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Gaining work experience is valuable as it can help you decide what you want to do after graduation and boost your chance of success in whatever career you choose. The Careers Service website provides a guide to internships, and the other ways in which you can gain experience: http://www.ed.ac.uk/careers/looking-for-work/internships Be proactive. Many organisations do not advertise their vacation work opportunities simply because they do not need to. They are frequently approached by keen students who have targeted them, researched their opportunities and made a speculative application. This approach can also be effective when contacting academic researchers you would like to work with. Social media can also be an effective tool when looking for work experience opportunities: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/careers/looking-for-work/social-media

More tips on finding unadvertised vacancies can be found at:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/careers/looking-for-work/graduate-jobs/finding-unadvertised

Laboratory and research related vacation work

There are a good number of opportunities around but these are often not advertised widely

and may require you to seek them out. Start talking to academic staff, personal tutors, PhD

students, your lab supervisors and Deanery staff to let them know you want to get some lab

experience. Check journals and look online to find out where the research which interests

you is being carried out. You can also explore companies in the sector(s) and location(s)

which interest you. The links provided below should help you to get started:

Government Departments / Agencies / NHS Laboratories:

Civil Service - You can search for internships in the Civil Service and central government organisations at: https://www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cgi

Defence Science and Technology Laboratory – this Ministry of Defence centre of scientific excellence runs a summer vacation scheme: www.dstl.gov.uk/careers/stuopps.php

Health Protection Agency - offers diagnostic service for hospitals, the following site includes details of regional laboratories in England: www.hpa.org.uk/ProductsServices/MicrobiologyPathology

Health Protection Scotland – for links to Scottish Reference Laboratories see: www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/reflab/index.aspx

Scotland’s Health on the Web (SHOW) - links to NHS jobs (including temporary jobs), to NHS organisations by region, and specialist health support facilities can be found at: http://www.scot.nhs.uk/nhsscotland-recruitment/

British Society for Immunology – Find a clinical immunologist resource will help you to locate labs throughout the UK - https://www.immunology.org/public-information/find-a-clinical-immunologist/scotland

BSI also offers communications & policy internships; PhD students are preferred - https://www.immunology.org/careers/bsi-internship-scheme

#ExperienceWorks Work Experience for Biomedical Sciences

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Industry:

Careers Service, our online Occupations resource provides links to professional organisations and industry bodies which can help you identify potential employers: http://www.ed.ac.uk/careers/your-future/options/occupations.

MyCareerHub, as well as searching for job opportunities you can also search for organisations to identify possible employers (e.g. scientific, biotech, consultancy or pharmaceutical). https://mycareerhub.ed.ac.uk

Equate Scotland, Careerwise – offers paid summer placements, 8-12 weeks, for women studying STEM subjects. In addition, some 1-year work placements are available and for final year students. Summer 2018 opportunities will be advertised in 2 rounds. Round 1 opens on 14th October and will close on 13th January 2018. Round 2 opens on 10th February 2018 and will close on 24th March 2018. www.equatescotland.org.uk/projects/careerwise/#students

Saltire Scholar Internship Programme – open to penultimate year students of any degree discipline. High-potential undergraduates from Scottish universities with leading global and entrepreneurial companies, charities, social enterprises, and small and medium sized enterprises. In 2017,165 students gained placements, some with lifesciences employers. Application information will be available during semester 1. www.entrepreneurialscotland.com/saltire-scholar-internship-programme

SCOTGRAD, Scottish Life Sciences Internship Programme – offers paid internships in the Lifesciences sector. These open for applications in February. www.scotgrad.co.uk/students/scottish-life-sciences-internship-programme

Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry – provides work experience advice, lists of pharmaceutical recruiters, and details of undergraduate Placement Schemes (see Useful links). - http://careers.abpi.org.uk/your-career/undergraduates/Pages/default.aspx

Bioindustry Association – provides access to a list of around 300 member companies at: http://www.bioindustry.org/membership/member-directory

