Institute of Continuing Education (ICE)
Every year we employ a team of current University of Cambridge students to support the permanent team to run the University of Cambridge's official International Summer Programme. These rewarding customer-facing assignments working with academics and adult learners will give you valuable transferable skills to enhance your CV.
8 temporary CSA worker assignments: 36.5 hours per week (on a rota basis)
Dates and duration of assignments: 7 July to 9 August 2025 (5 weeks - includes training and is subject to the University’s rules on working while you study)
Rate of pay: £12.61 per hour plus holiday pay
Location: Cambridge
How to apply: If you are a University of Cambridge undergraduate or graduate student please send your CV and 400-word statement to us at: intenq @ ice.cam.ac.uk
Closing date: Friday 28 March 2025
The University of Cambridge's official International Summer Programme will run in Cambridge from 13 July to 9 August 2025 and we hope to welcome over 900 participants. Many will be undergraduate or graduate students, but a large proportion of our student community will be aged 25-80+.
The Cambridge Student Assistants (CSAs) play an important role in supporting the permanent team to deliver the International Summer Programme.
Key responsibilities include:
- Act as the first point of contact for students and answer enquiries
- Prepare Welcome Packs and Register students on arrival Sundays
- Liaise with College staff about student accommodation and meals
- Support academic staff with IT, audiovisual equipment and set up in teaching rooms
- Photocopying
- Oversee student attendance
- Make announcements at dinners and other events
- Oversee evening talks
- Maintain good customer relations and provide a professional service.
Accommodation:
Fully subsidised, bed-only accommodation will be provided in a location close to the teaching site for those who wish to take this up.
Required skills:
- Excellent customer service, organisational, administrative, time-keeping and problem-solving skills
- A high standard of communication and interpersonal skills
- The ability to work under pressure and display patience, tact and a calm manner.
Candidates will also need to be comfortable with IT and audiovisual equipment.
Preferably, applicants will have experience of working with adults, and will have experience of voluntary or paid customer-facing roles.
Additional requirements:
Candidates should currently be studying at the University and must be willing to be resident within a 15-minute reach of the Colleges where the International Summer Programme participants are housed (Newnham, Queens’, Selwyn, St Catharine’s and St John's) throughout the full period of employment.
Candidates must be available to work for the whole assignment and accommodate different working patterns across the week including evenings and weekends. Candidates should highlight any dates or events that might affect their availability (for example: graduation).
How to apply:
If you would like to apply for a role, please submit your professional CV (with names and details of two referees) and a supporting statement of no more than 400 words outlining your interest in this opportunity to: intenq @ ice.cam.ac.uk - Please use the subject header: CSA Application.
The closing date for applications is Friday 28 March 2025 23:59 (BST). Interviews will take place in the week commencing 28 April 2025 (dates to be confirmed). Please note that if you have not heard from us regarding your application by Monday 14 April 2025, you have not been successful in securing an interview on this occasion.
Successful applicants will be employed via the Temporary Employment Service (TES).
The University values diversity and is committed to equality of opportunity.
I began my summer work with the Institute of Continuing Education in 2021, shortly after graduating with my BA in Education at the University of Cambridge. The International Summer Festival of Learning was entirely virtual, and over a period of several weeks I had the pleasure of meeting with the team online, pairing up with fellow Cambridge Student Assistants to deliver Q&A sessions for the Pre-University students, and – mostly – carefully editing and captioning recordings of lectures. My colleagues spoke so fondly of the in-person Summer Programmes that I simply had to apply again the following year – and what a joy the summer of 2022 was!
Meeting hundreds of people from around the world was truly incredible. From manning the fort in the evening plenaries, to setting up lecture theatres, to dining with the lovely students staying at Selwyn College and to running around College making sure everyone was catered to, the CSA role was challenging and fun. I was so lucky - the core team at ICE and my fellow CSAs were wonderful people to work with: kind, hilarious and committed to delivering quality services. I have many happy memories of this summer and feel privileged to have been a part of it.
Ultimately, the Summer Programmes (and ICE more generally) are all about bringing people together in the spirit of shared learning. They enrich everyone involved. I am so thankful for my time there.
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