Kickstart Your Career
Our flagship Fellowship Program brings together talented and curious graduates in a cohort-based learning environment to train in startup skills, tools and mindset and gain practical work experience at a startup to kickstart your career.
Application on rolling basis to be considered for Fellowship Program APPLY NOW!
Our Industry Partners
Fellowship Program Benefits
Just as businesses innovate to stay ahead, so should you as you work towards securing your dream job. We don’t teach you to write resumes, or perform in job interviews. We guide you to uncover your talents, upskill and be future ready.
01
Experiential Learning– Our Fellows will gain experiential learning through placements and Internships in Startups and innovative companies
02
Fellowship – Meet other like-minded fellows, give and receive peer support & build lasting friendships.
03
Accelerate your journey to career success with structured programming, personalised guidance and access to resources.
04
Mentors – Be guided by industry experts and mentors.
05
Network – Opportunities to meet and expand your professional network.
06
Community – be part of the fellowship community for life!
Internship Areas
Help a Startup Launch
Internships as Business Analyst, General Business, Marketing, Sales, Project Management
Help a Startup Build
Internships as UI/UX Designer, Product Designer, Front End, Backend, DevOps, QA, Data Analyst
Help a Startup Scale
Internships in Marketing, Sales, Customer Support, Tech Support and many more
Illume Fellows
Shweta Singh
Master in Information Systems
“The program introduced me to several concepts such as value creation, innovation process, business model canvas, design thinking, social entrepreneurship, etc which helped me broaden my knowledge and understanding of the startup environment. This helped me secure a full-time role with a fast growing, innovative, global startup.”
Khairul Zaki
Bachelors in Computer Science
“Contrary to my past internships, Illume fellowship helped me develop the ‘right mindset’ to work in a startup where I get to explore other areas and not just a specific role or a team. It was highly valuable for someone like me coming from a technical background with limited knowledge in entrepreneurship and professional domain. I got offered a job with the same startup.”
Aadesh Rana
Master in Information Technology
“Illume foundation helped me kickstart my professional career in Australia, with not only providing me an internship opportunity but guiding and mentoring me throughout the program.
After completing the program, I was able to land a full-time position with the same company as a junior software developer.”
Belle Shui
Master in Marketing Communication
“One of the highlights of the program was the internship. Interning at a start-up has been a great learning experience. Gaining first-hand experience and insights into the inner workings of a fast-paced working environment. And it definitely provided ample opportunities for me to complete new tasks and put theories into practice. I landed a role with the company I interned with.”
Yesha Patel
Master in Entrepreneurship
“My experience in the program has been interesting, insightful and very exciting. I managed to land a role in a company I had been following for some time and was in an industry I was interested in. Our weekly sessions with the guest speakers allowed me to make the most out of the inspirational speakers and steer conversations to areas I am keen to learn more about.”
Abhijit Bhaumik
Master in Information Systems
“Under the guidance of our mentors, not only did we get to learn new things about topics (which we previously had a very high level or no knowledge about), but we also got an opportunity to communicate and express our ideas and insights. The biggest highlight was the fact that I got to make new friends, interact with various mentors, and broaden my network.”
James Chen
Bachelors in Commerce
“What stood out the most for me was that the mentors and speakers shared common passion towards entrepreneurship, innovation and impact and were willing to genuinely share their life/startup experience and career tips with fellows. This not only helped me to hone new skills but also empowered me to become more entrepreneurial-minded and creative.”
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About our Programs:
#Illume Fellowship Startup Program: For work experience at a startup.
#Illume Regional Activation Program: For work experience at Regional Victoria based Startups.
More about Internships: Paid & Unpaid Internships Available! All unpaid and stipend based internships must be taken towards your course credit towards your university degree. Volunteering opportunities available at not for profit organisations.
Eligibility:
- Currently enrolled at any Australian University or graduated in the last 1 year from Australian University
- Interested in startups with growth mindset and willingness to learn!
What am i expected to do?
