During the 2025–26 academic year, students worked directly with businesses on projects designed to address real organisational challenges, developing practical skills while contributing to meaningful business outcomes. The micro internships covered a diverse range of activities including digital marketing, AI learning and development tools, product and app UX/UI, user research, client growth, community engagement, organisational restructuring, client coaching, AI adoption, sports product performance and workflow automation.
Students collaborated with a variety of UK organisations including Acushnet, Volleyball England, RO-SE, Xpand HR, People Skills Business and We Are The News. Throughout each eight-week project, students were responsible for managing their own workload, engaging with business stakeholders and applying their academic knowledge to workplace challenges. For international students in particular, gaining UK work experience is a crucial step in developing confidence, understanding UK professional culture and demonstrating their skills to future employers.
Chengchen Wu, MSc Sport Marketing and micro internship with Xpand HR said:
Taking part in the micro internship has been one of the most valuable experiences I’ve had since moving to the UK. During the internship, I worked on a wide range of projects, including video production, event photography and creating e-learning courses. I learned so much, not just new technical skills, but also how people communicate, collaborate and work together in a UK workplace. As an international student, that experience really helped me build my confidence.
The Future Space team was incredibly supportive and gave me the chance to take on real responsibilities, which encouraged me to keep learning and pushing myself. I’m really grateful that the internship led to the opportunity to continue working with Xpand HR. Looking back, it was much more than just an internship, it gave me hands-on experience, helped me grow professionally, and became my first step towards building my career in the UK. I’d definitely encourage other students to give it a try, even if they don’t feel 100% ready. You learn so much by simply getting started. The programme has also delivered significant benefits for participating organisations, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises seeking additional capacity, fresh ideas and specialist skills to support their growth. By working alongside talented students, businesses have been able to progress projects, explore new opportunities and access support in areas that can often be difficult to prioritise alongside day-to-day operations. In several cases, the impact of these collaborations has extended beyond the completion of the eight-week micro internship, with students continuing to work with their partner organisations and developing longer-term professional relationships. This demonstrates the value of the programme in creating mutually beneficial partnerships between Loughborough University London students and the UK business community.
Ursula Connelly, CEO and founder of People Skills Business said:
The Future Space Internship Programme has delivered fantastic results for People Skills Business, with our students making a real contribution to the growth and development of the business. Working on two strategic projects, the interns helped lay the foundations for a new Executive Coaching Service and explored how Artificial Intelligence is changing learning, leadership development and coaching. They carried out market research, created client resources, developed AI-powered learning tools, produced marketing materials and designed an innovative leadership simulator to support business development. Their work has already made a positive impact by strengthening our coaching offer, improving our sales and marketing resources, increasing awareness of our executive coaching services and creating new opportunities to engage with future clients. The projects have also given us valuable insight into how AI can be used to enhance the learning experience and keep our services relevant in a rapidly changing world. The students were outstanding throughout the programme. They brought curiosity, creativity, professionalism and a fresh perspective to every project, consistently producing work of an exceptionally high standard. Their ideas challenged our thinking, inspired new ways of working and have left People Skills Business with practical resources, new capabilities and a strong foundation for future growth. The success of this year’s programme highlights the importance of providing students with opportunities to gain authentic workplace experience while supporting businesses with the skills, creativity and perspectives needed to address contemporary challenges.
Dan Robinson, Future Space, shared his thoughts:
As a careers team, we have seen first-hand the transformative impact that meaningful workplace experience can have on our students’ confidence, employability and career outcomes. This year’s micro internships have enabled more students than ever before to add significant skills and UK experience to their CV’s, and many have been able to leverage this experience to secure employment opportunities upon completion of their micro internship. Students have told us that having UK work experience on their CV has opened doors to employers who previously may not have engaged with them as international students, helping them to demonstrate their capability beyond academic qualifications alone. The success of this year’s programme would not have been possible without the incredible support, commitment and openness of our partner organisations. Their willingness to provide genuine project opportunities, invest time in mentoring our students and create space for emerging talent has been instrumental. We have been consistently impressed by the quality, professionalism and ambition demonstrated by our students, and the outputs they have delivered across such a diverse range of business challenges have been exceptional. We are incredibly proud of what has been achieved this year and the positive impact the programme has created for both students and businesses. Looking ahead, we are excited to continue building on this success, expanding our partnerships and creating even more opportunities for our students to gain valuable experience, develop their networks and take confident steps towards their future careers.
For more information about our micro internships, please visit our student information or business facing web pages which share information on how to get involved!