What is RIS

Yes! Every opportunity through the Reading Internship Scheme pay the National Living Wage. This is currently £11.44 per hour. You may also be eligible for the RIS Expense Bursary which is an extra £100 you’d get from RIS on top of your salary.

As you’re employed by the organisation you’re undertaking the internship with, your salary will be paid to you directly by your employer through their PAYE, not the University. As such, if you have any questions about payment dates, please talk to your employer in the first instance. The RIS Expense Bursary is a grant which, if eligible, would be paid to you by the University, not your employer. If you have any questions about the bursary, please contact ris@reading.ac.uk as your employer will not be able to help with this.

You are employed by the organisation you’re undertaking the internship with, not by RIS or the University of Reading.  As such, you should receive an employment contract by your employer, not the University. You will also be paid directly by your employer, through their PAYE. If you have any questions about your contract or payment dates, you should ask your employer in the first instance. If you’re experiencing any issues or difficulties, please contact RIS on ris@reading.ac.uk and we will be happy to step in.

If you’re completing a Semester Internship (from October – May), you will only be able to work up to 20 hours per week. You are able to switch to full-time hours during vacation periods (such as Christmas and Spring breaks) but must revert back to part-time hours once the vacation period is over. Please refer to the University term dates.

If you’re internship is a Full-Time Summer Internship, you are able to work full-time hours from 16 June 2025 to 29 August 2025 – please refer to working time regulations. Most internships will likely be between 35 to 40 hours per week if full-time but double check with your employers if you’re unsure as the days and times you work is between you and your employer.

If you’re an international student, please check your work permissions and restrictions. More information can be found on the webpage Working rights and limits during your studies - Tier 4 | University of Reading.

The employers will only see your application after the closing date of the advert. So, if you’ve applied within a week and the advert is live for another 2 weeks the employer wouldn’t have seen your application yet – so don’t panic! Once an employer has shortlisted, you will receive a message from MJO to say whether you’ve been shortlisted or not. If you haven’t heard back, they’re likely still shortlisting.

No, RIS is an extracurricular work experience programme, which cannot be used towards any credit baring initiatives as part of your degree programme. The scheme is a great way for you to gain experience and also transferable skills which you will need for future employment. 

If you are an undergraduate (or have very recently graduated) from the University of Reading and are based in the UK at the time of the internship, you are eligible to apply to RIS vacancies. You can apply to any of the vacancies that you’re interested in, even if it’s not within your specific degree sector. RIS is not open to foundation year students.

Yes - all interns must be based in the UK at the time of the internship.

All payments made to the interns are via the employer's UK payroll, which means UK income tax and National Insurance contributions are paid to the UK Government (if the relevant thresholds are met). If an individual were to be paid on a UK payroll whilst they are   working outside of the UK, it could mean that the relevant tax and social security contributions are not being paid to the country where the work is being completed. This could expose both the individual and the employer to risk in terms of potentially a substantial fine, which could be levied against the employer and the individual by HMRC on behalf of the other country’s tax authority. As tax legislation varies between different jurisdictions and the tax legislation itself may vary depending on an individual’s own circumstances we are not able to quantify this risk.
 
Large multinational organisations will often have international mobility teams and a number of foreign payrolls to facilitate individuals working in different countries. However for smaller organisations who participate in the Reading Internship Scheme the cost of placing one individual on a foreign payroll can run into thousands of pounds and unfortunately even requesting tax advice can cost hundreds of pounds. This unfortunately makes engaging a worker on a foreign payroll uneconomical. 

You can complete one internship on the Reading Internship Scheme per academic year. We operate the scheme this way to ensure that as many students as possible can access support through the scheme.

You can apply to as many internships as you like. However, you are only able to do one internship per academic year so if you have been offered two internships (or more!) you will have to pick the one you’d like to do and withdraw from the others.

Students working remotely will be working from the comfort of wherever they are. This means you do not need to worry about having to travel to complete your internship. The internships will still involve a project with regular catch ups with the team you are placed within, however these will all be done via call or message. 

Virtual internships are very different, however are still great experience as lots of organisations have an element of home working in their business as usual approach. There are countless resources online with tips for how to make the most of a remote internship.