Summer of IP is an outreach campaign led by the Careers in Ideas team. Its purpose is to raise awareness of IP-related careers, encourage a wider range of people to pursue them, and improve access to them by providing “taster” activities and guidance. Longer-term, of course, our aim is to increase equality, diversity and inclusivity within the UK’s IP sector.

The Summer of IP events and resources are open to anyone who’s interested in learning more about a career in IP. Whether you’re a secondary school student, university student, graduate or career changer, this is for you!

The programme includes a range of activities featuring different IP-related roles and for people at different stages of their education or career.

With the help of our Careers in Ideas contacts, for example outreach and social mobility charities, we promote the campaign in particular to people in currently under-represented groups.

Summer of IP 2026 is taking place throughout the summer of 2026. It will kick off officially with a Launch Event on Wednesday 13 May directed at outreach organisations and careers advisors. This will explain how Summer of IP works and the types of opportunities it will offer for people considering a career in IP. It will also provide a great overview of all the different career roles available in IP, so will be a fantastic opportunity for careers advisors and others to expand the insights they can provide as part of careers advice and support.

The introductory materials and resources will be promoted via this page as they become available. Events and opportunities will also be available to view on our Events calendar. Please do check ahead to make sure you don’t miss any application deadlines.

For IP sector employers who would like to offer an opportunity as part of the 2026 programme, we’re now accepting registrations: see below.