Professional Volunteering Scheme

UWE Bristol's Professional Volunteering Scheme connects voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations with students from creative disciplines.

Students use their skills to support real projects and can help you tell stories, reach communities, and showcase your impact through photography, design, illustration, writing, social media and more. 

The scheme runs twice a year, with submission deadlines in August and December.

To discuss your idea, email: volunteering@uwe.ac.uk.

Students can support standalone creative and communications projects such as:

• Photography for events, campaigns or publications
• Graphic design for posters, impact reports and social media
• Short videos or animations to capture stories
• Illustrations for exhibitions or fundraising materials
• Blog writing, journalism or creative writing
• Audio editing or podcast creation
• Curation and research-based community engagement content

Previous professional volunteering projects

Students come from a range of subjects, including fashion, marketing, digital media, history and drama.

UWE Bristol students have:

• Created illustrations celebrating local people
• Designed fundraising merchandise
• Produced videos about youth projects
• Developed wellbeing content based on museum collections
• Created programmes for community theatre.

Time commitment

• Most projects take 10 to 30 hours
• Larger projects can be completed by small groups of two to four students.

1. Submit your brief - submit your project idea using the online form by:
   • 31 August (Autumn cycle)
   • 1 December (Spring cycle)
2. Briefs are shared with students - we promote opportunities and begin matching students.
3. Meet your students - you’ll be introduced by email. You then arrange an initial meeting to agree the approach, outputs and timeline.
4. Volunteering period (from mid-October / mid-February) - students complete induction and begin work. UWE Bristol checks in regularly and offers support.
5. Project completion - students deliver the agreed outputs by 31 January or 31 May.

A clear brief helps attract the right students.

What to include:

• A clear, standalone project
• Your aims and desired outcomes
• Any deadlines or key dates
• The number of students needed.

Keep it flexible: be open to different creative approaches and student ideas.

How we support you

We review briefs and suggest improvements where needed. While we cannot guarantee a match, we will help make your project as appealing as possible.

UWE Bristol's role

• Develop the brief with you
• Promote the opportunity to students
• Match students to projects and make introductions
• Provide guidance to students on expectations and project delivery 
• Offer ongoing support during the project to you and our students
• Provide guidance on working with students and resolving any challenges.

Your role

• Provide a named staff contact for students
• Offer guidance, regular communication and clear tasks
• Ensure a safe, supportive environment and follow relevant policies (data protection, DBS checks if required)
• Support students’ learning and contribution.

Get in touch

If you’d like support shaping your project or want to check if it’s suitable for the scheme, contact the Civic and Community Engagement Team: volunteering@uwe.ac.uk. 

Please quote “Professional Volunteering” in the subject line. 

Submit your brief

Submit your project briefs using the online form on our Careers hub platform, UWE Bristol’s platform for advertising opportunities to students.

Submission deadlines:

• 31 August (Autumn cycle)
• 1 December (Spring cycle)

Submit your project brief

New to Careers Hub?

If you’re new to the Career Hub, you will need to register your organisation.

Once your registration is approve by the team, you'll be able to log in, submit briefs and advertise opportunities to students.