Internships are popular in Computer Science and give our students a valuable insight into what working life may be like after graduation, whilst allowing them to put their skills into practice in a ‘live environment’.

Internships are typically completed during the summer vacation period and last for between 8-12 weeks, although students can also complete part time internships during term time. Most internships completed during the vacation period are full time and they are always paid by the employer.

Computer Science is the only department at the University to benefit from a resident Internships Manager to guide students through the process of finding, applying for and securing a career enhancing internship. In 2022, we supported over 50 Computer Science students to complete a paid internship, with a range of employers from different industries across the UK and overseas, including with Morgan Stanley, IBM, Meta, and Amazon.

Thanks to the support of Durham Alumnus and former Netflix CPO, Dr. Neil Hunt, many of our students can access financial support towards the costs associated with taking up an internship or similar work experience opportunity. You can learn more about our Internships and Industry Fund here: Internships and Industry Fund Computer Science - Durham University

Internship Case Studies

Eve Routledge, Software Engineering Intern at Meta

Level 2 Maths and Computer Science student Eve Routledge completed a 12-week Software Engineering internship with Meta in 2022, working at Meta’s London offices during the summer vacation period.

“During my internship, I worked within the Buyer Foundations Infrastructure Team developing a debugging and testing framework. The internship allowed me to learn five new programming languages and build on my transferrable skills. The internship has really helped to develop my communication skills.

In working with the team at Meta, I have learnt a lot about myself and where I want my career to take me after university”.

Sruthi Srinivasaraghavan, Software Engineering Intern at Waters

Level 1 Computer Science student Sruthi Srinivasaraghavan completed a 10-week Software Engineering Internship with Waters Corporation in 2022, working at their local offices in Newcastle upon Tyne.

“My internship at Waters Corporation was really varied and involved attending regular team meetings and tech talks, attempting coding challenges, pair programming, planning, and conducting peer code reviews.

At the start, I was both excited and nervous by all the new topics I had to learn, such as automated testing and DevOps, but the environment was supportive and collaborative, which helped me to get up to speed.

The learning experience has been invaluable, allowing me to experience working life at such an early stage in my studies, and it will be super helpful for the future.

Careers and Enterprise ran a pre-departure day for interns in the department, which also helped me to prepare for my experience”.

Belinda Santoso, Extreme Blude Intern at IBM

Level 2 Computer Science student Belinda Santoso completed IBM’s 12-week Extreme Blue Technical Internship programme in 2022, working at firms’s offices in Hursley.

“Throughout my time at IBM, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a fantastic team of people, whilst delivering a project for a prominent UK department store. The challenge involved redesigning, prototyping, and delivering a solution to enhance the client’s position in the sustainable retail space.

I would like to express my gratitude to IBM and thank everyone who supported me whilst I was an intern. I had an amazing internship experience this summer”.

Support for employers

A wide range of support for employers is available via our Internships Manager, who can assist throughout the internship recruitment process, providing advice and guidance where necessary. We also collaborate with a wide range of employers, both in the UK and overseas, to provide exclusive, high value internships for our students in Computer Science.

Principle One provides a range of consulting services to customers across UK government and works with Durham University to offer paid internships for our students in Computer Science.

(Maggie and Neil from Principle One presenting at our recent Internships Networking Evening in Central London)

As well as internships, undergraduate students also have the option of completing a Placement Year, where they spend a full academic year gaining hands on experience within industry before returning to Durham to complete their final year of study. If you are a current student, you can learn more here: Science Faculty Placement Years - Home (sharepoint.com)

Some students also choose to stay in the department over the summer and become part of a research team, and there are a range of scholarships available to support this work. This provides you with a taste of what it is like to conduct research full time and is excellent preparation for a final year research project, and potentially a PhD.

The University's Careers and Enterprise Centre works extremely closely with us to ensure that both students and recent graduates receive up-to-date information on relevant employment and development opportunities. Careers and Enterprise also offer a range of innovative talks to ensure students receive the most relevant and up-to-date advice about professions in the field of Computer Science. Learn more about Careers and Enterprise here: Careers, Employability and Enterprise - Durham University