Internships

Internships are summer work experiences that are typically more career-related and often, more structured (e.g. around a project(s) or significant piece of work) than a casual summer job. They are a great way to test out a career idea and can sometimes lead on to other opportunities. For example:

  • a civil engineer who worked in an Edinburgh-based engineering consulting and contracting firms over the summer, which led to part-time work during semester and then to a graduate job offer in their final year;
  • a mechanical engineer who undertook a summer internship at Jaguar Land Rover, after which they were offered a 6-month MEng placement (previously JLR hadn’t offered 6-month opportunities);

Many large organisations (and some small) offer work experience opportunities. For example, the ISE Recruitment Survey 2024 by the Institute of Student Employment (ISE ) - which represents major UK graduate recruiters - found that 78% of its members were hiring university interns and placement students.  They do so to provide a ‘pipeline’ to graduate recruitment, which is why some (not all) employers stipulate interns must be in their penultimate year.  The survey stated that ISE members recruited 54% of former interns and 49% of former placement students into graduate jobs.

Summer internships for students of all disciplines will be advertised on MyCareerHub, the Careers Service vacancy portal. Where a company has asked us to share the vacancy with you there will be a notification in the ETO Bulletin. Students undertaking a summer internship can undertake an Edinburgh Award in Work Experience. Students in Civil Engineering programmes can participate in the Edinburgh Award for Civil and Environmental Engineering Industrial Internships. Both awards are recorded on students' official University HEAR (Higher Education Achievement Record).

Often smaller organisations don't advertise internships, preferring to rely on pro-active students contacting them, so don't be afraid to research potential recruiters and get in touch with them to apply speculatively.  This can be especially useful if you are not in your penultimate year, or are interested in a very niche area of engineering.

If you want to find out more about internships, our own university scheme (Employ.ed) or maybe creating and sourcing your own opportunity, visit the Careers Service web pages on finding jobs as a student.  In addition, the following pages for internships are helpful:

School of Engineering Summer Vacation Internships

The School of Engineering funds a minimum of 20 scholarships each year to enable students to work on research or teaching focused projects over the summer. 5 scholarships are allocated to each of the four disciplines: Chemical, Civil, Electronics & Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. Applications are open to non-finalist undergraduate students who are at least in the second year of their programme (although most participants are in 3rd year). Applications open in semester two, when an email will be sent to all eligible students.

TARGETjobs Undergraduate of the Year Awards

The TARGETjobs UGOTY Awards  offer winners internships and experiences with leading UK employers. There are a number of different categories of award, which can be filtered by year and engineering disciple.  Edinburgh engineering students have reached the finals on a number of occasions in recent years which they say was a great experience, boosted their CV and gave them lots of contacts in graduate recruitment, so it is well worth making an application.

Year in Industry

Some students voluntarily choose to undertake a “Year in Industry Placement” which can be a very valuable experience. These are placements are not integrated into the Edinburgh degree programmes and so students who are successful in securing a year-long placement need to take an interruption of studies (effectively pause the degree for a year). This also means that the placement will not contribute to the final degree classification or appear on your transcript, but of course it can go on your CV and will enhance your employability.

**Students studying on a visa should seek advice from the Student Immigration Service before applying for a year in industry as taking an Interruption of Studies will have implications for your visa.**

If you are successful in securing a placement you should let Student Support and your PT know.  Student Support will be able to advise you on the process of applying for an Interruption of Studies.

Other ways to build experience

For more ways to find experience, visit the Careers Service website:

https://careers.ed.ac.uk/students/undergraduates/build-experience

More support: video recordings

Watch the recordings on Media Hopper (MyEd log-in required) of: