Internship opportunities

Internships and Employment

LISS encourages students to undertake internships to enhance their future career prospects and increase the impact of their research; however you should discuss a possible internship with your supervisor to ensure that it does not interfere with progress on your PhD.   Internships enable students to develop a sharper sense of the wider relevance of their research as well as professional and transferrable workplace skills in line with the Vitae Researcher Development Framework.  Placements may also build expertise in knowledge co-generation, where research questions, analytical frameworks and knowledge exchange processes are co-designed with academic and practitioner input.

There are three methods through which internships can be developed:

  • devise your own internship, through your own initiative, supervisor or institutional support, or
  • LISS DTP is informed of internship opportunities, often within major UK government departments, once to twice a year through various ESRC schemes and will advertise these as they are sent to us
  • LISS DTP has a set of Research Assistant Internships giving students the opportunity to work on academic research projects at one of the three LISS institutions

For more information on submitting an application to the LISS DTP for an internship opportunities, please see our guidance for current students under ‘Funded Extension Schemes’.

Internship Testimonials

Estera Boncea

Estera Boncea

Internship Host: The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute

“The internship was a brilliant opportunity for one-to-one discussions about qualitative research methods, my findings and theoretical frameworks with experts, who were also able to provide me with advice on my PhD and wider career goals.

As a result of working within the THIS Institute team, I feel better able to navigate the process of turning raw findings into readily digestible, high-impact evidence for policy and practice in my own research.

The internship has been enriching for my PhD thesis in so many ways. Gaining research experience in an independent research institute and understanding how this context differs from a university has also been very informative for my career direction.”

 SIOFRA PEEREN

Siofra Peeren

Internship Host: The Home Office

“The internship allowed me network with key stakeholders for my research topic and enhanced my ability to communicate complex findings in a way that has impact and is accessible to a diverse audience – a transferrable skill that will benefit me in my career post-PhD.”

“I also believe that being able to say that I worked as a government social researcher on my CV will help me stand apart from others when applying for future jobs.”

“As an experience, it was also wonderful to feel part of a team.”

CONSTANCE SCHÉRÉ

Constance Schéré

Internship Host: The League for the Protection of Birds (LPO)

“Working with the LPO during this internship has helped me grow as a marine scientist and has introduced me to various people in the marine environment with whom I could collaborate on future projects someday.

The internship has definitely made an impact on both my PhD research and my future career. For my PhD research, it has provided me with an alternative approach to MPA management from the UK and Irish approaches. It was also an important learning experience to work on a project outside of academia to have an idea of what options are available after graduation.”

 KATHERINE CROFT-GIBBONS

Katherine Croft-Gibbons

Internship Host: Development, Concepts and Doctrines Centre (DCDC)

“I found the internship to be extremely valuable, gaining useful experience of policy-focused research and an insight into how such research is used by government. The report I completed will be shared with government representatives and used towards DCDC publications, so I feel that my research will have some impact. I also received training in red teaming and scenario planning which I hope will benefit my academic work going forwards. I now have access to a professional network through DCDC which can only help in my next career steps.

I enjoyed the break from my PhD research and feel that I returned to it with more perspective on my project.”

Current Opportunities

Research Assistant Internship Scheme

Research Assistant Internships involve funding in the form of a stipend extension for up to 13 weeks full-time (or part-time equivalent) that allows a LISS DTP funded PhD student to work as a Research Assistant with an academic (other than their immediate supervisor) based at King’s, Queen Mary, or Imperial.

These internships provide several benefits such as the opportunity to work with a larger team of researchers, practice in academic writing, training in research methods, networking and dissemination, collaboration with external partners, and potential for publication. Interns continue to receive their usual stipend payment for the duration of the internship and payments are extended by the relevant number of weeks at the end of the original funding end date.

LISS DTP students can apply for specific research assistant internships below. If you are interested in one or more of these, please get in touch with the person named as Contact. Please note that funding for these internships is only available to ESRC-funded LISS DTP students. The Contact is responsible for selecting the student to take up the internship. Once selected, the student should apply for an internship extension via the form (TBC) so that the appropriate changes to funding records can be made.

New Research Assistant Internships will be advertised here on the week commencing 14th November 2023. If selected, these internships will commence from December 2023. Any enquiries about these opportunities should be directed to liss-dtp@kcl.ac.uk

 

For academics: applying to be the academic lead for a LISS DTP intern

Academics can apply to be the academic lead for an intern by completing the online proposal form by 29th October 2023. The information submitted will be used by the LISS DTP Director and a selection panel to approve proposals which will be advertised on the LISS DTP website and other platforms. Successful colleagues should also publicise the internship through their own channels.

The academic lead will be responsible for selecting the student (who must be LISS DTP funded).

Please note that ethical approval must be obtained before the internship can be advertised to students.

Note: RA Internships will be advertised to LISS DTP students in November 2023, we recommend that proposers expect internships to start in December 2023 at the earliest to allow time for recruitment etc.

Action

Date

Call circulated to LISS DTP Colleagues  

05/10/2023

Deadlines for proposals   

29/10/2023 

Confirm outcome with proposers  

14/11/2023 

Announcement to Students

17/11/2023

Internships can commence

From December 2023  

 

Current Research Assistant Internship Opportunities

Past Opportunities (for reference only)