Shape your career and the OU – with an OU Virtual Internship

Posted on 11 December 2025 • Career planning, Graduate opportunities, Jobs, internships and work experience, Volunteering

Intern student Alice shares how

Finding meaningful work experience to support your career development can be an important step in your career journey. If you’re a current or recent OU student (who graduated up to 3 years ago) looking for work experience opportunities, then The Open University (OU)’s Virtual Internship Scheme could be for you. 

You may be wondering what you’ll gain. Benefits of virtual internships can include increasing confidence, providing flexibility, finding a sense of belonging and developing career aspirations. (Reid et al, 2023)  

Explore some of the benefits through the experience of OU intern student Alice who worked as a Research Assistant for The OU Business School. She helped shape the future of work-based learning and apprenticeships at the OU.   

Contribute to research  

An OU virtual internship provides the opportunity to contribute to invaluable research. Alice undertook key research activities on work-based learning and provided much valued personal experience and fresh insights to the project. She shares, “The most significant benefit was learning how to collaborate on, and contribute to, research in a meaningful way.” 

Collaborate with academics and other professionals  

Part of your internship role may involve collaborating with academics and experts. Alice “carried out desk research for a publication alongside senior academic and professional staff.” 

Increase your confidence in a work environment 

OU virtual internships can be a great way to build your confidence in working within a large organisation and their practices, and in other ways too. Alice says of her internship, “I gained confidence in exploring research questions and pursuing ideas.” 

Develop your transferable skills  

An OU virtual internship provides the opportunity to gain invaluable knowledge and skills to help you move forward in your career. Along with her research abilities, Alice developed her writing and presentation skills. She explains, “I conducted interviews with former apprentices, collaborated with my predecessor, joined reading groups, workshops and seminars (and) presented at meetings.”  

Share your student experience  

Within your internship, you can use the knowledge and experience you’ve gained as a student to contribute to the learning journey of others. Alice’s student voice was fundamental to the OU’s work.  

“We valued the opportunity to learn from the intern’s experience as an OU student and found mentoring someone at an earlier career stage deeply rewarding.” Academics Sarah Bloomfield and Fran Myers, The OU Business School 

Enjoy flexible working  

A virtual internship allows you the flexibility to work from home and fit with your other commitments. Despite working remotely, you become a valued member of staff and part of the team. As Alice proclaims, “This absolutely felt like an authentic work experience!” 

If you’re interested in becoming an OU Virtual Intern or have any questions about the scheme, get in touch with the OU’s Internships team at  and read Alice’s own blog article about her university-based virtual internship experience. 

References 

Reid, K., Butler, D., Comfort, C., and Potter, A., (2023). Virtual internships in open and distance learning contexts: Improving access, participation, and success for underrepresented students, Distance Education, VOL. 44, NO. 2, 267–283 

 

Annabel Bennett is a Development Coordinator in the OU’s Careers and Employability Services. She supports careers-related activity both within the service and across the University, helping students to achieve their ambitions and fulfil their potential. Explore the rest of our blog for more articles from your careers team.