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Undergraduate Policy School 2026
Calling all second and third year Undergraduate Students!
Join the Policy School, hosted by The York Policy Engine (TYPE) and led by Whitehall's Open Innovation Team (OIT), including a visit to the Darlington Economic Campus (DEC) - a hub in the North East of England committed to relocating 22,000 civil service roles out of London and the South-East by 2030. The School will be delivered by senior government advisors and aims to develop your skills in policy engagement, inviting you to take part in a work-based learning challenge to gain insight into the inner workings of public policy and decision-making. You will collaborate with students from across the university to develop a policy proposal on a live UK issue over five sessions.
The final session will be hosted at DEC, where you will present your final proposal to a panel of policy experts. In addition, you will be provided with the unique opportunity to engage with civil servants, who will offer exclusive insights into the roles of key government departments. You will learn about the realities of delivering policy work and hear about exciting career opportunities for graduate students.
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Session 1: Introductory team-building Date & Time: Tuesday, 3rd March 2026, 9:30-11:30am Location: University of York Campus Session 2: Introduction to UK Policy Making Date & Time: Thursday, 5th March 2026, 9:30-11:30am Location: Online Session 3: Writing Policy for an Audience Date & Time: Tuesday, 10th March 2026, 1:00-2:00pm Location: Online Session 4: Presenting to a Policy Audience Date & Time: Thursday, 12th March 2026, 09:30am-11:30pm Location: University of York campus Session 5: Final Presentations & civil service talks Date & Time: Tuesday, 24th March 2026, 10:00am-4:00pm Location: Darlington Economic Campus (DEC)* Working in an interdisciplinary team on policy proposals (Approximately 10 hours online, across the 3 week programme) |
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*Transport will be provided for students to and from the University campus for the final all-day session at DEC.
Eligibility and Application: All 2nd and 3rd year undergraduate students (across all faculties) are encouraged to apply. You do not need to have any previous experience in policy to apply for the programme. Submit here by Monday 16th February 2026 at Midnight.
Commitment: Successful applicants will be required to attend all 5 sessions and dedicate 10 hours to work in teams of 5, on collaborative policy proposals.
Contact: If you have any queries about this opportunity please contact TYPE@york.ac.uk.