About the Micro-Internship Programme

Some of the reasons may be to:

• Gain employability skills and enhance your CV – acquire a range of employability skills such as problem-solving, self-management, presentation and communication skills, and commercial awareness (see more on our Employability Skills webpages). These skills are highly valued by employers and the ability to demonstrate them on your CV, cover letter and in interview is vital during the recruitment process.
• Exploration and insight – micro-internships allow you to explore career options, gain insight into a sector that you would like to pursue or that is new to you, or experience an area outside of your academic field.
• Variety on offer – because placements are both short and voluntary, a great variety of UK and International organisations are able to offer placements, many of which would not ordinarily be in a position to support interns – in particular start-ups and charities.
• Gain contacts – placements provide a fantastic opportunity to network with professionals, with some micro-internships leading to further work experience or career opportunities.
• Convenience – all micro-internships last 2-5 days and take place at the end of term, so you can gain work experience even if you have a busy academic schedule.

Where

The internship host will decide if your placement is to take place fully in person, fully remote or a hybrid of both. The internship host will reimburse you for local travel (inclusive of bus travel between Oxford and London) and lunch expenses: on submission of receipts for any days you attend the placement in person.

When

The Micro-Internship Programme runs three times a year - taking place at the end of each term, before the next academic year starts. The 2025/26 placement dates are as follows:

• Winter Cycle: 8-12 December OR 15-19 December 2025
• Spring Cycle: 16-20 March OR 23-27 March 2026
• Summer Cycle: 22-26 June OR 29 June - 3 July 2026

Usually, micro-internships are full-time hours (for example 9am-5.30pm) each day or a maximum of 37.5 hours a week, although this is decided by the host and will be communicated to you before your placement. Some hosts offer flexible working hours, and this is usually stated in the advert.  Please ensure before applying that you are available and are able to fully commit to the placement.

Please be aware of differing time zones when accepting a placement and make your micro-internship host aware of any potentially conflicting time zones. 

All matriculated students, both Undergraduate and Postgraduate (Taught and Research) can apply to all cycles of the Programme.

Unfortunately, visiting students, MBA and EMBA students (Saïd Business School) are unable to apply. We encourage MBA and EMBA students to access the Saïd Business School Careers Service.

No. Micro-Internships are voluntary learning and development opportunities and therefore unpaid. However, host employers must reimburse students with local travel (inclusive of bus journeys between Oxford and London) and lunch expenses on submission of receipts for any day the student attends the placement in person or is required to travel as part of the placement. If the placement is completed remotely from home, the host will not cover any expenses. 

Each term the Internship Office runs a number of workshops. These workshops cover what the Micro-Internship Programme is, how to create a CV, what to include in your applications, employability skills and an introduction into the work place. These will be advertised each term on CareerConnect.

Any further questions?

Please contact us! You can email micro-internships@careers.ox.ac.uk.

To keep updated with the launch of vacancies and deadlines for the submission of applications, make sure you check the Careers Service news page regularly, sign up to our Internship Alerts mailing list, and follow the Internship Office on Facebook.