The summer is flying by and somehow we’re already halfway through our 2026 internship programme.
We started our internship programme in the very first year at 56° North. Managing Partners, John and Anthony, had seen the value of similar programmes in previous roles, and had been endlessly impressed by the skills of young people in their final years of college and university.
Breaking into the world of work after university or college can be daunting. A good internship in your penultimate or final year of studies can boost your confidence and give you a real understanding of the working world.
We have been incredibly lucky to have had a fabulous variety of brilliant interns over the years, all of whom got stuck in from the first day (and some of whom stuck around far longer than the 10-week programme after getting a job offer at the end).
During the programme, each of our interns is assigned clients and supports these accounts over the summer. This might mean writing meeting notes, drafting press releases, monitoring media and political developments, or supporting our political newsletter Briefly. There is never a dull day!
We also ensure each intern receives a series of masterclasses from each of our experienced Directors and Partners on their specialist subjects.
As 56° North has grown, so has the number of intern applicants wanting to join us.
Whittled down from more than 200 candidates, Ciaran Bourne and James Wheatley have joined us in the Edinburgh office this summer.
Ciaran Bourne has traded Glasgow’s hills for Arthur’s Seat and joins us as a recent politics graduate from the University of Glasgow. Drawing on his interests in UK foreign policy and international relations, Ciaran has been drafting press releases, taking part in campaign brainstorming sessions and writing articles on behalf of clients.
James Wheatley is in his final year at UCL studying International Relations, where he writes for the student paper Pi. He recently completed the Financial Times News School and brings a fresh perspective on the financial sector to his work. James has been supporting our political monitoring and client briefing notes and is steadily working through Edinburgh’s best swimming spots on his weekends.
Will Norton, our Senior Consultant who led the 2026 internship programme, said:
“It’s always great to welcome our interns, and this year has been no exception. Watching them develop and grow over the ten weeks is always incredible and we find ourselves being constantly impressed by their passion, spark and raw skills. My highlight of the year is always the 10 weeks we have the interns in the office.”
We will be opening our internship applications for 2027 in early spring next year, with updates posted on our LinkedIn.
Image caption: Interns from over the years. (L-R) Luca Messenger-Johnes and Will Johnstone, Jan Jasinski and Georgie Fulljames, Ciaran Bourne and James Wheatley, Liam Smith, Dzaui Jansen and Rebecca Mason.
