We would like to clarify some important matters regarding students planning to undertake internships in industry which are not part of our degree programmes.
The Department and the university will support your applications for work internships, providing reference letters (letters confirming student status/enrollment to be obtained via your MyImperial app or via the Student Hub if you cannot obtain from the app) and, whenever necessary, by entering case-specific internship/ French convention de stage agreements with the companies hosting you e.g. . I understand that the latter case is particularly relevant for EU students. Note that these internship agreements are subject to the scrutiny of the university Contracts Office, that is responsible for their final approval. Please note that the Department does not award credit for Internships (or other forms of out of term time work).
During your studies at Imperial, you may take internships either:
1) during the summer vacation months (internships cannot start until after the formal end of term);
or 2) by transferring to the Year in industry programme;
or 3) as part of your final year project, if you opt for an industrially-sponsored one.
Note that in the first two cases the Department will only act as a facilitator, i.e. it is your responsibility to find a suitable internship position, arrange the logistics of your placement, etc.
In addition, if you hold a student visa, the type and the amount of work that you can do is restricted. It is essential that you are aware of these restrictions so that you do not breach your student visa conditions. Please visit the International Student Support webpage for further details.
For 4th year students the university and thus the Department of Aeronautics cannot enter internship agreements that will extend beyond the graduation date, i.e. July 31st every year. Therefore, if you are a 4th year student and you are planning to apply for an internship that will extend beyond July 31st 2025, you must consider that the Department will not be able to provide you with an internship agreement.
This is because your student status expires at the moment of graduation. Hence, the university cannot underwrite any agreement, e.g. a French “convention de stage”, that would imply you being still a registered student despite having already graduated.
We hope that what stated above clarifies this matter. In case of further doubts or queries, please do not hesitate to contact the Departmental Careers Officer Dr Kostas Steiros (Please contact DUGS Dr Errikos Levis if you require a case-specific internship/French Convention de Stage agreement only).
Other useful information can be found on Imperial College Career's website.