Internships at University of Plymouth
Internships are a great way to gain work experience, providing you with a great introduction to the world of work.

“My main role in this internship was to assist the hydraulics team with the setting up, maintenance, and disassembly of the F50 catamarans. The highlight for me was feeling like a useful part of the team. This was a great feeling. I can recall several occasions where I was trusted to work alone, using the boat breaker tool where I had the whole team waiting for me to complete the vital task.”
“During my internship, I investigated the current sustainability practices. Our daily activities varied but during this time, I inspected the current bins in place and whether they were used effectively whilst generating/discussing ideas to improve this. I also attended a seagrass mapping activity which was in partner with Ocean Conservation Trust. I developed and utilised many innovation skills such as communication skills, problem solving skills and strategic thinking. I worked collaboratively with another intern and the sustainability lead at SailGP, so team working abilities were useful too.”
Sourcing your own internship is entirely possible, if you haven’t seen something that appeals online then why not try finding your own? This is called a speculative application and this is a great way to potentially create an opportunity yourself.
For some employers it might be something they would consider but simply haven’t advertised an opportunity. For others it could be they haven’t offered one before, perhaps by you approaching them to request some summer employment or work shadowing might make them think and help open that door.
Remember the Careers Service is here to help you. You can book an appointment via myCareer or contact us via internships@plymouth.ac.uk.
I had great fun working with the Ocean Conservation Trust seagrass team and learning all about growing seagrass in an enclosed aquaculture system. I got the opportunity to plant seagrass, watch it being deployed, and most importantly get covered in sand!
The micro-internship with Make South West was a great experience, I made contacts, and working with a range of people was a great opportunity. They were all very friendly. I was tasked with finding an environmentally friendly alternative for a textile printing technique and I was successful.
It was a great learning opportunity while working as a Micro-Intern. Post project completion and submission, Sentinel was impressed with the work I completed and has offered me work in their company within my hours limitations as an international student!
The Micro-internship was a saving grace experience after losing my original placement, so it really put a spring back in my step and as you can see I had a lot of fun too!
Max Griggs applied for an internship via the University of Plymouth Careers Service, for SailGP2021. Max explains the internship process, why he applied, what the role entailed and how he was offered a full time role after the Plymouth event.
If you are an EU/EEA student with either pre-settled or settled status, you can apply for an internship just like a UK home student.
All other overseas students with immigration permission to study in the UK can contact our International Student Advice team where they will check (in conjunction with the UKVI Compliance team) to see if your current permissions will allow to proceed with an internship.
Monday to Thursday from 8:30–17:00 Friday 09:30–16:30