Overview
Open to other students, early-career professionals and technical experts
The CCAF is open to students, early-career professionals and technical experts to apply to become an intern in our current research agenda. The CCAF’s internship programme has a remote-first approach and is therefore open to applications from all around the world.
Duration:
3 to 6 months (possible extension)
Start date:
Rolling. We select interns relative to our workload. Hence start date is to be negotiated between interns and the CCAF.
Time commitment:
Part-time 20 hours/week
Full-time 37.5 hours/week
Renumeration:
There is a possibility of a paid stipend and or reimbursement of living costs, to be mutually agreed prior to formal engagement.
Not currently recruiting
The programme
The CCAF is primarily for those who want to build specific knowledge or experience in one of the key thematic interests of the Centre. We create research focused on these themes, and the role will entail researching a topic, supporting data collection and analysis, and outreach. The candidates will be able to support CCAF in capacity building and education, and the development of digital tools. This is a great opportunity to work with the Centre’s network of influential and collaborative partners across the world.
The role
You will work with the relevant team and gain experience in research and outreach in that theme. An advantage is given to those who have worked with or for a financial regulator on the subject of alternative finance/fintech, or students pursuing education in this area, or whose subject knowledge area is relevant to the theme.
Over the course of the internship, successful candidates will work directly with the regulation team of experts at the CCAF in a dynamic, flexible research centre of excellence. They are to support the CCAF’s programmes and initiatives, including but not limited to research, capacity building and education, and the development of digital tools.
Main responsibilities
Research
A key focus of our team is research:
- scoping and summarising of literature (including academic, regulatory, and industry-specific publications)
- support with the creation of databases
- drafting surveys
- engaging with specific parts of the data and literature and writing reports under supervision
- contribution and maintenance of new and existing digital tools of the CCAF
Liaison and communication
- Stakeholder management (maintaining existing relationships).
- Partner outreach (eg regulators and multinational organisations, individual experts and contributors).
Benefits
As an intern you will:
- gain practical research experience and insights into the inner workings of a leading research institute
- work with a vibrant and diverse team across the Centre and its partners, and have access to the knowledge-sharing sharing sessions with peers and expert contributors
- may be invited to be co-authors of research papers
- will receive a certificate upon successful completion of the internship programme to accelerate your career in digital assets by enhancing your CV
Digital Assets Internship Programme
Not currently recruiting | 3 to 6 months | Remote (onsite possible)
The Digital Assets Programme is a multi-year research initiative centred around 3 thematic areas that include the climate aspects of digital assets, the configurations and processes of distributed Financial Market Infrastructure (dFMI), and emergent money systems.
My internship at the CCAF was the most rewarding experience of my career to date. I had the opportunity to contribute directly to the 2026 AI in Financial Services Report : Adoption, Impact and Risks, assisting with data collection and analysis, helping draft sections of the report, and validating the underlying data. Being trusted to deliver on work of this calibre and having my thoughts and ideas genuinely valued along the way pushed me to raise my standards and take real ownership of what I produced.
What made the experience truly stand out, though, was the people. My colleagues were not only exceptionally intelligent and highly motivated but also genuinely friendly and approachable, always willing to answer questions, share their expertise and bring me into the conversation. It’s rare to find an environment that combines that level of ambition withthat level of warmth and generosity.
I would wholeheartedly recommend such internships to anyone who is highly motivated, hungry to learn constantly, and excited by the chance to make a real contribution alongside a world-class team.
I joined the CCAF an an intern in 2025 to support research on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), an area closely aligned with my Master’s thesis evaluating the impact of DPI on financial inclusion objectives. My previous work experience, spanning the Middle East and South Asia, had been largely innovation and programme-driven, so the CCAF offered something distinct: a policy-driven research environment that complemented my Master’s in Public Policy and allowed me to build a more analytical set of capabilities.
The internship marked a genuine pivot in my career, from fintech and innovation into policy and research, with a particular focus on grassroots-level realities and visibility that are often missed in higher-level analysis. Beyond DPI, I had the opportunity to work across multiple other research areas, including data protection, open banking, and open finance, which broadened my learning considerably and exposed me to the many intersecting dimensions of financial sector policy. Working across these areas and multiple jurisdictions gave me the opportunity to understand how these challenges play out differently across geographies, and to develop the ability to engage with a diverse range of stakeholders on a global scale. The CCAF team was consistently supportive, equipping me with the research tools, frameworks and guidance I needed to grow into this new direction with confidence.
I would recommend this internship to anyone looking to be at the forefront of deep, cross-jurisdictional research and keen to build the skills needed to navigate diverse geographies and engage meaningfully with stakeholders around the world.