Research project internships support people from the health and care workforce in our member organisations to do a small research project under the supervision of experienced researchers from one of the ARC Higher Education Institutions.

Interns submit their own research idea that must also align with their organisation’s priorities and an ARC research theme (these include: Workforce and Systems Resilience; Social Care; Women’s Health; Long-Term Conditions; Population Health and Prevention; Analogue2Digital and Evidence4Impact.)

A research internship involves release from the workplace for up to a day a week, for up to a year. Prior formal research training is not necessary as people with all levels of experience will be considered.

All applicants require:

• A strong interest in research
• A commitment to the programme (including preparing an end of internship presentation)
• Full managerial support from their organisation
• The ability to attend supervisory meetings and training sessions

Internships can focus on any topic but must:

• Align with an ARC NWC research theme
• Address a regional or national priority
• Involve co-production with patients/service users
• Consider health inequalities (applicants should refer to the FOR-EQUITY webpage when considering the health inequality aspects of their applications)

Interns will receive training in research methods, academic supervision and ongoing support from experienced researchers within the Implementation and Capacity Building Team. The programme also provides £6,300 funding to cover costs and compensates employers for one day per week of the intern’s time, allowing participants to focus on their research. We also provide up to £1,000 research costs to support the project, this might be used to pay research participants or PPI representatives for their time, or provide additional training for the intern.

Calls for applications for research project internships are annual.

Drop in session for support for internships can be found here: Online Drop-in Sessions Open for ARCNWC Fellowship and Internship Applicants – ARC-NWC

Application deadlines

Research internships – 27th January 2027
Knowledge mobilisation internships – 27th September 2026 and 27th January 2027
RACES – September 27 (date TBC)
Fellowship application support internships – January 27 (date TBC)

Please note that interviews will be help the week beginning the 4th May and successful candidates will need to attend the introductory day on Thursday 4th June 2026 10-3pm at the University of Lancashire Preston campus.

Training days for current research internships are as follows:

09:30-16:00 Tues 23rd June 2026
09:30-16:00 Wed 15th July 2026
09:30-16:00 Thurs 3rd September 2026
09:30-16:00 Tues 29th September 2026
09:30-16:00 Wed 16th December 2026
09:30-16:00 Tues 9th February 2027
09:30-16:00 Wed 17th March 2027
09:30-16:00 Tues 18th May 2027 – Showcase Event
09:30-16:00 Thur 27th May 2027

Please get in touch with the ARC NWC Capacity Building team at arcnwc@lancashire.ac.uk for more information about internships or to book onto one of our internship online drop-in sessions.

The internship application form can be accessed here. Please send any completed application forms to the ARC NWC Capacity Building team at arcnwc@lancashire.ac.uk.