Clinical Contract Research Association - lists organisations providing clinical contract services for pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries: www.ccra.org.uk

Edinburgh BioQuarter - Edinburgh’s life sciences research and community website lists medical innovation companies: www.edinburghbioquarter.com/

Scottish Development International (SDI), Life Sciences and Biotech – provides links to Scottish life science companies, bio-cluster research parks and innovation centres. The searchable life science company database includes medical technology and pharma services companies, CROs, and companies working on stem cells and regenerative medicines. https://www.sdi.co.uk/invest/sectors/life-sciences

Talent Scotland – Provides an overview of the life science industry in Scotland. Use the Employer tab to access a searchable database of Scottish companies and research organisations. www.talentscotland.com/work/skills/science

United Kingdom Accreditation Service – Testing and accreditation labs can be found via the Directory of Accredited Organisations at: www.UKAS.com

Access via the ‘Services’ tab, then ‘Other services’.

UK Science Parks Association – explore companies and research institutes located at science parks throughout the UK - www.ukspa.org.uk

International Opportunities - you can find international internships and employers you may be interested in working for using Going Global which can be found on the MyEd Careers tab. The National Library of Scotland’s Business Information Service SCOTBIS is also a useful resource for identifying companies of interest.

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Research Institutes:

Amgen Foundation, Scholars Programme – provides hundreds of undergraduate students with the opportunity to engage in a hands-on research experience at many of the world's leading educational institutions in Europe and Japan. The application deadline will be early in 2018. www.amgenscholars.com/about

Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, Glasgow – this summer internship programme offers around 25 places in research groups for undergraduate and MSc students interested in cancer research. www.beatson.gla.ac.uk/Education/interns.html

The Francis Crick Institute – This interdisciplinary medical research institute runs the Crick-Calleva Summer Student Programme for undergraduates seeking a career in biomedical research. Applications for 8 week placements open in January: www.crick.ac.uk/about-us/jobs-and-study/summer-students/

Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, one of the premier centres of genomic discovery and understanding, offers 3 month summer placements and year-long sandwich placements for students - http://www.sanger.ac.uk/about/study/undergraduate-and-school-work-placements

Science & Technology Facilities Council, Vacation Student Scheme - offers degree related projects, for 4 – 12 weeks, at one of its facilities including the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (Harwell Campus, Didcot) which includes health tech and lifesciences clusters. Summer projects will be advertised early in 2018. www.stfc.ac.uk/about-us/work-with-us/vacation-student-scheme

If you would like to find experience at Edinburgh, you can contact Research Group Leaders whose research area interests you:

University of Edinburgh Research Explorer - www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine - www.ed.ac.uk/medicine-vet-

medicine/research Edinburgh Infectious Diseases - the network of scientists in

Edinburgh www.eid.ed.ac.uk Edinburgh Neuroscience – this includes information on the WR Henderson

Scholarship for undergraduate students (including final years) providing summer research experience in brain sciences. - www.edinburghneuroscience.ed.ac.uk

Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh - www.ed.ac.uk/mrc-human-genetics-unit

Roslin Institute, Edinburgh - undertakes research focussed on the health and welfare of animals, and applications of basic animal sciences in human and veterinary medicine, the livestock industry and food security - www.roslin.ac.uk

Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, King’s Buildings, Edinburgh - one of eight UK-based Wellcome Trust funded Centres - www.wcb.ed.ac.uk

Funding: academic research associations, societies & charities

Research labs providing summer placements are not always be able to offer funding directly. However funding to enable students to gain experience of working on a research project during the summer vacation is provided by a number of organisations including professional societies. This funding is usually for projects within a university or research institute, but sometimes funding will also cover industry based work experience. Details of organisations which provide funding are provided below.

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Your first step will usually be to contact potential supervisors directly, to ask about possible summer projects. It can be helpful to suggest possible sources of external funding when you do this. Your potential supervisor will usually, but not always, be required to submit the application for funding on your behalf. Applying to a number of funding organisations will maximise your chances of success.

