Professional Internships for PhD Students (PIPS)

Can you provide an internship for a PhD student?

Professional Internships for PhD Students (PIPS) aim to provide BBSRC funded PhD students with the opportunity to carry out a non-academic work experience placement during their PhD. Such experience is important both to help early career researchers understand the context of their research and to expose them to the range of opportunities available to them after they graduate.

What are the benefits?

The benefits of the PIPS scheme to the organisation hosting the student include:

• Establishing, maintaining or developing collaborations with academic partners.
• Developing links with specific research areas, including bringing the expertise and experience of research trained individuals to policy analysis and development.
• Working with a highly skilled individual on projects that might not otherwise be undertaken, such as a short research or business development project.
• Providing staff with experience of line management over a short, defined period.
• Renewing the enthusiasm of staff (e.g. teachers, policymakers, project managers).

Internships should be funded as part of the PhD using the BBSRC Training Grant. BBSRC funds all studentships as full 4-year awards. BBSRC recognises that the administration required to organise internships will place an additional burden on the institutions providing them. Institutions should consider how this can best be managed; for example, building on existing placement schemes for undergraduates.

To help embed the PIPS programme within PhD training, BBSRC will provide some additional costs towards the administration of the scheme. Details of this will be provided on award of a DTP and will be dependent on the number of studentships allocated to the DTP award.

What types of internships are suitable?

BBSRC anticipates that the PIPS programme will be used to provide students with experiences in a wide range of workplaces. For all internships, the experience should not be directly related to the student’s PhD project. PIPS are intended to help students understand how their research and professional skills can be used in a more broadly relevant context. Research roles in academia or research institutes are not appropriate, even in an area unrelated to the student’s PhD project. Internships should ideally be discrete projects that are well planned and managed. They should provide experience at a level appropriate for a postgraduate student.

Who can/should carry out an internship?

BBSRC expects all PhD students funded by a DTP award to carry out an internship. BBSRC would welcome research institutions extending the scheme to other PhD students, but the costs cannot be covered from the DTP Training Grant.

CASE students funded by a DTP may also carry out an internship although this is not compulsory as CASE students gain an understanding of working in a non-academic environment. However, BBSRC recommends that DTP CASE students are encouraged to consider taking an internship to further broaden their experience, for example in a school or policy setting.

Do internships have to be for 3 months?

Consultation with BBSRC Training Grant holders, students and potential host organisations has indicated that an internship of around 3 months is appropriate. Shorter internships are less likely to provide adequate experience outside the research project environment, and longer internships could interrupt the PhD project. The internship may be taken either in one three-month block or in a number of shorter blocks. This will depend on the preferences of the student and host organisation, as well as the type of internship. Internships could be hosted by more than one host organisation if this is considered appropriate. For example, a student may wish to work for a month in each of three different schools.

How will BBSRC monitor PIPS?

BBSRC will monitor PIPS through liaison with Doctoral Training Partner institutions as part of the ongoing monitoring of DTP awards. Particular attention will be paid to PIPS during the first two years of their operation. BBSRC may request reports or interviews with students, Doctoral Training Partners and host organisations as part of the monitoring of the programme. The quality and management of PIPS programmes will be taken into account in future studentship competitions.

If you’d like any more information please contact the PIPS Manager:

Tel: +44 (0)141 330 3150
Email: mvls-pips@glasgow.ac.uk