Research project internships

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 (in person on our Preston campus), academic supervision and ongoing support from the experienced researchers who deliver our Capacity Building Programme. 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.

The next deadline is 27th January 2027. Calls for applications for research project internships are annual.

Internship programme drop-in information sessions are held every fortnight, dates can be found here on the following link. Email arcnwc@lancashire.ac.uk for a Teams invite: Online Drop-in Sessions Open for ARCNWC Fellowship and Internship Applicants – ARC-NWC

Applications will be reviewed by a panel for suitability. Assessment will be based on relevance and usefulness to the partner organisation. All applications must meet all the ARC criteria. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview in which they will be expected to give a 5-minute presentation around their plan for the internship.

Application deadlines

Research internships – 27th January 2027

Training days for our current research internship cohort are as follows:
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.