The Biochemical Society Summer Vacation Studentships support undergraduate students to carry out a summer laboratory placement.
Due to the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, this scheme was cancelled for that year. Given the present situation, and particularly the recent national lockdown in the UK, the offer of lab-based Summer Vacation Studentships was deemed no longer feasible for 2021 for multiple reasons, including the health and safety of students and supervisors in such an unpredictable environment and the time constraints of supervisors and their groups.
Despite these issues, the Biochemical Society will still support studentships for this year, by offering an interim online-based provision for the 2021 run of the Summer Vacation Studentship scheme centred on skill development, equipping students with analytical and computational tools useful for their career progression and graduate school applications.
Successful applicants will be awarded:
- Access to online computational courses free of charge;
- Access to a webinar programme focusing on employability skills (research and soft skills) and careers;
- A one-year membership of the Biochemical Society (at undergraduate, postgraduate or associate level).
Successful applicants to this year’s online scheme will be awarded free registration to two online courses: “R for Biochemists 101” and “Practical Python for beginners: a Biochemist’s guide”. These computational training courses will be complemented by an exclusive, bespoke webinar programme which focuses on employability and careers, including transferable skills and knowledge to equip students for their next steps. We will also award all successful applicants with a one-year membership of the Biochemical Society (at undergraduate, postgraduate or associate level). Applications will be accepted from students who, at the time of application, are enrolled for the penultimate or final year of their undergraduate degree.
This programme will take place online over July and August 2021, with courses running sequentially (one course per month, with comment moderation for the duration of the month). Successful applicants will be expected to complete both courses by the end of August 2021, as well as to submit a brief post-programme report by the end of September 2021. Both online courses are self-led and can be completed at a time that suits the learner within that course’s appointed month, with each taking approximately 5 hours to complete. Moderators will answer learner comments during the month of the course’s run, but learners will continue to have access to the course content for a year from enrolment.
Applications for the 2021 run of the Summer Vacation Studentships are now closed.
Dr Derry Mercer (Chair of the Policy Advisory Panel)
“Data analysis skills have never been more important in a scientific career. The sheer volume of data produced in the biosciences today requires detailed knowledge across the data analysis spectrum. Finding meaning in the wealth of available data – and all the new data that is produced continuously demands skill. With this increase in produced data, labs across academia and industry increasingly value data analysis and visualisation skills, so there’s never been a better time to learn these. Learning the language of data is setting your eyes straight on the future of molecular bioscience research.“
Professor Luciane Vieira de Mello (Chair of the Training Theme Panel)
“Research in the biosciences is becoming increasingly data-intensive, and computational methods are required to visualise and analyse complex large-scale data. As a result, knowledge of coding has become a valuable skill for bioscientists who want to leverage the power of Python and R in genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and environmental data analysis. In addition, learning the key functionalities of Python and R programming is a great way for students in the biosciences to become familiar with the core concepts of coding and to gain transferable skills.“
the 2021 Summer Vacation Studentships
Find out key information about the scheme. Alternatively, you can read our Frequently Asked Questions. Learn more >
Including when and where to send your report on your studentship and what to include. Learn more >
Guidelines for writing your report and where to send it when you’re done. Learn more >
The Eisenthal Prize
An annual prize awarded to the top ranked student application form. Find out more and see the previous winners. Learn more >
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