University of Edinburgh – an overview of scholarships and student funding - http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/student-funding/

Action on Hearing Loss, summer studentship grants scheme - introduces undergraduate students to hearing, deafness and tinnitus research. Undergraduate student summer projects are funded for up to 8 weeks. Scheme details will be announced early in 2018. Application made by project supervisors. www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/your-hearing/biomedical-research/apply-for-research-grants/summer-studentship.aspx

Alzheimers Society, undergraduate bursaries for 2nd and 3rd year students to undertake summer research projects related to dementia. Students should contact a prospective host institution /supervisor. Applications should be made by the supervisor. https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/info/20057/our_funding_schemes/632/undergraduate_bursaries

Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research (BBSRC), Research Experience Placements (REPs) provides support for 100 undergraduate summer research placements each year in the biosciences. Students wanting to apply for a REP should contact the research organisation at which they wish to take a placement. Contact details for universities involved in REPs are provided online. The BBSRC also offers professional internships for PhD students. www.bbsrc.ac.uk/skills/investing-doctoral-training/research-experience-placements

Biochemical Society – Summer Vacation Studentship Scheme – provides funding for students to gain summer lab experience, in the UK or abroad, on a biochemistry related topic for 6-8 weeks. Interested students must pair up with a potential supervisor, develop a project together, then apply for funding. Supervisors must be members of the Biochemical Society working in a university or research institute, and will apply for the grant on behalf of the student. www.biochemistry.org/Grants/SummerVacationStudentships.aspx

British Mycological Society, Undergraduate student bursary- a number of bursaries are available to give experience of research in any branch of mycology within the UK. Support is offered for a period of 4 -10 weeks in the summer vacation prior to the final year of study. The university or research institute supervisor must be a member of the BMS. Applications are made by the supervisor and the student is expected to contribute to the project design.The application closing date is the last day in April. www.britmycolsoc.org.uk/society/grants-and-prizes/undergraduate-bursary

British Pharmacological Society, Vacation studentships – for undergraduate society members to undertake a research project with substantial pharmacological content. Supervisors must also be society members. Projects are supported for up to 10 weeks. Final year students can apply but only for stand-alone projects. Applications can be submitted by the student or supervisor. The 2017 closing date was 31 March. - www.bps.ac.uk/membership-awards/support-for-student-members/vacation-studentships

British Society for Cell Biology, Summer Vacation Studentships - offer financial support for undergraduate students to gain research experience in cell biology usually prior to their final year of studies. The

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project must not form part of normal degree work. Students are encouraged to undertake a project at an institution other than that at which they are studying. Supervisors should be BSCB members and be head of the lab. Applications must be made by the prospective supervisor on behalf of a named student. The application closing date in 2017 was 31 March. - http://bscb.org/competitions-awardsgrants/studentships/

British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy, Undergraduate Research Bursaries – provide funding to support undergraduate research projects of 6 – 8 wks. Interested students can search for potential supervisors on an online supervisor bank, which shows areas of research interest. Applications are made by researchers on behalf of a named student; both must be BSGCT members. The application closing date was 3 April in 2017. www.bsgct.org/scientists-students/undergraduate-students

British Society for Neuroendocrinology, undergraduate student laboratory experience grants – up to 15 awards each year provide funding for vacation lab projects of up to 8 weeks. Open to undergraduate students, or immediately after graduation, or prior to starting MSc or PhD. Host supervisors, BSN members, apply on behalf of a named student for a project in their lab. Students may be of any nationality. Application closing date is 1 April. www.neuroendo.org.uk/Members/Grants.aspx

Carnegie Trust, Vacation Scholarships – supports penultimate year Scottish Students at Scottish universities to undertake independent research related to their studies. 79 awards were offered in 2017. The project must be supervised by a member of staff at the university attended by the student. The supervisor can be a lecturer, reader or professor. The project can be based either at the university they are attending or elsewhere. Projects should provide scope for the development of ideas, initiative and research skills. Applications submitted by project supervisor before 15 March closing date. www.carnegie-trust.org/schemes/undergraduate-schemes/vacation-scholarships.html

