Join Demos Helsinki as an Intern for Autumn 2026

The application for Demos Helsinki’s Internship Programme is now open!

Whatever path you choose after your studies, navigating today’s global challenges will require curiosity, hope, and imagination. Do you want to apply those qualities toward driving positive societal change?

Demos Helsinki is looking for interns to join us for 4-month-long full-time paid internships starting between August 2026 and December 2026. Our team is diverse in terms of thematic expertise and background, and we value that same diversity in our interns. Your study background can range from the humanities to business, political science to communications, or natural sciences to the arts. We are looking for interns to join us in project work as well as our communications function!

The things that matter most to us are your motivation toward impact-driven work, your desire to take on responsibilities that help you grow, and your curiosity to turn analytical thinking into action.

Demos Helsinki

Demos Helsinki is an independent not-for-profit think tank and a community. We want to lead societal transformations for a fair, sustainable and joyful next era. For this purpose, we conduct research and offer consulting services to governments, international organisations, companies, foundations, cities and other partners in Finland and internationally. Our work is guided by our Impact Model. Our teams work on different areas of societal change with a range of diverse impact-driven projects.

Who is eligible to apply?

• You are able to work full time in Helsinki for the duration of your internship. We want our interns to get the most out of their time at Demos Helsinki. The opportunity to work with your colleagues live is a key element in ensuring this. We’ve had several interns who moved to Finland for the internship in the past! We will cover the costs of a possible residence permit, and will help you with administrative tasks.

• You are enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student at a university or a university of applied sciences during the internship OR you graduate(d) in Spring 2026 semester. Our internship programme is targeted at future experts still in training. We encourage other candidates to apply for other positions or leave an open application.

• You have full professional fluency in English. Our internal working language is English, so a good command of spoken and written English is required for the internship. Other language skills, especially Finnish, are beneficial but not required. Approximately half of the interns we recruit annually do not speak Finnish.

About our internship programme

Our internship programme has been an essential part of our community for over 15 years. Our interns have an important role in both sharing new thinking and perspectives on our existing ways of working, and contributing to our work as team members. Our teams work on different areas of societal change, and within each team there is a range of opportunities to contribute to impactful projects in those respective areas.

Based on your experience and goals, you will be able to take part in a manner that matches your interests and capabilities. During your internship you will join one of our teams, have a dedicated mentor to support you getting the most out of your time with us, and fellow interns for extra peer support.

Depending on your background, interests, and goals your work could include some or all of the following:

• Contributing to projects as an active part of the team, e.g., research, analysis, background study, workshops, and participating in client meetings

• Preparing project proposals

• Supporting project management and coordination

• Communications & digital marketing activities

• Organising events & webinars

Skills you will need

• A proactive mindset and willingness to take initiative, learn and try

• Strong writing skills & reading comprehension

• Great coordination skills and the ability to balance big and small tasks across different timelines

• Ability to engage with new information and execute rapidly with it in mind

• Humility to acknowledge when you don’t know, and the curiosity to find out

• The willingness to share your perspective, communicate your needs, and support the team

• Ability to communicate your own needs effectively, and willingness to support others through teamwork

• Ability to translate complex ideas into clear, compelling narratives for different audiences

• Fantastic slide creation skills are a big plus!

We want to engage with the most profound questions of our time. These questions do not have straightforward answers and often require us to rethink how we work together. Trust and kindness are the bedrock of our community. Together we are Demos Helsinki, and each of us, including our interns, carry the responsibility to support one another, and ask for help when needed.

What Demos Helsinki offers

• A four-month full-time internship in Helsinki, Finland, beginning at any time between August 2026 and November 2026

• A salary of 1560€/month plus eight days of paid leave during your internship

• Impact-driven work towards societal transformations in an ambitious organisation

• A dedicated home team, committed mentoring, and peer support from colleagues and fellow interns

• A collaborative, autonomous and low-hierarchy environment that allows you to take steps to grow as a professional and learn by doing

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive community, a place where we can all be ourselves and feel like we belong. This means, for example, flexible working arrangements for different situations and a physically accessible office space. We treat others with dignity and respect, do not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment and educate ourselves constantly.

The application process

1. Apply: Submit your application through our website. The applications are primarily evaluated based on the pre-assignment. This call is open until Sunday, 19th April 2026, 23:59 (Helsinki time).

2. Information: We will inform everyone if their application is moving forward by the 6th of May. We select around 25 candidates to take part in the workshop and interview.

3. Workshop: Monday 11th of May 9-12 (Helsinki time). During the session, we’ll introduce Demos Helsinki and invite you to work on an assignment in small groups. The workshop takes place live at our office, Mechelininkatu 3d, Helsinki. Remote participation is possible for those who live far away. When applying, please reserve the workshop day from your calendar.

4. Individual interviews: May 18–22. Each workshop invitee will also attend a 30-minute individual interview. You may choose to meet with us at our office or join remotely online.

Anonymous recruitment: The first phase of our selection is anonymous. We review your preliminary assignment and application form with personal details (name, age, etc.) hidden to ensure the selection is influenced only by relevant information.

Questions & Contact

If you have additional questions regarding the internship recruitment, contact Aino Hyvönen at +358 401577679 on 9th of April between 14-15:30 or 14th of April between 9-10:30 (Helsinki time). You can also reach out via email to aino.hyvonen@demoshelsinki.fi.