Be available for placement at host companies for atleast 20 hours per week (or as per course requirement)
Attend weekly educational sessions at the Illume Foundation (Every Monday, 6pm to 8:30pm)
Be willing to ‘Pay it Forward’ by mentoring other graduates
Bring Enthusiasm! Positive Attitude! Curiosity!
Cost:
- With our commitment to fostering startups in Victoria, we are offering 100% Scholarships (worth over $3500) to candidates selected into the program. Just tell us why you need this scholarship.
Practical Experience:
- As part of the program, all our Fellows will paired with our industry partners for placements and internships. The placements can be paid or unpaid. Unpaid placements are to be taken towards course credit as ‘Self sourced Internship’.
While some of our alumni have been able to secure a paid employment with their host companies, please note there’s no job guarantee after the program. What we can guarantee is a great learning experience & network to make a difference in your career journey!
Frequently Asked Questions
Eligibility
The program encourages graduates from diverse backgrounds and degrees to apply. However, we do require you to be enrolled in an Australian University to be considered for the fellowship.
In addition to this, we require you to be either a current student or have graduated within the last 12 months from Australian University.
We encourage all students, irrespective of the level of their degrees to start thinking about practical work experience, hence the fellowship is available to students from first to final year in degree including those who have graduated within the last 12 months.
We also encourage you to stay in touch, subscribe to our newsletter as we bring graduate focused events and short courses that might be useful and interesting to you
Yes, our fellowship programs are designed to meet international student’s needs and include sessions targeted to understand cultural aspects of working in Australia as well as opportunities to meet local mentors.
If selected for opportunities such as a job or internship, we do require that you meet your visa obligation to be eligible.
Our goal is to connect Australian graduates with companies hence, we do require you to have an Australian degree to be eligible for this program.
We will introduce programs for non-Australian degree holders soon, so please stay tuned. We also offer events and career related information useful for all so do subscribe to our newsletter.
With our commitment to fostering startups in Victoria, we are offering 100% Scholarships (worth over $3500) to candidates selected into the program.
Just tell us why you need this scholarship.
Program
All our programs are delivered remotely. However, there may be times where you will be required for in-person meetings such as Induction, Alumni Mixer, Graduation Dinner.
*Please note- Fellows from Regional Activation program are required to attend weekend intensives (accomodation and travel cost paid for by the company). Please check the program calendar for the dates.
For traineeship placements, please check with your host company on how you will be working them.
In each cohort we take around 10-15 fellows. It is a highly selective process, so we highly encourage you to apply early as well as tell us why you’d be a great fit for the program.
Here’s the break down of fellowship minimum commitment required:
Educational: 2.5 hrs weekly sessions at the Foundation.
Traineeship: Minimum 20 hrs per week with your host company. We believe in adding value to your and company experience!
Session Preparation: Upto 2 hrs per week to prepare for upcoming sessions and stay on top of your fellowship.
We operate on a culture of respect. We require that all Fellows hold themselves at the highest standards as ambassadors in our community. We will go through our values and code of conduct (which will be covered during inductions) which will ensure that we hopefully won’t have to do so in the future!
While some of our fellows have been offered employment opportunities after the program, we cannot guarantee this. However, what we can guarantee is a great learning experience and a network to make a difference in your career journey.
While we are working hard to find paid placements, not all traineeships will be paid. This depends on the company requirement. If you’re still enrolled in Australian University, all unpaid internships must be taken towards course credit.
Those that have already graduated can take unpaid Traineeship in the field of their degree. This will be a traineeship with additional training for our graduates.
All placements must meet FairWork Act Australia.
Application
Unfortunately, we are unable to do a meeting at this time, if you have any questions, please contact us via contact page.
Absolutely not. All information you submit to us throughout the selection process will remain strictly confidential and private.
Unfortunately, we can’t accept applications past the deadline. We plan to run several cohorts of the program so be sure to check when the next intake is.
We understand that you will be very keen to hear back about the status of your application, and we will endeavour to process applications as soon as we can. At each stage of the process you will be notified about when you can expect a response by.
We make every effort to provide each unsuccessful candidate with feedback about their application. Unfortunately, due to the volume of applications, we can’t guarantee a quick response time.