About Movement in Refuge (MiR)
MiR is an international organisation promoting physical and mental health through sport and movement training to create safe, structured opportunities for conflict-affected communities. We started in the Rohingya refugee camps along the Bangladesh Myanmar border, home to one of the world’s largest refugee settlements, since 2017.
Our work is grounded in the conviction that sports and movement are beneficial to everyone and that people who have suffered enormous trauma and upheaval would greatly benefit from healthy movement, play and sport.
Together with our Bangladeshi partner NGO Sports for Hope and Independence (SHI), we deliver safe, dynamic and consistent coaching for women and girls, separately, for men and boys. Our trainers come from Bangladeshi Universities with degrees in physical education and sports science. They train refugees we refer to as community-based coaches - who are from and live in the refugee camps. Our planned academic partnerships with the University of Edinburgh, Leeds Beckett University, i-coach kids, will anchor our practice in research, and our growing connections across the UN system mean our work is scaling. We are at a pivotal moment and need your support to achieve our potential.
The Role
As Global University Outreach Lead, you will use your own position as a student to build MiR’s presence within the global university network. This means identifying and connecting with students, student societies, sports clubs, and academic departments who want to get involved with MiR, as future interns, advocates, fundraisers, or event partners.
You will keep MiR leadership informed of outreach activity and the recruitment pipeline, ensuring that student engagement aligns with MiR’s current priorities and open positions. Being a lead within MiR means showing initiative and proactively seeking out opportunities to grow the organisation.
Key Responsibilities
Leverage your existing university networks to recruit students to MiR’s internship and volunteer programme.
Identify and reach out to relevant student societies, sports clubs, departments, and networks.
Represent MiR at university events, including roundnet tournaments, society fairs, and fundraising activities.
Promote MiR through flyers, social media, and peer-to-peer outreach.
Keep MiR leadership regularly updated on outreach activities and prospective recruits.
Explore and develop university partnership opportunities such as fundraising events and collaborative projects.
Take initiative in identifying new ways to grow MiR’s presence within the university community.
What You Will Gain
Being part of the MiR internship programme means joining a lean, fast-moving international development organisation at a pivotal moment in its growth.
You will gain:
Hands-on experience in international humanitarian and development work, with a focus on sport for development, child protection, and psychosocial wellbeing.
Real responsibility and meaningful work - not peripheral tasks.
A substantive entry for your CV, portfolio, or academic reflection.
A formal reference letter from MiR leadership on successful completion.
Access to MiR’s growing network of academic, UN, and civil society partners.
Mentorship from practitioners with decades of field experience across the UN system and international NGOs.
Time Commitment
5–20 hours per week, over a minimum of 4 months. This is a remote, unpaid internship. Hours are flexible and can be arranged around your academic commitments, with scope to increase your contribution during holidays or free periods if that suits you.
How You Will Be Supported
MiR is small but structured. Every intern is assigned a direct point of contact within our team who will oversee your work and provide regular feedback. You will receive a structured induction covering MiR’s mission, values, safeguarding framework, and current priorities. We hold regular team check-ins and will not leave you to figure things out alone.
We take your development seriously. We want you to leave with more skills, more confidence, and a clearer understanding of how impactful organisations operate in complex environments.
Eligibility
If you are a university student in any discipline with a genuine interest in MiR’s mission: using sport and movement to improve lives in some of the world’s most challenging humanitarian settings. Experience with student societies, outreach, or event organising is an advantage.