Industry experience opportunities

At the University of Leeds, we offer several ways for postgraduate students to gain industry experience alongside their studies, helping you build the experience, connections and skills you need to accelerate your career.

The majority of our on-campus taught postgraduate courses offer guaranteed industry experience, including through our Global Industry Programme, allowing you to apply what you learn in your studies to a professional working environment.

Global Industry Programme 

The Global Industry Programme offers real-world consultancy experience within a UK or international organisation, allowing you to apply your learning to real business challenges.

It’s a fully online, flexible programme designed to fit around your studies and is open to all subject areas, offering practical industry experience before you graduate. 

You’ll work with a business to gain hands-on experience, develop career-ready skills, boost your employability and build international, cross-cultural connections across areas such as digital marketing, business growth, sustainability and AI.

How the Global Industry Programme works 

Working as part of a student team, you'll help a company solve a real business problem. You’ll receive a live company brief, then research, analyse and develop solutions before presenting your findings in a professional consultancy report. 

You’ll get feedback on your work to enhance your skills and confidence before graduating from the programme with a digital badge and certificate to boost your CV and showcase your experience. It will help you develop core skills such as problem-solving and teamwork that will benefit you in any career and prepare you to make a bigger impact in the world.

The programme is guaranteed for all on-campus taught postgraduate students (UK and international), except for Leeds MBA students. Students in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences are instead offered an eight-week online work experience programme. 

It was a really good experience, meeting some great people and interacting with a really interesting sustainability-related startup company. It also helped me build confidence with my ability to develop reports and professional communication skills with clients and my teammates.

Career support and opportunities 

Postgraduate students have access to tailored career support, including:

• Dedicated careers guidance 
• AI-driven tools to help shape your CV, cover letters and LinkedIn profiles 
• Opportunities to visit career fairs and employer events in the UK and overseas 
• Support with mock interviews, assessment centres and psychometric tests.  

You can also take part in opportunities that help build confidence and connections, including:

• Leadership programmes  
• Mentoring
• Paid work and internships on and off campus
• Research conferences and events
• Volunteering experience