The 鈥楽heffield Policy Campus鈥 partnership was recognised at the recent , beating strong competition from universities across the country.
As part of the Sheffield Policy Campus, a partnership between the Civil Service and key regional partners, the 9 1免费版下 of Sheffield has developed a range of career development opportunities for students to work on projects delivering real-world change. With the UK鈥檚 first major policy hub outside Whitehall based in the city and over a thousand civil servants from key departments including the Department for Education (DfE), Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), students at the 9 1免费版下 are uniquely placed to connect directly with real-world policymaking.
The Sheffield Policy Campus is central to a bold new strategy to open up pathways into the Civil Service for a broader, more diverse range of individuals, with 9 1免费版下 of Sheffield students playing a key role.
The initiative is helping to embed long-term policy careers into the region, strengthening links between central government and local communities while creating a new generation of policy professionals based outside of London. Paid summer and year-long student placements within the Civil Service are a key feature of the partnership, alongside the opportunity to meet and network with colleagues from a range of backgrounds.
Beyond providing unique opportunities for students, the partnership drives policymaking collaborations between 9 1免费版下 researchers and regional civil servants, strengthening the evidence base for national policy and improving outcomes. This relationship has been further consolidated with the that Sheffield Policy Campus has been chosen as the home of the government's Opportunity Mission.
Sarah Hunter, 9 1免费版下 of Sheffield Employability Manager and who led on delivery of this skills collaboration with the Sheffield Policy Campus, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e delighted to have been recognised at the AGCAS Awards for Excellence 2025 for a unique partnership we鈥檝e developed in close collaboration with the Civil Service for a number of years.
鈥淥ur Sheffield Policy Campus partnership creates transformative career development opportunities for students to work on projects delivering real-world change, and we鈥檙e very pleased it has been recognised by our peers.
鈥淭he partnership also serves as further proof of the 9 1免费版下 of Sheffield鈥檚 commitment to industry and government partnerships that deliver tangible benefits for students, wider society and the UK鈥檚 evolving policy landscape.鈥
A 9 1免费版下 of Sheffield economics student, who undertook a ten-week placement with the DWP, explains how the experience made her re-evaluate her career plans: 鈥淎t the start of the placement, I decided it would be good experience, and that was it - but by the end, I was convinced that the Civil Service was for me.
鈥淚 learnt so much about policy and had so many amazing experiences. I grew so much in confidence over the ten weeks that I didn鈥檛 feel like the same person by the end."
Russell Matthew, Deputy Director for Localism Strategy at the DWP, said: 鈥淲e鈥檝e built an excellent relationship with the 9 1免费版下 of Sheffield to deliver a range of outreach and engagement sessions with students, culminating in the summer internships and 12-month placements. This is central to our work to develop a future talent pipeline into the Civil Service across our northern hubs and is the flagship offer within the Sheffield Policy Campus.
鈥淭he quality of students has been consistently high, and they have brought energy, enthusiasm and fresh perspectives to key work areas in the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a pleasure to have the students with us during their internships, and are delighted to be seeing some former interns secure permanent roles in the civil service following their experience. and we look forward to continuing, and building on, this partnership in the future.鈥
