WRDTP Company Internship Scheme

• As a result of Covid-19, many of our partner institutions have implemented new procedures for overseas/UK travel, fieldwork and data gathering e.g. updated risk assessments, travel insurance arrangements etc. Students making an application to any of the WRDTP’s additional funding schemes will be asked to evidence their adherence to any relevant policies from their institution, by uploading the relevant documentation to the application form. If you are unsure how to evidence this, please email enquiries@wrdtp.ac.uk prior to submitting your application.
• The CIS is open to all ESRC WRDTP funded PhD students who are currently in full-time study (or part-time equivalent) when undertaking the internship. An internship must be an integral part of your PhD and therefore must start at least three months prior to the end date of your ESRC award, and not within the first three months of the PhD.
• The application should also be supported by a letter from the Company where the internship will be undertaken, giving details of the dates of the internship and the type of work that will be undertaken by the student.
• Full-time students in receipt of a maintenance grant will receive a funded extension to their award covering the length of the internship (this can be from one to three months) and up to a maximum of £1,000 per month for travel and accommodation expenses (part-time students will receive this on a pro rata basis).
• Students will continue to be paid their maintenance grant (and any Advanced Quantitative Methods enhanced stipend).
• Fees Only students will receive the same accommodation and travel allowance but the extension period will only include payment of fees.
• If a student withdraws from a CIS and travel/accommodation has already been paid for, the WRDTP is entitled to claim back the costs of travel/accommodation for the remainder of the internship period.
• The student and the company will be required to complete an End of Award report.
• As a recipient of this funding you also agree to report back to the WRDTP on your Company Internship experience.

Students can preview a list of the application form questions by viewing the following file: WRDTP CIS Application Form Preview. An example (demonstrating best practice) of the costings document required as part of the application form (see item 1 below) can be viewed here.

All applications for the CIS must be made in advance by the award-holder using the WRDTP Company Internship Scheme Application Form.

Within this form award-holders are required to detail the benefits and relevance of the internship requested. Award-holders must secure the support and authorisation of their main supervisor for their application, confirming the benefits and relevance of the internship and that the student is making good progress.

The Form requires the following File Uploads. Please use the following nomenclature when uploading to the Google Form.

1. WRDTP CIS Costings Upload Template– (STUDENT SURNAME_STUDENT FIRST NAME_HEI_CIS_COSTINGS)
2. WRDTP CIS Supervisor Upload Template – (STUDENT SURNAME_STUDENT FIRST NAME_HEI_CIS_SUPPORTING CASE)
3.  Placement confirmation letter/email (STUDENT SURNAME_STUDENT FIRST NAME_HEI_CIS_PLACEMENT LETTER)
4. (If travel is involved) Your institution’s necessary documentation for overseas travel – e.g. approved risk assessment, travel insurance certificate etc – (STUDENT SURNAME_STUDENT FIRST NAME_HEI_OIV_COVID DOCUMENTATION)

*PLEASE NOTE: 

Accommodation for your CIS should not be booked through Airbnb. Airbnb are “un-regulated” therefore do not adhere to the safety standards required for our insurance, so any claims would be unsupported. Airbnb are not responsible for checking that accommodation listed on their site have smoke alarms or fire escape exits etc. The university has to put the health and safety of staff and students first when travelling even if it is the cheaper option.

If travel overseas is required for your internship, we expect the relevant Covid-19 related travel documents for your institution to be complete and provided at the point of submitting your funding application. Applications without the necessary paperwork will not be reviewed. If you have any questions about this, please email enquiries@wrdtp.ac.uk before submitting your application.*

The student’s local university Postgraduate Scholarships Office is responsible for liaising with the student on matters relating to the award and any subsequent WRDTP funding scheme applications. The local nominated contacts at each university can be found on the Contacts Page in the VIRE.

Received applications are checked by the relevant Scholarships Officer to ensure they are eligible for funding, logged and then passed to the WRDTP Office to be considered by the AQC.

All applications received will be reviewed in conjunction with the award-holder’s original studentship application, their latest doctoral project plan, their Training Needs Analysis (TNA) and recent progress reports from their supervisory team. The WRDTP Office will notify the Scholarships Officer when a decision has been made as to their application. In cases where an application has been declined the reason for such a decision will be outlined in the notification.

Where the CIS is approved by the AQC the funds will be internally transferred to the award-holder’s host department/school via the Scholarships Office.  The Scholarships Office will also action the grant extension accordingly.

*Panel decisions will be available no earlier than 10 working days after the panel sits.

Please find below the End of Award report the student and the company will be required to complete once the CIS has taken place.

• WRDTP CIS Student Report
• WRDTP CIS Host Report

If you are awarded funding from any of the ESRC schemes, you agree to report back to the WRDTP on your CIS experience either on the VIRE Forum, a DTP Matters Newsletter article or by speaking at training sessions/conferences.

As a recipient of funding any correspondence or event materials should be appropriately branded, see our Branding Information page in the VIRE for details.

If you have any questions please email enquiries@wrdtp.ac.uk