| Project Supervisor | Louise Tillin |
| Institution & Department | King’s College London – King’s India Institute/School of Global Affairs |
| Research Area | RA6: Public Policy and Governance |
| Project Start Date | October or November 2026 – flexible start date offered. |
| Project Duration | 3 months |
| Application Deadline | 31st August 2026 |
| Working Pattern | Either full-time or part-time. Please discuss and agree on Working Patterns with the Project Supervisor. |
| Working Arrangements | Hybrid |
| The intern will be expected to attend regular in person meetings with the project team, but will otherwise have the option to work remotely. If possible, we will try to provide access to a workspace in an open-plan office, but this will be subject to space availability and the timing of internship. | |
| How to Apply | View Guidance Here |
Project Description
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This internship will support research on the British component of a multi-country project which investigates contemporary patterns of civil society and political engagement among communities within the Indian diaspora against the backdrop of rising national populism. The wider project is entitled Indipop: Diaspora Politics and the International Mainstreaming of National Populism and is supported by an Open Research Area grant. The UK component is funded by the ESRC.
In this part of the project focused on the United Kingdom, we are examining the growing importance of the Indian diaspora as elected representatives, party activists and voters in British politics against the backdrop of the changing and contested policies and practices of multiculturalism. Employing qualitative field research methods, we seek to understand how issues related to India, and issues affecting the diverse communities of Indian ethnicity in the UK, are represented in British politics and the role of local and transnational factors therein. We investigate how policies and practices of multiculturalism have provided opportunities for political mobilisation, including by actors seeking to advance and contest Hindu nationalist ideologies; the changes that have occurred in the ways that British political parties understand and seek to engage with communities of Indian ethnicity; and the ways that different community actors seek to influence mainstream parties and debates.
This internship will supplement our field-based research by building a systematic documentary database of relevant debates in the UK and devolved parliaments/assemblies (London, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) since 2010; contributing to the literature review for a special issue on the comparative politics of multiculturalism and potentially co-authoring a paper for the special issue.
As a whole, the wider project seeks to understand how ideas about politics, religion and society from India circulate within the different national contexts where diaspora communities reside, and how these ideas in turn influence institutions and political behaviour. It looks at whether the transnational circulation of ideas, via the diaspora, contributes to the mainstreaming of particular understandings of India in the international arena and within different host countries.
The Open Research Area funding line is a joint project of the national research funding agencies of France (ANR), Great Britain (ESRC), Canada (SSHRC) and Germany (DFG), and aims to strengthen international cooperation in the field of social sciences. Japan’s national research funding agency JSPS is an associated partner. The Indipop project is led by the University of Goettingen. Principal partner universities include King’s College London, Sciences-Po and Kyoto University.
Internship Details
The student will:
- Compile a systematic database of documentary evidence of how issues related to religious communities and groups in the Indian diaspora have been raised, framed and debated in British politics since 2010. This will include working with: a) records of the UK parliament, devolved parliaments/assemblies; b) reports in national and community media (such as Eastern Eye, Asian Age and Gujarat Samachar); c) specific social media handles (as identified by the research leads).
- Use NVivo to organise, and conduct initial coding of, the documentary database
- Work with the project’s post-doctoral fellow to conduct a literature review on comparative multiculturalism
- Support other project activities as identified by the project lead, consistent with the time commitment of the internship.
The intended outputs of the internship are:
- A database of documentary evidence, searchable by keywords
- Co-authorship of a journal article in a project special issue destined for a top-tier journal
Anticipated Benefits for the Student
Data collection and analysis
The student will gain hands-on experience of data collection and analysis as part of a wider research team. They will have the opportunity to develop or deepen their familiarity with software and data analysis for qualitative research, including NVivo
Dissemination and academic writing
The student will be offered the opportunity to make a conference presentation based on their data analysis (at the final network conference or another opportunity). They will also have the opportunity to co-author a journal article with the Principal Investigator and post-doctoral fellow on the project.
Working as part of a research team
The student will engage dynamically with an active research project, strengthening their skills of teamwork, agility and adaptability. They will gain experience of conducting research that is embedded within a larger research programme, developing skills that will be valuable in the transition to a post-doctoral career
Engaging with international partners
The student will have the opportunity to engage with, and build their networks among, senior academics and post-doctoral researchers based at our international project partner organisations (University of Goettingen, Sciences-Po and University of Kyoto). This includes the opportunity to participate in virtual whole team meetings (held every three months), as well as the final network conference to be hosted at King’s College London in September 2027.
Skills, Experience and Knowledge Requirements
Note that technical skills (design, programming, prototyping) are not needed for this opportunity. Students with a background in political science or a relevant social science discipline, with knowledge of Indian and/or British politics will be preferred.
Training in qualitative research methods in the social sciences is essential; knowledge of a programming language and ability to scrape and search documents is desirable (not essential).
Prior experience of storing documents and coding using NVivo is desirable but can also be learned during the internship. Knowledge of an Indian language, such as Gujarati, would be desirable.