment and funding arrangements

Recruitment

  • The intern must be employed by the business and cannot be self employed.
  • If you are related to your intern, you must disclose it on the registration form.
  • The scheme is limited to one intern per organisation/associated company. If you have a further opportunity that you’d like to advertise, please email the UWE Bristol Internships Team directly at uweinternships@uwe.ac.uk.

Funding arrangements

  • We will send you a PO number to claim the subsidy towards the end of the internship, providing we have received all finance information.
  • Use the PO number to invoice us for the subsidy. The payment terms are a minimum of 30 days from the date of invoice.
  • We will not process invoices until we have received all the documentation.
  • Failure to notify us of your internship starting, late return of your internship agreement, and/or late return of relevant financial documentation will delay the payment of your salary subsidy and may result in the subsidy not being allocated or paid for your intern.
  • If, for any reason, the internship ends prematurely, you must inform the UWE Bristol Internships team immediately. Your intern must be paid any outstanding wages, which includes payment for any accrued annual leave not taken.
  • The subsidy you can claim will be proportionate to the hours worked and any accrued annual leave. We expect you and your intern to come to a resolution in regards to ending the internship, however we are here to assist you if there are any grievances.

What steps do I need to take?

Step 1: Create and advertise your Internship

You can advertise your internship opportunity to students through CareerHub.

If you would like to submit a vacancy, please log in or register for CareerHub, then:

  1. Select the '+Add vacancy' option’ 
  2. Ensure that you include 'UWE Internship 2024–2025' in the job title
  3. Choose the 'UWE Internship Schemes' under the 'Vacancy type' before submitting the internship

Your vacancy will be advertised to UWE Bristol students, who will apply to you directly. You should follow your organisation’s standard recruitment process. 

If you want to nominate an intern without completing a recruitment process, please still add your internship vacancy to Infohub but add ‘Nominated Intern’ and the student’s name in the job title when uploading your opportunity. This will not be advertised to our students and is for our records only.

Key information

  • Advertising your vacancy on CareerHub does not guarantee that the vacancy will be filled.
  • Registration on CareerHub and advertising a position does not guarantee funding.

Step 2: Recruiting your intern

When you have shortlisted candidates, we recommend that you email the UWE Bristol Internships Team at uweinternships@uwe.ac.uk with the student's name and student number to check their eligibility for the scheme and confirm that funding is still available. When we confirm by return email, you will be able to organise the interviews and select your intern according to your company’s standard recruitment procedures.

Key information 

  • All internships must be confirmed to UWE Bristol by Friday 30 May 2025.
  • All interns need to commence their employment on or before Monday 2 June 2025.
  • Funding is limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis provided you meet the scheme requirements.
  • The scheme will close earlier if all funding is allocated.

Step 3: Complete the internship registration form

Once you have chosen an intern, please complete the registration form.

Registration form

We will check the eligibility of the intern and organisation. If all criteria is met, we will email to confirm your funding has been allocated and next steps.

To receive the subsidy, you must be set up as a UWE Bristol supplier. If you are not registered as a UWE Bristol supplier, we will send you the new supplier form to complete and return.

Step 4: Complete the internship agreement

After eligibility is confirmed, we will email you an internship agreement.

Each agreement must be completed and electronically signed by you, your intern and UWE Bristol before the intern starts their internship.

The internship agreement is not a contract of employment. However it may be used as a basis for your contract of employment.

We recommend you issue a separate contract of employment to your intern, which incorporates any organisational terms that may not be included in our internship agreement.

Step 5: Submit your invoice

Towards the end of the internship, we will send you a purchase order number, which you can Include on your invoice to us. If any required documentation (the internship agreement and any requested financial information) has not been returned to us, we cannot pay the subsidy.

Step 6: Complete your feedback form

We will send you a feedback form part way through the internship. We’d love to hear from you about the successes of the internship and any comments on areas to develop. We may also contact you to request a case study.

Frequently asked questions

What sort of work is suitable?

The internship should give the student a meaningful opportunity to build and demonstrate skills, knowledge and confidence in a professional area of work, whilst being mentored and professionally guided. Examples include:

  • Managing a defined project
  • Progressing a new idea or piece of work at the organisation
  • Boosting your social media reach and marketing support
  • Tasks that use multiple skills such as problem solving, liaising with stakeholders, social media and communication management and administration skills
  • Using specific skills gained in their degree in your area of expertise, for example creative writing, laboratory work or film making.

How do I check the intern has the right to work in the UK?

You can recruit any UWE Bristol international student studying at undergraduate or postgraduate level, who has the right to work alongside their academic studies.

You can do this in the same way that you would check whether any prospective employee is able to work in the UK. The government provides extensive information for employers on completing right to work checks.

Working permissions for international students can normally be found in their passport or on their Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), but if you are unsure, you can use the online service or call the government's Employer Enquiry helpline on +44 (0)300 12 35434. The opening hours are:

  • Monday to Thursday, 09:00 to 16:45
  • Friday, 09:00 to 16:30.

What ongoing support can the University offer?

We have a dedicated Internships Team who will:

  • provide a seamless and easy process to set up your internship
  • provide help and support for you and your intern for the duration of the internship
  • be available to answer questions and queries before, during and after the internship via email.

Does the intern accrue paid holiday during the internship?

Yes, the intern will accumulate paid holiday at a pro rata equivalent 16.25 hours per 148 hour internship, inclusive of bank holidays.

For a part-time internship of 148 hours:

  • 131.75 hours paid working hours
  • 16.25 hours paid absence for holiday or bank holidays.

The number of days of paid holiday entitlement will be reduced if the internship terminates early.

Contact the Internships Team

If you have any further questions, please contact the Internships Team at uweinternships@uwe.ac.uk.

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