A student ambassador greets a visitor on Open Day.

Our enthusiastic and committed team of Student Ambassadors play an important role in inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers and doctors, both at home and overseas.

Working as a Student Ambassador, you will be trained and paid to support outreach and recruitment events and activities for Imperial College London. You will play a vital role, inspiring potential applicants to consider higher education, whatever their background.

We understand the importance of your academic studies and our flexible employment model enables you to choose which activities to commit to.

Why should I get involved?

Inspire the next generation

  • Represent your department and the wider College at events
  • Share your passion for your subject with young people, prospective students and wider audiences
  • Encourage and support students from less-advantaged backgrounds to succeed academically

Develop your employability skills

  • Develop your communication and time management skills
  • Gain teamwork and mentoring experience for future job applications
  • Create networks with students and academics from across the College

Earn while you learn

  • Apply for opportunities that interest you and work around your academic studies
  • Earn money by sharing your knowledge and experiences
  • The Student Ambassador rate of pay starts at £13.91 p/h

What does a Student Ambassador do?

A promotional video with insights from current Student Ambassadors

Student Ambassadors work across a variety of different events and activities. Watch our video to hear first hand from current Student Ambassadors and the scheme's administrator.

You can also expand the headings below to find out more.

Typical work opportunities

Work with school students

As a Student Ambassador you will work with school students to share your passion for your subject. This can include:

  • supporting hands-on activities for students aged 6–18 to capture their interest in studying science, medicine and engineering in the Wohl Reach Out Lab at South Kensington
  • inspiring the next generation of innovators in the Dangoor Reach Out Makerspace in White City by supporting our Maker Challenge programmes
  • supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds on our regular STEM Outreach programmes and summer schools

Represent the College at events

Student Ambassadors play a major role in our events both on and off campus. This can include:

  • giving talks in local schools/colleges about your university experience
  • working at our annual Undergraduate Open Days
  • taking part in on-campus events for local schools/college students/prospective postgraduate students
  • leading tours of campus
  • taking part in online recruitment events, answering questions through chat or video
  • representing Imperial at a range of higher education recruitment events such as UCAS fairs

Mentor and tutor

As a Student Ambassador you will share your experiences of applying to university and studying STEM subjects. Some of our Outreach programmes enable you engage in regular work supporting the same students by:

  • mentoring students online
  • tutoring STEM subjects online or in-person
  • providing homework support

Assist with marketing

Some of our Student Ambassadors are able to share their experiences to wider audiences by getting involved in marketing activities. This includes:

  • blogging
  • social media activities e.g. takeovers

Who can apply to become a Student Ambassador?

In order to apply, you must be a current Imperial student and have the right to work in the UK. You must be prepared to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if successful (the costs will be covered by the Scheme). 

The focus of our recruitment varies depending on the recruitment cycle. In the autumn term, we consider applications from all study levels. However, most of the work opportunities we offer are best suited to students with more than one year remaining on their course*. As such, we only recruit a small number of student ambassadors in their final year or on a one-year course.

During our spring term recruitment (January), we can only consider applications from undergraduate students graduating in 2025 or beyond*.

We particularly welcome applicants who meet one or more of the following criteria:
  • are from the following departments: Business School, Bioengineering, Computing, Maths, ESE, Chemical Engineering
  • have experience of living or going to school in any of the following places: the Middle East, the Americas, Australasia, Africa
  • have been a participant on an Imperial Outreach programme prior to enrolling at the College
  • have insight and understanding of the educational experience of school students of Black British backgrounds and the barriers they face in accessing HE

*For students studying Medicine (MBBS), we are looking for students to be in Year 4 or below if applying in the Autumn term or Year 3 or below if applying in the Spring term.

How to apply

Overview of our recruitment process

We typically recruit Student Ambassadors in October and January each academic year. The recruitment process is competitive and consists of three stages.

  • Stage one: Information session
  • Stage two: Application form
  • Stage three: Group interviews

If you have missed part of the recruitment process, you will need to wait until our next recruitment cycle to be considered. 

Stage one: Information sessions

Consider: Am I interested in this type of work?

Student Ambassadors play a huge role in our events; responsible for ensuring that visitors to the College receive a high-quality and enjoyable experience, sharing their enthusiasm for Imperial and their subject, being positive role models for students from underrepresented backgrounds and providing support through engaging academic sessions.

Being a Student Ambassador is a fulfilling and fun way to earn money whilst studying, but you'll enjoy it most if you have a genuine interest in the purpose behind the activities you'll be supporting. 

The information sessions provide an opportunity to hear more about the Student Ambassador Scheme. You'll meet the Summer School Coordinator and/or Student Ambassador Administrator, who are responsible for managing the scheme, as well as representatives from Outreach and Recruitment who'll talk first-hand about the programmes and events you'd be working on.

With dedicated time for answering your questions, this is your chance to see if we're offering something that suits you.

Only students who attend the information session (in full) will be sent the application form.

If you have found out about the student ambassador scheme outside of an active recruitment cycle and would like us to contact you ahead of future recruitment cycles, please register your interest.

Stage two: Application form

Consider: Can I demonstrate the key skills and attributes needed to thrive as a Student Ambassador? 

After you've attended an information session, we'll send you a link to an online application form. This is an opportunity for you to tell us more about yourself, why you are interested in becoming a Student Ambassador and the skills or experience you have to thrive in the role.

We will provide guidance in the information session on the key skills we are looking for. You don't need prior work experience to apply, but we would like to encourage you to draw on a range of experiences to give specific examples of when you have shown these skills.

Please take some time to complete your application form, as your answers will be used to shortlist applicants for interview. If you are shortlisted, we will send you instructions on how to book an interview slot.

Stage three: Group interview

Consider: Can I share my enthusiasm for my subject and demonstrate an understanding of the role? 

We will host group interviews via Microsoft Teams.

The interview will include a task and individual questions - both of which will be assessed. These interviews allow us to get a more in-depth assessment of your understanding of the role and see how you interact with others in new situations. 

During these interviews, it is important to interact with the tasks but also to be respectful of others. We are looking for answers that show you understand recruitment and outreach activities and your ability to think on your feet.

We know interviews can be stressful, particularly if you haven't interviewed for a job before, but we have designed the recruitment process to give you every opportunity to show us what's required to succeed. You can also inform us about any personal circumstances that may influence your performance at the interview when you book your slot.

Recruitment timeline

The next Student Ambassador recruitment round will be in January 2024.

Recruitment step Dates
Information Sessions

Tuesday 23 January 2024; 16.00 - 17.00 (in person)

Wednesday 24 January 2024; 14.00 - 15.00 (in person)

Applications open Thursday 25 January 2024 (only open to student who attended an information session)
Applications close Thursday 1 February 2024
Interview shortlist confirmed Wednesday 7 February 2024
Group interviews 13, 14 & 15 February 2024 (online via Teams)
Shortlisting and confirmation Friday 16 February 2024
Reference deadline Sunday 25 February
Onboarding and pre-induction modules Monday 26 February - Tuesday 5 March
Induction training 6 or 7 March 2024; time tbc (in person)