Funding Opportunities

Below are some funding opportunities available from Careers & Enterprise and how you can get in touch for more details. We've also included some external funding opportunities that might be useful for considerations.

Durham Easter SME Internship Programme - 50% Match Funding

SELP: Social Enterprise Live Project - Supported by Santander Universities UK

SELP is a unique work experience scheme aimed at supporting and developing local social enterprises. The overall objective of the scheme is to offer a 'live' project-based placement for a student within a social enterprise. For more information about this scheme please contact [email protected].

Infinity: Internship Programme for Autistic Students

Following the success of last year's re-focused internship programme specially created for autistic students, we are further building on this to offer a fantastic opportunity to both forward thinking organisations and our student cohort. This exciting internship programme has been created as a collaboration between Careers & Enterprise and Disability Support. Further details, and the programme proposal form, are attached to this email.

Internships are funded by the University; employers are offered training & ongoing support to benefit from this unique and rewarding programme.

Please note:

• Due to a limit on the funds, submission of a proposal form does not guarantee funding, nor does it guarantee the amount that has been requested. The team will meet, after the submission deadline, to allocate as fairly as possible, funding in principle. We do this considering the needs of the student cohort, ensuring a good balance of internships, across a considered choice of career sectors.
• You may wish to host more than one intern, and you would be welcome to indicate this on the form, and if possible, we will allocate funds as closely to requests as possible, however this may not be possible during the first round of allocations.
• We are likely to operate a waiting list, and it is possible that we will use this should surplus funds become available.
• We will work with you to promote your opportunities as widely as possible. If it is looking like an internship will not be filled, and so the funds will not be used as allocated, we may/will re-allocate funds to ensure that there is every chance the funding is used.
• Essential training dates will be circulated in due course.
• Please be aware that all interns are employed by the host organisation. Interns should be treated as any temporary member of the organisation’s team. Salary payments may be reimbursed following the internships

Wave One Funding Proposals: Please return proposal forms by Monday 6^th March. Please ensure they are fully completed to ensure that there are no delays.

Infinity Programme Guidance and Proposal Form 2022-2023 (PDF Version)
Infinity Programme Guidance and Proposal Form 2022-2023 (Word Version)

If you have any questions please contact the team via email: [email protected]

Explore: Work Experience

We run a number of initiatives to help students gain work experience in sectors where opportunities are harder to secure. If you are a small business or an organisation in the public sector, third sector or arts, media or heritage sectors and are interested in hosting a student intern, please contact [email protected].

Apprenticeship Funding

Durham University has a pledge to transfer our apprenticeship levy funds to fund another organisation’s apprenticeship training and assessment. Businesses located in the Durham area can seek support from Durham University’s Apprenticeship Levy via their preferred training provider. Our support is available to levy paying and non-levy paying businesses facing challenges securing funding for an apprenticeship for one of the following reasons: 

• the business would benefit from 100% of the apprenticeship training costs to be covered
• the business is a levy payer which has committed all its own levy funding.

The apprenticeship(s) can be at any level and from any sector but must be an apprenticeship standard not a framework. Once the training provider has been selected, you can ask the training provider to register the apprenticeships requiring funding on your behalf.

Our pledge has been created as pledge 7KJ7G9, it is now public and can be viewed online here. Please scroll down to view the pledge under the name of Durham University. The pledge is open for applications from all industries.

 Please contact Claire Hunter at [email protected] with any queries.

External Funding

These are information on funding opportunities that are external and not provided by the university.

UK Space Agency Space Placement in Industry (SPIN) Award Scheme 2023

Funding available to support the provision of internships within the UK space sector for university students.

The Space Placements in Industry (SPIN) funding scheme supports the aims of the UK Space Agency by encouraging and supporting the provision of internships within the space sector for university students. In doing so, it helps address the skills needs of the UK space sector, improving awareness of the UK’s space programme and the skills in most need across the sector. The scheme also supports organisations across the UK space community in their efforts to assure the skills that the sector needs for the continuing growth and sustainability of the workforce.

Eligible organisations include academic or research institutions (including schools, universities, research councils and UK Space Agency partners), charities, trusts and companies (including not-for-profit).

Eligible internship candidates include undergraduate or postgraduate university students, the latter must have the approval of their supervisor. It is expected that interns will be studying at UK universities and all must have the right to work in the UK.

Students must be registered with an educational establishment at the time of their application.

The Agency anticipates a total of at least £150,000 will be available for financial year 2023/24. Applications are invited for small grants up to a maximum of £3,750. Applicants can apply for funding for up to 100% of eligible project costs.

Applications must be submitted by 31 March 2023 (17:00 BST)

For more information about SPIN Award Scheme, click here.

Work Experience
Programmes and Funding Opportunities

Careers & Enterprise run a range of specialist work experience programmes aimed at supporting students and  graduates in accessing opportunities and starting their career journeys.

We understand the challenges SMEs face in offering work experience, including difficulties in recruiting and in funding short-term developmental roles. While programmes vary on an annual basis, we work towards securing resources that allow us to offer matched funds, ensuring SMEs can easily benefit from our student talent.
Some of the recent programmes we’ve delivered are:

Sustainability Internships
Aimed at supporting businesses to develop a project to meet one or more of the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Social Enterprise Live Projects
Offers students the opportunity to experience project management within a social enterprise.

SME Internships
Aimed at supporting SMEs in the North East to recruit student and graduate interns into roles which support their business development activity.

Infinity
An innovative work experience programme for autistic students, culminating in a 4 or 8 week work experience opportunity.

Enabling Opportunities
A bespoke mentoring programme which aims to provide careers support and work experience opportunities 
to students from underrepresented backgrounds.

Aspire, Evolve, Achieve Internships
Internships focused on students from a widening participation background who may have barriers to graduate employment.