The Academy WIL Program gives students a valuable opportunity to significantly develop their design skills, which benefits their studies, work after University, and provides a pathway to a paid internship position at BMW Group overseas.

Yes, you must be enrolled in QUT WIL unit to apply for the Academy internship program. Please contact the WIL team (ci.wilsupport@qut.edu.au) for eligibility requirements and any questions you may have.

If completing a WIL unit is not possible for you, or not of interest, we also offer projects for the Capstone units in select design degrees. We offer projects each year and can also facilitate student initiated projects (please speak with us for information and to confirm prior).

Typically our Internship Program is only for School of Design (SoD) students (Industrial, Visual Communication, Interaction and Fashion), however projects can sometimes be open to Games Design students or other disciplines. If we are seeking applications from outside the SoD for the upcoming semester we will advertise this across our social media platforms.

Students enrolled in a double degree (examples: Design and Engineering, Design and Business) are able to apply.

Academy WIL Program interns are fortunate in the way that they get to choose what internship project they want to complete from our list of projects that semester. We aim to provide a variety of projects either created by the Academy, or real BMW projects which are offered by teams in Germany. These can be conceptual, or more tangible and realistic design briefs across Industrial, Visual Communication and/or Interaction Design areas. This usually includes areas like 3D modelling and visualisation/presentation, UI/UX and app design, hardware design, robotics and even VR, just to name a few.

As our WIL Program is ultimately designed to be a stepping stone to the BMW Group Internships, most of the project themes and the skills taught are tailored towards the work that our BMW Group partners are doing.

We seek high-achieving students for our WIL Program. It is essential that students have a professional attitude, a desire to excel and continually improve, an ability to follow instructions with the initiative to find solutions independently, and is someone who takes their future career seriously. Competency in problem solving, research, sketching, visualisation and presentation areas is required. While experience with 3D modelling (Blender, Fusion360 or similar), the Adobe Suite, prototyping software, and AR, VR and/or coding languages is favourable, it is not essential.

If you aren’t accepted, don’t worry! You can always apply next semester if it fits your study plan. We also provide general feedback to unsuccessful applicants to help you improve your design skills and portfolio.

The Academy Internships are based at QUT Kelvin Grove Campus in our Alpha Studio workspace.

The Academy internship program has a duration of 100hrs, with a schedule of 2 days per week.

Applications open at the start of each semester, however specific dates are always advertised online and through online or in-class information sessions. The online information sessions, if being held, are advertised on our social media platforms and generally occur in O-Week or Week 1 of semester. During the presentation we introduce you to the Academy, our Internship Program, plus the internship projects on offer for that semester (some details may be withheld if confidential/live BMW Group projects are on offer). Specific application details and some time for a Q+A are included.

You can register your interest for the Academy Internship program here, and the team will contact you prior to the start of your nominated semester. Students are welcome to attend the information sessions even if they are not eligible for a WIL unit just yet, or are looking to apply for a future semester.

Yes! You are able to apply for a BMW Group Internship without completing an Academy WIL internship prior. The Academy WIL Program is designed to upskill and prepare students before a potential BMW internship, it can be more beneficial to have undertaken an Academy Internship first.

Both students and graduates can apply and will be considered. It is very important to note that BMW has a rule in place where graduates cannot start their internship more than one year from their graduation date. Graduating from QUT while interning overseas can also cause headaches with the Work Visa, so it is not recommended.

The BMW Internship Program is typically open to School of Design (SoD) students (Industrial, Interaction, Visual Communication). However as new teams and opportunities open, or new projects emerge, other disciplines such as Animation and Games Design may be considered. Information about the students we are seeking for each internship role is advertised for each application round, in addition to presentations and staff announcements to specific disciplines.

Students enrolled in a double degree (examples: Design and Engineering, Design and Business) can also apply.

We seek high-achieving students for the BMW Group Internship Program. It is essential that students have a professional attitude, a desire to excel and continually improve, an ability to follow instructions with the initiative to find solutions independently, and someone who takes their future career seriously. Competency in problem solving, research, sketching, visualisation and presentation areas is essential. Specific skills and requirements vary depending on the team and projects, but commonly used skills include 3D CAD modelling and visualisation, VR and AR, Graphic Design & UI/UX, photography, videography and animations, presentations and slide decks, and systems design. Commonly used software includes Blender, AfterEffects, PremierPro, Illustrator, Substance Painter, Omniverse and Figma. Interns can also expect to learn entirely new skills and software during their internship.

Typically our BMW Group Interns are working on research and development projects, creating prototypes and MVPs, contributing or participating in presentations and pitches for funding, supporting on-going projects, or supporting events (internal and external).

Most of the teams our BMW Group Internships are within the logistics and manufacturing areas of BMW Group. The work they do can often changes each year, however previous projects have included: UI/UX and app design, 3D modelling and texturing, systems design, a VR autoshow planning app (+ other game engine use cases), 3D animations, iconography and vectors for presentations or documentation, 3D web viewers and Digital Twin development.

BMW Group internships are full-time positions and have a duration of around 6 months, sometimes up to 12 months (depending on the team).

Currently our BMW Group internship teams are across two continents in Munich, Germany (idealworks, TechOffice Munich, Logistic Robotics & Innovation), Regensburg, Germany (Innovation Management), and Birmingham, United Kingdom (Innovation & Digitalisation - Plant Hams Hall).

No, it is not a requirement that you have German language skills. However we do recommend that you make an effort to learn the basics as it is beneficial for everyday life in Germany.

Yes. BMW HR supports the Visa process for students in Germany, but graduates are required to organise their own documents. Interns going to the UK are also responsible for their own Work Visa. The Academy provides some documentation on the process, but it is still the responsibility of the individual to check they have completed all necessary steps.

Unfortunately QUT and BMW are not able to provide financial support for individuals who have been accepted into an internship. We encourage interns to consider Government HELP loans if they require financial assistance.

Yes! BMW Group pays all of their interns - you are a BMW or idealworks employee while there. The pay is enough to support living costs.

Application dates and information for the next round of internship positions are made available here on our website, on our Instagram and LinkedIn, and in presentations to students during class.

You can register your interest for the BMW Group Internship program here, and the team will contact you prior to the start of your nominated year.