Internships offer an important opportunity for students to prepare for the workforce, developing their professional skills and learn from real-world work experience.

TD School’s internship subjects allow students to put theory into practice as they develop their own transdisciplinary value proposition. Setting their own learning goals, students are prompted to analyse their capabilities and reflect on those needed for their future careers.

Benefits of hosting a TD intern

  • Work with and learn from our TD thinkers.
  • Access to transdisciplinary practitioners with broad skill sets.
  • Novel insights and out-of-the-box thinking.
  • Mentorship opportunities for your staff.
  • Engage with students being prepared for workplaces of the future.
  • Exposure to new methodologies and cutting-edge practices.

Our internship programs

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Innovation internships

Innovation internships run twice a year in Summer and Winter. Industry partners have the opportunity to work for a minimum of 105 hours (approx. three weeks) with one or more final year BCII students.

Degree: Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation (BCII)
Next intake: between 10 June 2025 and 25 July 2025

 
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Data Science internships

If you’re seeking bright, data-science talent for your organisation, this new internship subject allows one or more MDSI students to be immersed in your team during a placement of 100–200 hours.

Degree: Master of Data Science and Innovation (MDSI)
Next intake: between 4 August to 31 October 2025

Paid vs unpaid internships

We encourage organisations to provide paid internships to ensure they are accessible by a larger pool of students by removing barriers for students who are disadvantaged by not being able to engage with their regular, paid employment.

Paid internships:

  • offer both students and employers more flexibility in duration
  • attract greater student interest in the positions and attract a higher calibre of candidates
  • create an environment where students feel valued in the workplace.

An internship can be lawfully unpaid if it is deemed a vocational placement under the Fair Work Act. Students typically retain their Intellectual Property in an unpaid internship and don't undergo productive work that would otherwise be done by an employee. The experience should be a learning opportunity, where students observe, apply skills, and learn from others. For more information on the legalities of unpaid internships, visit the Fair Work website.

Workplace inclusion

The TD School is committed to the principles of equal opportunity and workplace inclusion; we aim to lead by example but know this is a constant area of work in progress. Inclusion in the workplace promotes innovation, and workplace adjustments are great examples of this. Workplaces innovate to help their employees perform better all the time; standing desks, flexible hours, differently formatted materials.

During internships, there may be times when our students will need to ask for a workplace adjustment. We are happy to offer support and guidance to our partners wherever we can. The UTS Accessibility Service is the central contact point for students living with an ongoing health condition. Students may register with the service and discuss with an Accessibility Consultant (AC) their individual access requirements. Through this consultation process and with the required medical documentation, adjustments can then be recommended to the School for consideration and discussion with our Industry Partners. We know some workplaces have specific staff to help with adjustments, while other workplaces have to work in a more ad hoc way, so feel free to get in contact if you want to talk about workplace adjustments.

If you would like to share examples of practices and innovation happening in your workplace around inclusion we'd love to hear more, please get in touch. 

For some of the resources we use, visit Australian Network on Disability and Autism Spectrum Australia.