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EPSRC Summer Internship

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The University has 15 EPSRC Summer Internships for 2024 as part of the Doctoral Training Partnership with the EPSRC (Engineering, Physical Sciences Research Council).  Interested (eligible) undergraduates are to contact potential supervisors directly and make an application by 17.30 on Friday 8th March.
 

The EPSRC is the main funding body for engineering and physical sciences research in the UK. The EPSRC's portfolio ranges from digital technologies to clean energy, manufacturing to mathematics, advanced materials to chemistry.

About the Scheme

This application process for this scheme is student-centred, where you are asked to contact a member of academic staff with relevant expertise and appropriate track record of EPSRC-facing research. As part of your application you will need to write about the objectives of the proposed project with their help.  

These studentships are competitively assessed. They will be shortlisted by departments after full consideration of the information in your application form, and your CV, academic marks and reference, that you are required to submit. You will be informed of the decision by the middle of April 2024.

Your first step is to identify a supervisor who carries out research in the area that you are keen to pursue an internship. Please use the website here to find a potential supervisor that match your interests. Applications are made to the department in which your supervisor is based, and your preferred supervisor will be asked to provide a statement of support to accompany your application. 

Each bursary will last 10 weeks and must take place during the summer vacation. The award comprises an hourly rate equivalent to the National Living Wage, and a total research consumables budget of £250 for the duration of the studentship.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the vacation internship, you will be undertaking an undergraduate degree, which must be within EPSRC’s remit (chemistry, engineering, information and communications technologies, materials, mathematical sciences and physics), and be expected to graduate with a first-class or upper second-class honours degree, or equivalent. An internship normally takes place in the summer vacation before your final year of study and lasts ten weeks. The residency criteria are:

  • You must have settled status in the UK, meaning there are no restrictions on how long you can stay (e.g. you are not restricted by a visa)
  • You must have been ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK for at least 3 years i.e. living in the UK with only temporary or occasional absences (e.g. holidays)
  • If you are an international student, you must not have been residing in the UK wholly or mainly for the purpose of full-time education. UK and EU students are exempt from this clause

Application process

Applicants are required to discuss a potential project with their proposed supervisor, then please complete the online application form https://forms.office.com/e/ZzYXmQuRfJ.  As part of the form, you will be required to give details about your current degree programme, upload* a CV and transcript of marks (transcript of marks not required for current Exeter students), write a short personal statement, describe the main objectives of the project (with the help of your proposed supervisor) and provide the name of an academic referee.  

* The upload process will require you to send a link to a file containing the required documents. Please use a service such as Dropbox, Onedrive or Google Drive, ensuring that the access rights are set appropriately.

Deadline: March 8th, 17:30