We’re passionate about providing PhD researchers with development opportunities in a variety of areas. As part of this commitment, we offer a number of internships across the charity each year to help PhD students learn about working in the social mobility and charity sectors, as well as gain and hone a range of transferable skills for their future careers.
Grace is currently undertaking an internship within our University Partnerships team, while completing a British Heart Foundation-funded PhD in Cardiovascular Disease & Diabetes at the University of Leeds. She spoke to us about her time as an intern and what she’s gained from the experience.
“My motivation to apply for this internship was twofold. First, I had been thinking of applying to be a Scholars Programme tutor for a long while (I first heard of The Brilliant Club when I was tutoring A level biology back in 2024!). I love working with young people and hearing their thought processes as I introduce new concepts to them. The Brilliant Club works with students that are currently experiencing an educational journey similar to my own: I attended schools in deprived areas of Leeds, and many of the students I went to school with never went on to higher education. For those who did, interventions, be they external, internal or amongst peers, played a key role in facilitating those outcomes. The high alignment with my personal values is why I wanted to be a Scholar Programme tutor. Fortunately for me, the internship offered an opportunity to do a Scholars Programme placement, so I was very interested in applying.
“My second motivation was that I wanted to refamiliarise myself with how organisations operate. I did an industrial placement during my undergraduate degree and found it to be incredibly enriching. I thus wanted to have another similar experience, but this time in a different field. This internship offered exposure to several different teams all working to deliver one core mission, which I thought would be a great learning opportunity.”
“The skills we have as PhD students are highly transferrable and this internship has been really great at drawing that out of me.”
“My PhD uses computational biology tools to study one of the proteins involved in blood flow sensing. Although it sounds quite mysterious, the skillset I’ve gained through my studies has been very applicable in my internship so far! Like all PhD students, I’m adept at gathering and synthesizing information for research reports, and that’s proved very handy on a few projects I’ve worked on with the University Partnerships and Access teams. Evaluating and automating workflows with coding (and CoPilot’s help!) is another skill I’ve gained through my PhD. I’ve been able to apply that in several scenarios including creating some Excel macros which accurately autofill externally facing PowerPoints and Parent/Carer letters. The skills we have as PhD students are highly transferrable and this internship has been really great at drawing that out of me.”
“It has to be working with the students on The Scholars Programme! I have a really wonderful group of girls who are very keen learners, full of questions and are incredibly engaged. The class size (two groups of seven students) really allows me to build connections with each of them, and it’s been great to see how they’ve grown in knowledge over the past term.
“I also really appreciate how The Brilliant Club colleagues feedback praise. In my PhD journey I’ve mainly been working by myself, for myself. But at The Brilliant Club, where I’m working for other people, it’s lovely to see my outputs so well received, and actively contributing to the immediate next steps a project may have.”
“Through writing several reports and thinking of potential partnership models, I’ve learned that the nature of business relationships is very complex. Business exposure was something I really wanted to gain during this internship, and I’m glad that I’ve been given that learning opportunity.”
“The main takeaway for me from this internship is once again, the application of my existing skillset. For example, I came to the internship with coding experience, and I’ve now been able to apply that in the context of Excel macros and tokens. This is something I’d not done before, so it’s been a great learning experience! I’ve also not used my research skills in the context of exploring potential partnerships and evaluating candidates in the light of strategic benefits and risks before. Through writing several reports and thinking of potential partnership models, I’ve learned that the nature of business relationships is very complex. Business exposure was something I really wanted to gain during this internship, and I’m glad that I’ve been given that learning opportunity.”
“Besides working with lovely people, an internship with the Brilliant Club is a great ‘application’ opportunity. Before the internship, I only had a vague idea of what a ‘University Partnerships Officer’ might do day to day. Now, having worked with University Partnerships and other teams, I’ve seen firsthand that the core skillset I’ve gained through my PhD is highly relevant and immediately applicable. I’ve also found another sector I’d be interested in working in once I complete my studies. So, if you’re unsure of how your skills translate beyond your research field, I’d recommend applying to this internship opportunity.”
Placement Managers at DTPs and PhD students interested in undertaking an internship with us in 2026-27 can register their interest here: https://bit.ly/401w770