Student Opportunities
The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) offers a variety of opportunities for students at the University of Nottingham. From studying with us and placement programmes through to our projects, guest speakers and film series, the HRLC is a hub of activity around human rights and rule of law.
Internships
The Human Rights Law Centre enjoys and encourages the participation of students in its research and project work. We aim to broaden students' experiences of human rights, research and practical work by facilitating a range of opportunities for their involvement in our work.
We offer paid summer internships to University of Nottingham law students to work on our diverse projects. Opportunities are advertised in June each year. Previously we have offered internships in our Refugee Clinic, International Criminal Justice Unit, on Business and Human Rights and in relation to our publications.
Internships typically run for four to eight weeks and provide valuable experience of human rights work in practice. Students who are interested in a human rights career can gain a deeper understanding of a particular human rights field, as well as improve their related transferable skills such as research and analysis.
Find out more about internships
The Refugee Clinic was an incredibly rewarding experience, knowing that we were helping some of the most vulnerable people in the world to receive the legal protection they deserved.
Student placements
We are delighted to offer students from law, social sciences and the humanities various opportunities to get involved in HRLC activities taking place throughout the year. Openings for voluntary student assistants are advertised in October each year.
We aim to broaden students' experiences of human rights, research and practical work by facilitating a range their involvement in our research and projects. These positions provide students with an opportunity to work, on a voluntary basis, in a world renowned academic human rights centre, gaining valuable experience to complement their studies.
Find out more about placements
Refugee Clinic
HRLC's Refugee Clinic was established in February 2020 and works in collaboration with Across Borders and Saint Andrews Refugee Services (StARS). University of Nottingham students can undertake placements in the Refugee Clinic, where they work with legal advisors on Refugee Status Determination (RSD) applications with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Cairo and carry out country of origin research.
Publications assistance
During term-time and over the summer, law students have the opportunity to assist us with the production of two of our publications:
- International Human Rights Report
- The Yearbook of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture
International Criminal Justice Databases
Students have the opportunity to get involved in the work of International Criminal Justice Unit, which takes part in developing and maintaining two databases widely cited as references by professionals and academics.
Scholars at Risk
We also offer the opportunity to get involved in the work of Scholars at Risk, an international organisation protecting academic freedom and defending thousands of scholars around the world. The first UK based Student Advocacy Seminar was created in 2017, with the support of HRLC and Scholars at Risk. We host a University of Nottingham Student Advocacy Group, with events running throughout the year.
The centre's amazing placement students are indispensable to our work.
Student-led activities and events
We are also proud to support a range of student-led activities, including the Annual Human Rights Conference and the Human Rights Film Series, which showcase speakers and films to articulate human rights issues in an engaging and provocative way.