WorkHub
Why choose a WorkHub internship?
Complete your internship on campus
Located on campus in The Spot, the WorkHub office is a contemporary, hybrid workspace.
Make a lasting impact
Work on a real project as part of a cross-disciplinary team and make a significant impact on your client's business.
Benefit from mentorship
Receive weekly guidance from your assigned client mentor, an experienced industry professional.
What is a WorkHub internship?
WorkHub is an innovative, on-campus internship experience designed to strengthen your professional career readiness. Working from our fully equipped WorkHub office in The Spot, you will complete a real-world project for a leading organisation as part of a small team.
Throughout the semester you will participate in site visits, project meetings, and professional development sessions, and receive mentorship from industry experts and academics. This approach allows you to gain valuable hands-on experience, expand your network, and build a strong foundation for career success. Please note that WorkHub is unpaid.
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When you apply to WorkHub, you will be able to review a set of general project themes and indicate the types of projects you would be interested in.
Our matching process aims to help us understand your interests. While we cannot guarantee a particular project, we will do our best to match you with an opportunity that aligns with your interests and skills where possible.
You can indicate your preferred project themes from the nine options below:
- Customer Experience & Journey Design
- Data, Analytics & Insight
- AI, Digital Tools & Innovation
- Business & Growth Strategy / Value Proposition Design
- Social Impact, Inclusion & Responsible Business
- Stakeholder, Business & Community Engagement
- Sales, Distribution & Revenue Optimisation
- Marketing Strategy, Brand & Customer Attraction
- Small Business Advisory – new in Semester 2, 2026
You will work on an impactful project for your client, allowing you to dive deep into the challenges and opportunities within a specific industry. In previous semesters, interns have tackled projects such as exploring customer care expectations for electric vehicle owners, developing strategies for digital customer engagement, or revamping an organisation’s operational model to enhance its sustainability and profitability.
Each project is carefully designed to address real-world needs while enabling you to develop critical employability skills. This experience will offer valuable insights into your client’s industry, strengthen your teamwork and market analysis abilities, and provide practical, hands-on experience. Your project will not only contribute to your professional growth but also make a meaningful impact on your client and the wider community.
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WorkHub clients are leading organisations, often with international reach, that will actively engage with you through regular meetings.
Some recent host companies include: Allianz, Altiorem, BMW Group, De Bortoli Wines, City of Melbourne, London Stock Exchange Group, Local Brewing Co, Native Grains, Qatar Airways, UniSuper, UoM Sustainability, and the WEHI Research Computing Platform.
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WorkHub begins with an induction to introduce you to the academic team, your WorkHub colleagues, and the WorkHub office. You will also attend a site visit to meet your client and learn about your project.
Throughout the program, you will learn to define the problem and objectives, conduct research and analysis, brainstorm and evaluate potential solutions, and develop and test your ideas. You will be supported by an industry mentor from your client's organisation and an academic mentor from the University of Melbourne. Weekly professional development sessions and regular meetings will provide you with guidance and feedback on your project. Additional site visits may be arranged to deepen your understanding of your client's operations.
The program concludes with a boardroom-style presentation where your team will present your business case or solution to senior representatives of your client's organisation.
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Students are required to attend WorkHub 1 day per week from 8:30am - 5:00pm each day for 12 weeks. Full attendance is compulsory.
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WorkHub internships are unpaid and emphasise learning and professional development.
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Located on campus in The Spot, WorkHub is a modern and flexible workspace designed to foster collaboration and creativity. The space features open-plan workstations, meeting rooms, a boardroom, a kitchen, and adaptable furniture with collaboration walls, perfect for brainstorming and team discussions.
WorkHub is not a classroom - it operates during standard business hours and maintains a 'business casual' dress code.
While most of your internship will take place within the WorkHub office, you may also be required to attend occasional site visits to your client's offices throughout your program.
New Project Theme- Small Business Advisory
From Semester 2, 2026 there will be a new Small Business Advisory (Cafes and Restaurants) theme. This theme is ideal if you are interested in applied business fundamentals - such as how to set prices, manage costs, improve margins, market and promote a business and make evidence-based decisions under real-world constraints. The theme is particularly well suited if you are working in business advisory, owning or managing a business, launching a start-up, or pursuing entrepreneurship. By the end of WorkHub, you will not only understand how small businesses operate - you will know how to manage and improve them.
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You will work directly with the owner of a café and/or restaurant to deliver a business advisory report that reviews the business’s performance and operations. Acting as professional advisers, students will analyse the business, identify the key drivers of profitability and risk, prioritise areas requiring improvement, and develop practical, implementable recommendations tailored to the business.
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The review will examine all critical dimensions of the enterprise, including operational strategy and product mix, operational efficiency, pricing and margin optimisation, marketing effectiveness, customer value proposition, performance measurement systems, and cost structure analysis.
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By the end of the practicum, each business will receive a professionally prepared business advisory report that not only diagnoses current performance but provides a clear, prioritised action plan to improve profitability, strengthen competitiveness, and support sustainable long-term growth.
Key dates: Semester 2, 2026
- 4 May
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9:00am (AEDT)
WorkHub applications open
- 31 May
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11:59pm (AEST)
WorkHub applications close
- 27 July to 23 October
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Undertake your internship
"WorkHub not only enhanced my technical and interpersonal skills but also gave me the confidence to pursue my career aspirations. My advice to future WorkHub participants is to be proactive, embrace every opportunity, and remain curious - you never know where it might lead."
How do I apply?
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Ensure your study plan has room for BUSA90525 as an elective before submitting your application. If you need more information or guidance, please seek course advice from STOP 1.
You cannot enrol in BUSA90525 as a capstone subject through WorkHub.
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As part of your application, you will need to upload a current resume. To ensure your resume is competitive, we strongly recommend using a tool like Smart Resume to assist you with reviewing your resume.
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- Access SONIA and click 'University Sign In' to log in using your University of Melbourne student credentials.
- Click on the Placements tab and search for CMCE20001/BUSA90525 WorkHub placement group.
- Note: The placement group will only appear when applications are open.
- Click the green + Join button.
- Click on the Forms tab and select the relevant application form titled CMCE20001/BUSA90525 WorkHub Internship Application Form.
- Complete all fields and click Submit. Please note that incomplete or late applications will not be accepted.
Important: Do not leave the placement group after submitting your application.
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If you are successful in securing a WorkHub internship, you will receive an email confirming your permission to enrol. It will provide instructions on the next steps, including how to complete your enrolment in the subject.
Important: You can add this subject to your Study Plan as 'Planned' but not 'Enroled'. Your enrolment will be processed after you complete the acceptance process.
Have a question?
Check out our Frequently Asked Questions page!
If you're an organisation, visit our partnerships page to learn how you can get involved.