Internships

To apply for an internship at the ITER Organization, candidates must be from one of the ITER Members (People's Republic of China, the European Union, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States). When applying through our e-recruitment tool, candidates must select the ITER Member corresponding to their nationality.

An agreement regarding the further cooperation between the UK and the EU has not been reached yet. Switzerland is no longer part of the ITER Project. Therefore, at this time we are not accepting applicants from the UK or Switzerland for our ITER Internship Program.

Spontaneous applications are not accepted or considered for our recruitment process. Please note that only internship applications submitted directly through our website are taken into consideration.

English-speaking students registered in a secondary school or high school that requires a job shadowing internship may apply for an ITER Organization internship in line with ITER Organization priorities. Students shall have already identified a possible supervisor (i.e., an ITER Organization staff member) at our organization. Details are available in the Welcome Booklet for Interns.

Applicants should be enrolled at a university (or an equivalent institution) for the duration of the internship. No internship opportunities are offered to applicants who have recently graduated.

At ITER, we have four different internship categories:

• Category A: Students enrolled in a Master’s degree (or equivalent, after obtaining a Bachelor’s degree or in the two last years of a Master’s degree) or in the two last years of an Engineering degree.  
• Category B: Students enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent (two-year post-secondary degree included).
• Category C: English-speaking students registered in a secondary school or high school that requires a job shadowing internship.
• Category S: Students pursuing a PhD at a university or participating in a program in a scientific or technical field that has a specific agreement with the ITER Organization (e.g., a Cooperation Agreement with a laboratory, university or government). 

Please refer to our Welcome Booklet for Interns, which describes in more detail the different categories of potential internships at ITER.

Starting dates depend on the student's availability and on specific needs of the ITER supervisor. Usually, the starting date is discussed during the interview. It is highly recommended for an applicant to specify their availability in the cover letter.

Please be informed that 6 months is the maximum initial duration of an internship at the ITER Organization. However, duration is usually discussed with selected candidates during internship interviews. It can be less than 6 months as specified in individual internship topics. Applicants should specify their availabilities in a cover letter.

The Internship Agreement is provided by the ITER Organization and shall be signed by the intern, the head of the ITER Human Resources Division, and the director of the university, school or institution running the educational program (or its representative) prior to the starting date of the internship. In principle, the ITER Organization will not sign any agreement from the university, school or institution running the educational program.

Being an intern at the ITER Organization does not lead directly to staff employment. In order to obtain a staff position at the ITER Organization, a candidate needs to apply to staff positions that are advertised on the ITER website and take part in a recruitment process.