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
Four steps, and the founder’s part of it is the first one.
One structured form: the deliverable, the timeline, the budget band. About an hour of your time, and no advert to write.
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.
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.
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.
And now that anyone can generate a convincing CV in seconds, nobody can tell which claims are true. Evidence is what is left.
Each one is a fair guess from the outside, and each one changes what you would expect to pay and what you would get back.
A startup that has never run a micro-internship can trial first, and that trial is capped at four weeks and 20 hours. Past that the work is paid, with no exception. Students are never charged to join, to apply, or to keep their record afterwards. Work that pays nothing selects for whoever can afford to do it, and that is the filter MicroInterns was built to remove.
Trials capped at 4 weeks and 20 hours
We are not filling a permanent role and we take no percentage of anyone's salary. Nobody joins your payroll, because the agreements and the payment handling are ours. If you keep a student on afterwards there is no conversion fee and no placement fee.
From £349, not £4,350+ for a graduate hire
There is nothing to advertise, no bids to read and no stranger to gamble on. We scope the brief with you, shortlist from the student side, and put up to three students on it in parallel in a managed workspace. On the managed plans a Project Manager runs it. You compare what comes back and keep what works.
Up to three students a brief, one managed workspace
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
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.
One structured form turns your backlog task into a matchable project, without advertising it or sifting through CVs.
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.
Finished work becomes a MicroSkill Passport entry that the startup signs off.
Student and startup figures reported by the Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, 21 July 2026.
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.
Shortlisted nationally for exceptional leadership, business vision and entrepreneurial drive.
Great British Entrepreneur Awards · 2026
Commended for developing creative and sustainable solutions that drive positive social impact.
Heriot-Watt University · 2025
Selected from this year's applications as one of five finalists in Scotland's programme for creative young entrepreneurs.
JCI Scotland · 2026
Awarded for an early-stage concept demonstrating outstanding scalability and market growth potential.
Heriot-Watt University
Real openings, posted as they come up. Every listing shows its duration, what it pays and the skills it needs before you apply.
MicroInterns
Understand how MicroInterns actually runs, find the parts that are repetitive or unclear, and make them repeatable. Real processes, not a case study.
MicroInterns
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.
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 RawlinsonCrewdogMy micro-internship gave me real work to point to in interviews — a finished project for a real company, not another classroom exercise.
Lotachi EzechukwuStudentIt was short enough to fit around my course and paid, which most 'experience' opportunities are not.
Flexible, affordable help exactly when we needed it. We would use MicroInterns again.
Simon BroadleyAberdeenI 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.
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.
Love this approach. Creating opportunities based on skills and real-world experience, rather than just CVs, benefits everyone involved. 👏
Start My BusinessProfessional services, LondonHuge achievement. MicroInterns is redefining how learners access real-world experience, and it’s great to see that impact being recognised at this level.
Rafee AhamedEcosystem and venture growthInnovative talent bridge.
Maaz KhanWeb MorphixAbout an hour to scope the project, then one short check-in each week. MicroInterns handles matching, onboarding paperwork and payment, so the work happens without you managing another employee.
So you end up with a finished thing and a choice about it. You get more than one take on the deliverable to compare. Our built-in contingency model guarantees seamless project delivery even if student schedules change. They work in a managed workspace with a Project Manager, and you choose what to keep: hire none, one, or more, with no hire fee.
Yes. Every MicroInterns project is paid, and you will see the pay band on the listing before you apply. We never charge students anything, to join or to apply.
Yes. Projects run one to four weeks with flexible hours agreed up front, and most are remote-friendly. You agree the schedule with the startup before you start, so it works around your timetable.
