Who can apply?
The UKELA Student Vocational Bursary Scheme is an award of up to £1000 that is intended to enable students to undertake a period of vocational placement in the field of environmental law. Placements may be with a public body such as a government department, local authority, regulatory agency; with a not-for-profit organisation such as non-governmental organisation or a university department; in private practice (legal or otherwise); or any other vocational placement which would further the charitable objects of UKELA. Please see below some of our previous winners who have gone on to take up fascinating roles in the environmental and legal world.
2023 bursary
We are delighted to announce that we are accepting applications for the Student Vocational Bursary Fund 2023.
How to apply
- Please complete the following details and use this form as the cover sheet with your application with all documents set out in the form.
- It should be returned by email by Midday on Monday 22 May 2023.
All applications will be acknowledged. Decision will be announced shortly after 5 June 2023.
2022 recipients
Priya Hill, Sustainability and Environmental Management Graduate from the University of Leeds, completed a 3 month internship with the Environment Agency in Leeds during summer 2022.
“With the support of the UKELA bursary scheme I worked in an EA regulation and permitting team. I thoroughly enjoyed this internship experience and I have continued to work for the EA since the initial internship concluded. I have now moved over to the Sustainable Business Team where I work to promote Nature and Biodiversity communications across the organisation.”
Lucia Saborio Perez, LLM in Environmental Law and Policy, UCL completed a two month voluntary placement with the Environmental Defenders' Office in Australia.
"It is not possible to quantify how enriching and valuable this learning experience was. I am most grateful to UKELA for granting me the Student Vocational bursary, without which I would not have been able to undertake this opportunity. I would really encourage anyone considering applying to do so! Truly, environmental law is a rich field with many learning opportunities for students or young graduates, though too many remain out of reach without financial support. UKELA provided this welcome support and welcomed me into a great community of students, lawyers and environmentally-minded thinkers."
Previous recipients explain how the UKELA bursary helped
I was informally involved with projects that focussed on ‘instituting the rights of future generations’ into political and legal decision-making processes. The bursary gave me the opportunity to pursue the project formally with environmental NGOs working in this area and it enabled me to make new connections with others active in this area. The bursary was an excellent way to gain experience and lay important foundations for my future career.
Kirsty Schneeberger MBE, former UKELA Chair
I attended an international summer law school on the topic of comparative and international environmental law in Italy. As environmental law was not a core module at undergraduate level in the UK, the bursary enabled me to consider further study of environmental law in depth via a Masters degree, and I secured environmental law internships to gain practical experience. Without the bursary, I may not have applied for any of these, so I would strongly encourage other students to apply.
Jessica Allen, pupil at Landmark Chambers
I was very fortunate to receive a bursary to carry out an internship with ClientEarth’s energy and coal team at their Hackney office. My advice to others who may be considering a similar experience is do it! You will learn a lot, you will contribute to an organisation which does socially valuable work, you will develop your legal skills and you will meet interesting people and make contacts that will be useful in the future.
Ben Christman, lawyer at Environmental Rights Centre Scotland