Summer internships

Students gathered around a poster.

MARS summer vacation internships

MARS is committed to nurturing the next generation of mathematical innovators, developing their knowledge and skills to solve real-world challenges and help shape the future of AI.

Each year, we’re offering the brightest and best mathematics undergraduate students the opportunity to join our Summer Internships Scheme.

This scheme offers a unique opportunity for Lancaster University mathematics students to work alongside our talented MARS academics, gaining first-hand experience of cutting-edge research and an invaluable insight into the world of academic and applied innovation.

Student writing on post-it notes on glass

Internships for summer 2026

The MARS Summer Internships Scheme gives undergraduate students a taster of what it is like to do research. You will have a supervisor who will design the research project and meet with you regularly to discuss it, as well as opportunities to interact with staff and PhD students in the department.

The Internships will take place in the summer vacation before your final year of study and will last eight weeks. Students will be employed as interns during the period of their internship. All students undertaking Internships will receive payment equal to at least the national living wage.

Applications for 2026 will open in the Lent term so watch this space for details on how to apply.

Students in lecture theatre

Eligibility

The scheme is open to Lancaster University students, registered for an undergraduate degree programme in the School of Mathematics Sciences, who are on track to obtain a first class or 2:1 degree.

Students must be in their penultimate year of study (i.e. in the second year of a three-year degree, or in the third year of a four-year degree). Students who are currently in their final year and who will have completed their degree by the summer are not eligible.

Students who are planning to defer their examinations are not eligible.

Working alongside academics and PhD students on diffusion models was the highlight of my summer. The environment was incredibly supportive. Participating in research groups and collaborating on a paper made me feel like a valued member of the team rather than just a student. It completely changed my perspective on research and led me to apply for the MARS PhD programme.

A quote from Henry Oldroyd MARS Summer Internship Student

Internship projects 2025

We welcomed our first cohort of summer interns in 2025 who worked on a range of projects aligned with MARS research areas:

Atoms

Uncertainty quantification for ML interatomic potentials

Ricky Chan worked with Dr Maciej Buze to develop better ways of measuring uncertainty in machine learning models that simulate atomic behaviour. Their approach uses approximation theory to reveal when predictions may be unreliable, leading to safer and more trustworthy tools for discovering new materials.

Human cells

Improving accuracy of point source model for diffusion approximation

Aled Evans worked with Dr Eduard Campillo-Funollet and Dr Alice Peng to improve models that simulate how cells release and spread chemical signals. They tested numerical methods to make a simplified point source model more accurate, helping it better match detailed simulations while remaining efficient to run.

Image with noise

How do diffusion models generate images?

Henry Oldroyd worked with Dr Henry Moss to explain how modern diffusion models generate images. Their project shows how these models add and remove noise, reconstruct images, and use special interpolation techniques to blend ideas smoothly, helping us better understand and control AI-generated imagery.

Coronovirus

Fitting COVID-19 data with SIR models

Amy Robinson worked with Dr Jess Bridgen and Dr Lloyd Chapman to use SIR epidemic models to study how COVID-19 spreads. They estimated the infection and recovery rates that determine the average number of people one infected person infects helping to assess how harmful an outbreak may be.

Linked icons