Student Opportunities
The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) offers a variety of opportunities for students at the University of Nottingham. From our placement and summer internship programmes, to our trainings, projects and guest speaker events, the HRLC is a vibrant hub for human rights and rule of law activities.
The Human Rights Law Centre enjoys and encourages the participation of students in its research and project work.
Throughout the year, we offer a range of opportunities for students to participate in our activities, from voluntary placements to paid summer internships. These experiences are designed to broaden students' understanding of human rights research and practical work, while providing invaluable hands-on experience in a renowned academic centre.
Whether assisting with international criminal justice databases, advocating through our Scholars at Risk student advocacy seminar, or supporting the production of one of the HRLC's publications, students can contribute to impactful projects and gain valuable skills.
The Centre's amazing student assistants and interns are indispensable to our work.
Student Placements
We are delighted to offer students various opportunities to get involved in HRLC activities taking place throughout the year. Openings for voluntary student assistants are advertised in October each year.
These positions provide students with an opportunity to work, on a voluntary basis, gaining valuable experience to complement their studies:
- Research Assistance to Human Rights Experts - Law students conduct research and contribute to expert reports. Previous student assistants have worked with the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, the UN Special Rapporteur on Climate Change and Human Rights, and the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights.
- International Criminal Justice Databases - Law students assist the HRLC's International Criminal Justice unit in developing and maintaining two databases widely cited as references by professionals and academics.
- Scholars at Risk Student Advocacy Seminar - Students from law, social sciences and the humanities create and run advocacy campaigns raising awareness about academic freedom and calling for the release of imprisoned scholars, as part of the Scholars at Risk network.
- Publications Assistance - Law students support the editorial process for the International Human Rights Reports, a collection of judgements and decisions from UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies and regional human rights bodies.
- Human Rights Film Series - Students from law, social sciences and the humanities collaborate in selecting and organising film screenings on campus, facilitating discussions to delve deeper into the human rights issues depicted in the films.
- Refugee Clinic - Law students work remotely with St Andrew's Refugee Services in Egypt to support refugee and asylum applications to the UN Refugee Agency in Cairo, Egypt.
Summer Internships
We offer paid summer internships to University of Nottingham law students to work on our diverse projects. Opportunities are advertised in June each year. Previous interns have worked with our International Criminal Justice Unit, on Business and Human Rights, in our Refugee Clinic, 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.