| Project Supervisor | Karmini Sharma |
| Institution & Department | Imperial College London – Economics and Public Policy, Business School |
| Research Area | RA3: Language, Culture and Education |
| Project Start Date | 1st July 2026 |
| Project Duration | 3 months |
| Application Deadline | 4th June 2026 |
| Working Pattern | Full-time (5 days per week over 3 months) |
| Working Arrangements | Hybrid |
| At least one in person meeting, and 1 remote meeting per week, along with regular email communication of any updates on the work. | |
| How to Apply | View Guidance Here |
Project Description
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This project seeks to understand the motivations behind men’s sexual harassment and other aggressive behaviours, and whether exposure to information about peers’ attitudes can shift those behaviours. A Research Assistant/PhD student will help design and implement a series of mechanism experiments, initially online, and potentially in a field setting in a developing country where the PI has established research partnerships.
The experiments will rigorously examine how men’s perceptions of peer norms influence their incentives to engage in problematic behaviours such as sexual harassment, bullying, and aggression. Online pilots will be conducted first using Prolific, with the findings feeding directly into a larger collaboration with a well-regarded anti-sexual harassment NGO in India. The summer work will inform the design of a full-scale RCT to be conducted in Indian universities, and will contribute to grant proposals for major external funding.
This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to policy-relevant, socially impactful research at the frontier of behavioural and development economics.”
Internship Details
This is a fast-paced, intellectually stimulating internship suited to a student who thrives in a dynamic research environment. The work is genuinely varied: on any given week you might be navigating IRB paperwork, stress-testing experiment code, reading the latest literature on social norms, or brainstorming how to replicate online findings in a field setting in South Asia.
The Project Supervisor values quick learning, clear communication, and intellectual curiosity above all else. You will be expected to work with a high degree of independence while staying in close contact with the PI. If you are organised, motivated, and excited by the idea of doing research that could meaningfully inform how societies address gender-based aggression — this is the internship/studentship for you.
Internship Structure
- Supporting IRB/ethics approval for online experiments
- Learning to design, code, and deploy experiments on Prolific
- Engaging deeply with the academic literature on peer norms, social image, and aggressive behaviour
- Coding, piloting, and refining at least two variations of the mechanism experiment
- Conducting preliminary analysis of experimental results and contributing to interpretation
- Supporting related research admin, including internal grant writing at Imperial
Anticipated Benefits for the Student
The student will gain hands-on, doctoral-level training across a range of research and professional skills:
- End-to-end experience designing and running online experiments on Prolific and related platforms
- Understanding of how to translate online experimental designs into field settings in low- and middle-income countries
- Practical experience with research ethics and IRB processes
- Exposure to grant writing and internal funding applications
- Experience monitoring and troubleshooting live experiments
Beyond the core project, the student will have the freedom to use project infrastructure — including access to online samples — to pilot experimental variations relevant to their own research interests.
Where research interests, working styles, and time commitment align, there is genuine potential for co-authorship on subsequent publications arising from this work.
Skills, Experience and Knowledge Requirements
Essential Requirements:
- Graduate-level econometrics, including theory and application of RCTs
- Microeconomics, including game theory
- Programming in Python; familiarity with PyCharm (or willingness to learn quickly)
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- High level of organisation, diligence, and independence
- Genuine interest in behavioural and development economics
Desirable Requirements:
- Prior experience with online experiment platforms (Prolific, MTurk)
Previous RA experience in experimental design or implementation - Some independent research experience (e.g. thesis, working paper)
- Interest in reading and discussing academic papers and thinking through experimental designs