Genetics Society, Summer Studentships - grants support undergraduate students to gain research experience in any area of genetics by carrying out a research project over the long vacation, usually prior to their final year. Applications for a named student are made by Principal Investigators (PI) at Universities or Research Institutes. Both PI and students must be members of the Genetics Society. Students are encouraged to seek a PI to sponsor them and to develop a project application with the sponsor. There are no nationality restrictions for students. The application closing date is 5pm on 31st March each year. www.genetics.org.uk/Funding/GeneticsSocietySummerStudentships.aspx

Medical Research Scotland, Undergraduate Vacation Scholarships – offers up to 100 scholarships for research projects related to human health with universities, research institutes and companies. Projects lasting 6 – 8 weeks must be based in Scotland. Applications submitted by supervisor. Applications for the next scholarship ‘call’ will open autumn 2017 www.medicalresearchscotland.org.uk/

Microbiology Society, Harry Smith Vacation Studentships – offers funding for undergraduate summer microbiological research projects. Students may be undertaking a degree in any area of biosciences or medical, dental or veterinary science. Students should have completed at least two years of study, but not have started their final year at the start of the studentship. Project supervisors should be be society members working in a Higher Education Institution, research institute or Small- or Medium-sized Enterprise in the UK or Ireland. Supervisors apply on behalf of a named student. Applications open on 1 December. www.microbiologysociety.org/grants-prizes/all-grants.cfm/harry-smith-vacation-studentships

Physiological Society, Undergraduate Vacation Studentship Scheme – funds summer research projects on an area of physiology.

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Students should have completed at least two years' full-time study of a degree that incorporates an element of physiology, by the start of the studentship. Projects must be hypothesis-driven and require data collection and analytical skills. Research may be ‘wet’ lab-based, data analysis projects or education/science communication research. Supervisors must be full society members. Applications made jointly by student and supervisor. www.physoc.org/undergraduate-vacation-studentship-scheme

Royal Society of Biology, Undergraduate studentships – provides a list of studentships offered by a range of bodies - www.rsb.org.uk/get-involved/grants/undergraduate-studentships

Society for Applied Microbiology, Students into work grant – provides funding for work placements for students or recent graduates for up to 8 weeks. Grants offered to society members who can supervise a suitable work/research placement. Application deadline was 2 March in 2017. www.sfam.org.uk/en/grants--awards/for-students/students-into-work-grant/index.cfm

Society for Endocrinology, summer studentships – to support supervisors, who are society members, in hosting undergraduate students in endocrinology or life sciences during a 10 week summer placement. The studentships are normally taken during the summer vacation before a final year. Applications are made by students after agreeing a project with a host supervisor. Application deadline 13 March 2018. www.endocrinology.org/grants-and-awards/grants/summer-studentships/

Society for Reproduction and Fertility, Vacation Scholarship – offers funding for students to work in university departments or research institutes for up to 8 weeks on projects related to reproduction and fertility in humans or other animals. Ideally, projects should be undertaken in the summer vacation prior to the student entering their final year but can be undertaken earlier. Supervisors should be RF members. Applications for 2018 scholarships open in autumn of 2017 http://srf-reproduction.org/grants-awards/grants/vacation-scholarships

Student Ladder – lists work placements and internships, including opportunities with science companies and in research - http://www.studentladder.co.uk/Internships/internships

Universities Federation for Animal Welfare, Animal welfare student scholarships –Closing date was 27 February in 2017. www.ufaw.org.uk/animal-welfare-student-scholarships/animal-welfare-student-scholarships

Wellcome Trust - Biomedical Vacation Scholarships – provides funding for summer undergraduate research projects, 6-8, based at a university or research institute in UK or Ireland. Open to students following year 2 or 3 of a four year degree. Students are encouraged to consider projects away from their normal place of study. Students should identify a research supervisor develop a project and scholarship application together. https://wellcome.ac.uk/funding/biomedical-vacation-scholarships

September 2017