The Micro-Internship Programme: employer information

Work experience provision

In order for an internship to be eligible to be advertised through the Micro-Internship Programme, it must include specific details of a project with which they will be assisting and observing. The host organisation should try to provide experience of a project that is:

• Small-scale: for completion within a maximum of five working days.
• Challenging and engaging: providing a valuable learning experience for the student and enabling the development of their existing skills.

Projects may be self-contained or form part of a larger, ongoing project. Some micro-interns continue working on a project previously begun by past Oxford micro-interns or summer interns. The Internship Office appreciates that some organisations may not be able to offer a contained, short-term project as such; therefore work shadowing, observing and assisting can form part of the experience.

Previous micro-internship placements have included:

• The development of new marketing initiatives, or reviews of existing marketing strategies
• Data collection and presentation: from creating, distributing and compiling surveys and survey responses, to the photographing and digitising of medieval manuscripts
• Event planning
• Fundraising and awareness campaigns
• Product development
• Creating a new campaign film to fit the organisation’s brief
• Research and report writing: from investigating the ramifications of organisation relocation and restructuring, to market research
• Programming and software development
• Writing educational articles for a specific audience
• Researching and creating business models
• Conducting audits within an organisation
• Cataloguing collections and research with archives.

Internship Office Policy on Voluntary Placements

How do I participate in the programme?

1. Contact Us: Contact us on [email protected] and we will send you an information pack and can arrange a virtual call to discuss the type of project you wish to submit as part of the Programme and answer any questions you may have.
2. Register: We will ask you to register your organisation on CareerConnect. CareerConnect is our online platform used by students and organisations to access vacancies and our services. Once registered, we will check the information you've provided before approving your account.
3. Submit: Once your account is approved you will be able to submit your micro-internship proposal on CareerConnect. Once submitted, all proposals come through to the Internship Office for approval before being published to students. Please note that edits can still be made after submission, but not once the project has been published.

For information on how to create and submit your proposal, contact us on [email protected].

Travel and Lunch Expenses Reimbursements

Whilst micro-internships are voluntary and unpaid, host employers must reimburse students with both local travel (inclusive of bus journeys between Oxford and London) and lunch expenses on submission of receipts for any day the student physically attends their placement. If the micro-intern completes the placement remotely from home, it is not anticipated there will be any local travel or lunch expenses and therefore reimbursement will not be required. 

Diversity initiatives and encouraging individuals with disabilities

The micro-internship proposal features a diversity initiatives section, where employers can outline any policies, programmes or practices they have which support diversity and inclusion within the workplace. We strongly encourage employers to provide information in this section. Where no formal arrangements are in place, we still welcome employers to add a statement. On the proposal form there is also a section to inform us whether you can make reasonable adjustments and provisions in your workplace for those with disabilities – the Internship Office strives to make its internship programmes accessible to all, and this includes individuals with disabilities. In the UK, this is in line with the 2010 Equality Act. Please contact [email protected] with any questions.

What happens once the proposal is approved?

All micro-internships are advertised on specific dates (please see timeline and key date tabs for details). The Internship Office is responsible for marketing all placements and responding to applicant queries on your behalf. We also provide Application Support Sessions where we give 1:1 advice.

How do potential micro-interns apply?

Students have approximately two and a half weeks in which to apply for a maximum of two micro-internships at a time, making their application directly to the Internship Office through CareerConnect. Our application requirement is a one-page CV and 300-word personal statement. The closing date is set by the Internship Office.

Candidate selection

Once the application deadline has passed, the Internship Office sends the applications to the hosts. Hosts have approximately 10 days to make their selection. Due to the tight deadlines of the programme, most hosts make their selection based on the CV and personal statements. However, you are welcome to contact the candidates directly to arrange interviews via platforms such as Teams, Google Meet or over the telephone if wished. Should you have any other selection methods that you wish to use, please do contact [email protected] to discuss these before undertaking them.

Hosts communicate their preferred choice of intern(s) and any reserve candidates, if applicable to the Micro-Internship Team. Host organisations are not obliged to select interns if no applications are suitable. The Micro-Internship team communicates all decisions on behalf of the employer.

What happens after selection?

Once offers have been confirmed, we put you in touch with your intern(s). We ask you to organise a short introductory virtual meeting prior to the placement week, to ‘meet’ the students. This call is an opportunity for hosts and interns to make necessary arrangements, provide details of the project and discuss working patterns 

Micro-internship feedback

Once the micro-internships are complete, we will send feedback forms to all students and hosts. Feedback is a requirement of the programme and helps us to develop best practice.

