Find an internship: your bridge between study and work

Posted on 16 July 2026 • Career planning, Graduate opportunities, Jobs, internships and work experience

“My internship has been a positive and enriching experience. It has helped me develop a range of skills, including organisation, communication, teamwork, and creativity, and apply them in my new full-time role.” Jenifer, OU intern

Impactful work experience or an internship can help you build a bridge between study and work, connecting your knowledge with practical skills. There are lots of interesting opportunities to gain hands-on experience, develop transferable skills and explore different career paths. If you’re not sure what to apply for, take our 3-minute career check-in first to clarify your goals.

Bachelor of Science (Honours) Open degree graduate, Jenifer, undertook an OU internship as a Virtual Event Co-ordinator with The Faculty of Business and Law (FBL), supporting the organisation and evaluation of a work-based learning conference. She shares her “incredibly rewarding experience”, highlighting the benefits of undertaking an internship, to help you figure out your next steps:

Develop your skills through hands-on experience

“A unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in event management.”

Employability skills, also known as transferable skills, are extremely valued in the workplace. From the start of her internship, Jenifer was given responsibility for a range of tasks, from e-mailing registered attendees to designing certificates and writing a post-event report, through which she developed her event co-ordination, IT, written communication and analytical skills and which helped her better understand the event planning process.

Build career confidence in a workplace setting

“A variety of responsibilities helped me understand what goes into planning an event and build confidence in professional communication and strengthened my organisational skills.”

Building career confidence to achieve your career goals can take time. An internship can help you to do so. Like Jenifer, you can gain confidence and learn new skills through undertaking a range of tasks and responsibilities in a supportive internship environment.

Work and find support as part of a team

“They helped me feel supported and included despite working remotely.”

Feeling supported in the workplace and in nurturing your career can be key to success. Jenifer was welcomed into the conference event team, attending planning meetings and undertaking tasks to prepare for the event. When exploring your career options, you can join a community of online support in our Career together sessions which provide focused time to think about your future and give you the motivation or confidence to get that CV written, internship application completed or LinkedIn profile updated, in the company of other OU students.

Attend careers events

“Being able to see the event come together in real life after months of preparation was incredibly satisfying.”

The work-based learning conference that Jenifer worked to deliver and was given the opportunity to attend, is just one of the many career-focused events delivered by The Open University. Alongside faculty-specific events, the OU Careers and Employability Services (CES) offer a range of online careers events, all exclusively tailored for your career needs.

Learn how to use AI effectively for your career

“I have gained valuable insight into the use of digital tools in professional settings.”

In today’s workplace, understanding how to use AI effectively is becoming an essential skill across almost every industry. We can help you develop your AI skills and use them in career research and job seeking – view our GenAI: level up your career recorded webinar and read our Get hired, get inspired with GenAI blog post to get ahead. If you do undertake an internship you  may get to test them out – Jenifer had the opportunity to contribute to a second project involving the use of artificial intelligence in which she analysed interview transcripts using AI tools and then wrote a blog based on the findings.

Apply for an OU internship or source your own

“Being a virtual intern does not limit your ability to contribute or learn. With the right support and opportunities, it is possible to be fully involved and make a meaningful impact.”

Apply for an OU internship like Jenifer or discover how to source your own internship suited to your skills and interests. If you have any questions about OU internships contact our team at .

Jenifer is now working as a Global Customer Support Consultant for a global satellite communications company.