The UK Centre for the Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tectonics (COMET) aims to co-develop and co-fund summer research projects for undergraduate students with industrial partners to support cross-disciplinary collaboration and knowledge exchange between academia and industry.
Since 2022, COMET has run a prestigious 8-week internship scheme for students from underrepresented backgrounds in academia. Each year we receive >60 competitive applicants for two positions and our interns consistently produce high-quality research.
2026 Summer Industry Internship Opportunity
We’re excited to share an 8‑week paid summer industry internship with COMET, open to 2nd–4th year undergraduates with the Right to Work in the UK.
Research project: Investigating how depth uncertainty propagates through probabilistic seismic hazard models
Supervisors: Dr Alice Turner and Professor Alex Copley (University of Cambridge) & Dr Will Sturgeon and Dr Luke Wedmore (MS Amlin)
Global earthquake catalogues are automatically-generated, and are known to poorly
constrain earthquake depths. Recent results (e.g., Wimpenny and Watson, 2021) have
shown that where more accurate techniques are used, involving human input, much more
accurate depth estimates can be obtained, and these often differ by more than 10 km
from those in the catalogues. This difference has huge implications when assessing
earthquake hazard, because of the extreme sensitivity of ground-shaking to the depth of
the causative earthquakes. Hazard assessments are often undertaken using Ground
Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs), using poorly-constrained catalogue depths as
input constraints for the likely depths of future events.
This project will assess the effects of using accurately-constrained earthquake depths on
the assessment of earthquake hazard. It will focus on the North Anatolian Fault Zone in
Turkey, which hosts large, damaging earthquakes in close proximity to major population
centres.. Over the 8 weeks of the placement, the student will determine accurate depths
of earthquakes in the region (data collection). They will then estimate earthquake hazard
metrics from both the accurately-determined depths, and the previously-used poorly
constrained catalogue depths, and thereby establish how earthquake depth accuracy
influences hazard assessment.
How to Apply:
Eligibility: To be eligible for this scheme you must: (1) be a current 2nd-4th year
undergraduate student with no prior research internship experience, and (2) hold the right
to work in the UK. Earth Sciences is the least diverse STEM subject, and therefore we
strongly encourage applicants from minority backgrounds and those who are the
first generation in their families to have attended University.
Salary: Interns will be paid at the Real Living Wage at the host institution (£470 pw, 35
hours per week) with pro-rata holiday allowance. Small expense budget to facilitate industry collaboration.
Application form: Apply via the application form (takes around 20 minutes to complete)
Application deadline: Friday 5 June 2026, 5.00pm
You can see examples of previous projects below:
2025 – Large InSAR dataset for training foundational machine learning models
2024 – Influence of Crustal Heterogeneity of Volcanic Deformation
2023 – Methods for Measuring Volcanic Plume Heights
2022 – Improving Building Exposure Datasets using High-Res Imagery and Deep
Learning
Opportunities
There are many benefits to being an industrial partner for the COMET Internship. These include:
- The ability to hire short-term roles to address your specific research challenges
- Access to world-leading technical expertise in Tectonics, Volcanology, Hazards, Atmospheric Science, Artificial Intelligence and Earth Observation
- Attracting talented students and identify future graduate hires
- Developing or testing out new and exciting collaborations with Universities
Expectations of Industrial Co-supervisors
- Co-designed internship projects that ensure students are developing industry-relevant skills and knowledge of industrial practice
- Providing expertise and know-how through co-supervision
- Hosting intern during a short placement
- Co-fund the internship at 50% FTE (£1750-2000, dependent on institution)
- Contribute £500 towards research costs and travel for intern
- Provide training on, and access to, relevant technology for the project
Expectations for COMET member co-supervisors
- Contact potential industry partners
- Co-design the project idea with industry partner
- Host the intern at your home institution
- Provide training on and access to relevant technology
Deadlines
| February-March 2026 | COMET members and/or industry experts submit a project proposal with co-supervisors (Deadline – End of March) |
| April 2026 | Project proposals reviewed and funding awards made |
| April 2026 | Internships advertised to students |
| July-August 2026 | Interns conduct project |
| January 2027 | Interns present their work at the COMET student meeting |
Further Information
For further details, please email: [email protected] with your enquiry.
Proposal Form
If you are a COMET member or industry representative interested in taking part in this programme, please follow the link below to fill out a proposal form:
COMET Industry Internship Proposal Form
