The Professional Internship for PhD Students (PIPS) process is student-led. That means you are responsible for finding and arranging a placement to suit your individual needs. You may wish to try out something related to a potential future career, if you know what that might be, or you may wish to try something completely different that you haven’t previously considered. Bear in mind that host organisations may be able to offer a variety of roles e.g. a large organisation may have roles within their marketing department, as well as potential industry research roles. It is up to you and the host organisation to negotiate what the best type of placement will be to provide the greatest benefit to them and to yourself. It is a two-way process.
There are four main ways to find your PIPS:
- Advertised PIPS opportunities
- Approach previous PIPS host organisations
- Ongoing PIPS schemes
- Find your own placement
1) Advertised PIPS opportunities
A wide variety of PIPS opportunities are brought to our attention on an ad-hoc basis throughout the year. These are circulated to students as they arise. Please check your email for PIPS opportunities and follow the enclosed application instructions, as these differ for each opportunity.
The most recent advertised opportunities can be found on the right-hand side of each page on this website.
For the full list of advertised PIPS opportunities, CLICK HERE
2) Approach previous PIPS hosts
You can be inspired by the list of organisations that have hosted PIPS interns over the last few years. Please approach these organisations sensitively as they may or may not be in a position to host another PIPS student. If in doubt, speak to your local PIPS contact.
Click here to go to the list of previous PIPS hosts
3) Organisations offering ongoing PIPS
Some organisations such as UKRI offer ongoing placements; Apply for internships and placements – UKRI
This includes the UKRI policy internship scheme which is a popular programme hosting the majority of available policy PIPS opportunities. However be aware that applications only open once a year (often Sept-Nov) so keep an eye out if you are interested.
4) Find your own placement
You are welcome to find your own PIPS with an organisation that has not previously hosted a placement. You or your supervisor may have industry contacts or you may have contacts through other networks that you can follow up. Talk to other students who have already been on their PIPS and use LinkedIn for networking. If you need support in following up these leads or in making an initial contact, please get in touch with the PIPS Contact for your university.
Contact your local PIPS contact for all the latest information regarding possible PIPS host organisations and to discuss how to arrange a placement with a host organisation of your choosing.