The Micro-Internship Programme – Host Roles and Responsibilities 

The host organisation has the following responsibilities

The host organisation on the Micro-Internship Programme will: 

• Provide an accurate and reasonably detailed description of the micro-internship project(s) offered, including an overview of the duties and skills required by the ideal candidate(s).
• Advertise the micro-internships only to Oxford students who apply through the programme. You may advertise similar internships elsewhere, but those entered into the programme should be set aside with the intention of taking students from Oxford.
• Protect personal data transferred to you by the Internship Office or the students directly and use it solely for the purpose of the micro-internship. At the end of the micro-internship all personal data should be destroyed. Read more.
• Select micro-intern(s) from the pool of applicants who apply through the programme within the timeline provided. If you do not shortlist by the date provided without good reason, the applications will be withdrawn, and students will be advised to make applications to other internships.
• Interview shortlisted interns prior to making their selections if you wish; interviews may be conducted by telephone, online or in-person. Provide reasonable travel expenses for in-person interviews.
• Deliver the micro-internship project as described (or an appropriate alternative project, subject to prior discussion with the Internship Office and the student(s)).
• For in person or hybrid placements provide micro-intern(s) with an appropriate workspace and equipment necessary to carry out the micro-internship project work.
• Designate a point of contact within the organisation, who will discuss practical arrangements with the micro-intern(s) before their arrival, supervise the micro-intern(s), and act as the primary contact for communications with the University of Oxford. If the micro-intern(s) completes the placement remotely, please ensure a similar level of supervision is provided (i.e. regular telephone catch-ups or equivalent arrangements).
• Ensure that you communicate with the Micro-Intern(s)in a timely manner ahead of the Internship start date.
• Reimburse the micro-interns’ travel expenses (within the relevant city or bus travel between London and Oxford) if they undertake the micro-internship in person or if they travel as part of the placement. Lunch expenses must also be reimbursed if they attend in person.  Expenses can only be reimbursed on submission of receipts.
• Comply with local health and safety obligations in relation to the micro-internship(s). 
• Provide assurance that your organisation’s insurance will cover potential liability that may arise from the micro-internship(s) including liability arising from accident and/or injury to the intern and third parties.
• Provide feedback to the University of Oxford by evaluating the micro-intern(s) at the end of the placement. 
• Make any necessary and reasonable adjustments to accommodate micro-interns in case of disability or additional needs, in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 and the University of Oxford Equality Policy. 
• Maintain effective procedures and arrangements to ensure that the micro-internship takes place in a safe environment, including appropriate procedures for micro-interns to raise concerns and complaints, including in relation to bullying and harassment. 
• For UK and European internships, ensure equal and equitable access and opportunities to micro-interns from all backgrounds, including when selecting micro-interns, and ensure that micro-interns are not disadvantaged for reasons including one or more of the following factors: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and socio-economic disadvantage. 
• For international internships, ensure equal and equitable access and opportunities to micro-interns from all backgrounds, including when selecting micro-interns, and ensure that micro-interns are not disadvantaged for reasons related to their personal characteristics. 
• Acknowledge that all micro-internships must be limited to a maximum of 5 days. The duration of a micro-internship cannot be extended. If a host wishes to employ a micro-intern this will need to be arranged separately between the host and intern outside the parameters of the programme. It is expected that students would be remunerated if engaged on a full internship/placement or to undertake work. Hosts within the University of Oxford must contact the Internship Office before offering any role or full internship to a participant. 
• Be aware that the Internship Office considers a full-time working week to be between 35 and 37.5 hours per week and students must not work more than this amount.
• Acknowledge that it is the responsibility of the host organisation to ensure that the micro-internship complies with employment law in engaging the micro-intern including (where applicable) the payment of National Living Wage. We assume, if the micro-internship is advertised as unpaid via the Micro-Internship Programme, that the host organisation has done an appropriate assessment and concluded that the opportunity can be lawfully offered on an unpaid basis. 
• Acknowledge that the Micro-Internship Programme is open to current matriculated students, including those who have suspended their studies for the time being. More information can be found on the University dedicated webpage on suspension of status.
• University departments who are offering unpaid micro-internships should ensure that they provide the participant with a volunteer agreement (template agreement available from Careers, University of Oxford) and, if required, only reimburse travel expenses and reasonable lunch costs on submission of receipts from the micro-intern. No other payments or benefits should be offered.  

* https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/personal-information-what-is-it/