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MicroInterns

Paid 1–4 week micro-internships with UK startups

Students get experience they can prove. Startups get the backlog task done, without a hiring commitment.

Free to join · Aberdeen-born, UK-wide

Here for a funded programme? See programmes.

Backed across Scotland’s startup ecosystem

  • ScotlandIS
  • Techscaler by CodeBase
  • Barclays Eagle Labs
  • Converge
  • Business Gateway
  • Startup Grind Scotland
  • Heriot-Watt University GRID
  • Santander X
  • AccelerateHER
  • University of Aberdeen

From a task you keep putting off to work you can use

Four steps, and the founder’s part of it is the first one.

  1. Post the brief

    One structured form: the deliverable, the timeline, the budget band. About an hour of your time, and no advert to write.

  2. We match

    Shortlisting happens on the student side. Up to three students take the same brief in parallel, so you get more than one take on it. Our built-in contingency model guarantees seamless project delivery even if student schedules change.

  3. The work runs

    One to four weeks in a managed workspace, with a Project Manager on the plans that include one. Your side of it is one short check-in a week.

  4. Compare, and keep what works

    You sign the work off and it becomes the student's MicroSkill Passport entry. Hire none, one or more of them afterwards, with no hire fee either way.

We match startups and SMEs with students ready to prove it

Projects, not job adverts

Browse all projects

Real openings, posted as they come up. Every listing shows its duration, what it pays and the skills it needs before you apply.

  • MicroInterns

    Business Systems & Operations Intern

    Understand how MicroInterns actually runs, find the parts that are repetitive or unclear, and make them repeatable. Real processes, not a case study.

    Duration
    4 weeks
    Pay
    Paid after trial
    Where
    Remote (UK)
    • Process mapping
    • Workflow automation
    • No-code tools
    • AI-assisted workflows
  • MicroInterns

    Growth & Content Associate

    Help tell the story of our 12-week Micro-Pathways programme in Aberdeen. Content, video, speaker features and participant stories, from someone who brings their own ideas.

    Duration
    12 weeks
    Pay
    Paid after trial
    Where
    Aberdeen
    • Content creation
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram
    • Short-form video

Everyone asks for experience. Nobody hands it out first.

And now that anyone can generate a convincing CV in seconds, nobody can tell which claims are true. Evidence is what is left.

Why we built it this way
CV and covering letterUnverified
  • Skills, self-described
  • A covering letter
  • A reference nobody rings

Anyone can produce this. What an application claims. Skills, a covering letter, a reference. All of it is assertion, and now it takes seconds to generate.

MicroSkill PassportVerified
  • Deliverable received
  • Skills logged
  • Signed off by you

Only doing the work produces this. What a finished project shows. The deliverable your business received, the skills it took, and your own sign-off on the result.

  • Not an unpaid internship

    Trials capped at 4 weeks and 20 hours

  • Not a recruiter

    From £349, not £4,350+ for a graduate hire

  • Not a freelance marketplace

    Up to three students a brief, one managed workspace

Priyanka Rao, founder of MicroInterns

Why MicroInterns exists

Priyanka came to Aberdeen for an MBA and watched capable people get filtered out before anyone had seen their work.

MicroInterns is built out of that. A CV cannot show what someone can actually do, and a job advert is far too big a commitment for two weeks of work. So the unit is smaller: a real, paid project with a deadline, and a sign-off from the startup at the end of it.

Priyanka RaoFounder, MicroInterns · Aberdeen

Built around the one resource a startup cannot buy: the founder’s time

  • Briefs that finish

    Every brief runs in a managed workspace with more than one intern on it, and a Project Manager on the plans that include one. Our built-in contingency model guarantees seamless project delivery even if student schedules change.

  • Scoped in an hour

    One structured form turns your backlog task into a matchable project, without advertising it or sifting through CVs.

  • Paid work, always

    Some roles open with a short trial, capped at four weeks and 20 hours. Past that every student is paid, and the terms are on the listing before anyone applies.

  • Verified proof

    Finished work becomes a MicroSkill Passport entry that the startup signs off.

Awards

  • Education & Training StartUp of the Year — Scotland

    Recognised as Scotland's leading new enterprise driving innovation in the education sector.

    UK StartUp Awards · 2026

    UK StartUp Awards regional final, June 2026. Shortlisted for the UK national final, September 2026.

  • Entrepreneur of the Year, finalist

    Shortlisted nationally for exceptional leadership, business vision and entrepreneurial drive.

    Great British Entrepreneur Awards · 2026

  • Social Innovation Award, runner-up

    Commended for developing creative and sustainable solutions that drive positive social impact.

    Heriot-Watt University · 2025

  • Creative Young Entrepreneur 2026, top 5 finalist

    Selected from this year's applications as one of five finalists in Scotland's programme for creative young entrepreneurs.

    JCI Scotland · 2026

  • Highest Potential Idea Award

    Awarded for an early-stage concept demonstrating outstanding scalability and market growth potential.

    Heriot-Watt University

Don’t take our word for it

From the startups who posted the work and the students who did it.

We got a well-scoped piece of work delivered in weeks, without the overhead of a hire. The student was switched on and the process took very little of my time.
Colin Rawlinson, CrewdogColin RawlinsonCrewdog
My micro-internship gave me real work to point to in interviews — a finished project for a real company, not another classroom exercise.
Lotachi Ezechukwu, StudentLotachi EzechukwuStudent
It was short enough to fit around my course and paid, which most 'experience' opportunities are not.
Zakari ElmariStudent, England
Flexible, affordable help exactly when we needed it. We would use MicroInterns again.
Simon Broadley, AberdeenSimon BroadleyAberdeen
I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the guidance and support you gave us throughout the placement journey. Your help, patience, and the way you guided us at every step really made a huge difference.
Usama IqbalMicro-intern
During the internship, we learned many new things, developed our skills, and had the opportunity to build a project ourselves with your great guidance and support. This experience has given me more confidence and practical knowledge that I will carry forward in my future career.
SrinidhiMicro-intern
Love this approach. Creating opportunities based on skills and real-world experience, rather than just CVs, benefits everyone involved. 👏
Start My Business, Professional services, LondonStart My BusinessProfessional services, London
Huge achievement. MicroInterns is redefining how learners access real-world experience, and it’s great to see that impact being recognised at this level.
Rafee Ahamed, Ecosystem and venture growthRafee AhamedEcosystem and venture growth
Innovative talent bridge.
Maaz Khan, Web MorphixMaaz KhanWeb Morphix
Looking down on a long wooden table where a team is working together, laptops, notebooks and coffee spread between them

Scope it in an hour, and see it done in weeks

Still deciding?

A small team in Aberdeen, answering everything ourselves. We reply within one working day.

Address
ABVenture Zone, MacRobert Building
Aberdeen AB24 3FXBy arrangement, not a drop-in.
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