bcgam

BugBiome – Microbial Phenotyping Internship

by

BugBiome is focused on discovering and developing biopesticides derived from crop microbiomes. By isolating and characterising beneficial microbes, we create innovative solutions that naturally protect plants from pests. Our mission is to improve crop protection, reduce reliance on traditional pesticides, support yield, and promote environmental sustainability.

Project Outline

We are seeking a PhD student with experience in microbiology, molecular biology, or image-based assays to join our R+D team for a 3-month internship. This role suits a driven individual who can independently set up experiments that profile our microbes and read early signals of how they work. You will work closely with a cross-functional team of scientists. As this is a wet lab role, it will be largely laboratory based at Norwich Research Park.

Option to learn valuable skills in high-throughput phenotyping, video-based insect assays, and data analysis. This role is a great way to gain hands-on experience outside academia at a fast-paced, IndieBio backed start-up.

Project Focus

This project profiles our strains at scale by imaging microbes, capturing growth and behaviour as structured, comparable data. It then links that microbe-side profile to our video-based insect assays, extending them from insect response to chemistry towards the effect of biological actives. Together this gives a crude mode-of-action data set that informs primary screening for new insect control microbes, so the team can promote the most promising strains sooner and choose more accurate follow-up assays

Key Responsibilities

  • Laboratory support: Set up and run microbial phenotyping, preparing strains and plates under the guidance of the team.
  • Assay development: Apply our video-based insect assays to read the effect of biological actives, generating crude mode-of-action signals via insect behaviour.
  • Data analysis: Collect and analyse phenotype and assay data, feeding findings into primary screening decisions.
  • Collaboration: Work closely with our discovery and screening teams, gaining insight into how
    microbiological research connects to broader commercial goals.

What We’re Looking For

  • Educational background: Currently pursuing a PhD in life sciences or a related field.
  • Technical skills: Familiarity with microbiological, imaging, or assay techniques is preferred, and a willingness to learn and adapt is essential.
  • Team player: Able to work collaboratively with diverse teams while managing tasks independently.
  • Proactive attitude: Enthusiasm for problem-solving and a proactive approach to driving projects forward.

What We Offer

  • Hands-on experience: Work with advanced technologies and methodologies in a supportive learning environment, with the option to gain some business development exposure.
  • Professional development: Build your skills and knowledge, and gain valuable industry experience outside of a university.
  • Collaborative culture: Join a young, friendly, dynamic team with regular team socials.

How to Apply

To apply, send [email protected] and [email protected] an email with your CV using the subject line “Assay development Intern”. Please tell us why you are interested in the role, the doctoral training programme you are on, and when you would be available. The ideal timeline is Q4 2026 (October to December), 2027 possible.

BugBiome – Assay Development Internship

by

BugBiome is focused on discovering and developing biopesticides derived from crop microbiomes. By isolating and characterising beneficial microbes, we create innovative solutions that naturally protect plants from pests. Our mission is to improve crop protection, reduce reliance on traditional pesticides, support yield, and promote environmental sustainability.

Project Outline

We are seeking a PhD student with experience in microbiology, analytical chemistry, or assay development to join our R+D team for a 3-month internship. This role suits a driven individual who is comfortable with Design of Experiments (DOE) and confident at the bench. You will help take our AMPS assay beyond its current baseline and towards its full sensitivity. You will work closely with a cross-functional team of scientists. As this is a wet lab role, it will be largely laboratory based at Norwich Research Park.

Option to learn valuable skills in DOE design, high-throughput plate work, and data analysis. This role is a great way to gain hands-on experience outside academia at a fast-paced, IndieBio backed start-up.

Project Focus

AMPS was built on 24 substrates. This project takes a DOE approach across the full substrate space, so the assay draws on every substrate worth including rather than the current 24 limited substrate list. The aim is maximum sensitivity. You will design the substrate panel, run the plates and read out which substrate utilisation patterns correspond to the desired outcome. Support of media kitchen and biofoundary at Earlham.

Key Responsibilities

  • Experimental design: Design a DOE across candidate substrates to maximise assay sensitivity.
  • Laboratory support: Prepare and run plates at a scale of around 100 plates. Media kitchen on site at John Innes and robotics available at Earlham if you are interested in setting it up high throughput!
  • Data analysis: Identify which substrates are informative of microbe function.
  • Collaboration: Work closely with our interdisciplinary teams, gaining insight into how assay development connects to broader commercial goals.

What We’re Looking For

  • Educational background: Currently pursuing a PhD in life sciences, chemistry, or a related field.
  • Technical skills: Familiarity with DOE and laboratory plate work is preferred, and a willingness to learn and adapt is essential.
  • Team player: Able to work collaboratively with diverse teams while managing tasks independently.
  • Proactive attitude: Enthusiasm for problem-solving and a proactive approach to driving projects forward.

What We Offer

  • Hands-on experience: Work with advanced technologies and methodologies in a supportive learning environment, with the option to gain some business development exposure.
  • Professional development: Build your skills and knowledge, and gain valuable industry experience outside of a university.
  • Collaborative culture: Join a young, friendly, dynamic team with regular team socials.

How to Apply

To apply, send [email protected] and [email protected] an email with your CV using the subject line “Assay development Intern”. Please tell us why you are interested in the role, the doctoral training programme you are on, and when you would be available. The ideal timeline is Q4 2026 (October to December), 2027 possible.

BugBiome – Natural Product Chemistry Internship

by

BugBiome is focused on discovering and developing biopesticides derived from crop microbiomes. By isolating and characterising beneficial microbes, we create innovative solutions that naturally protect plants from pests. Our mission is to improve crop protection, reduce reliance on traditional pesticides, support yield, and promote environmental sustainability.

Project Outline

We are seeking a PhD student with experience in natural product chemistry or analytical chemistry, and who is capable of running natural product extractions and preparing fractions independently, to join our R+D team for a 3-month internship. This role suits a driven, chemistry-trained individual who can set up experiments and work methodically. You will work closely with a cross-functional team of scientists. As this is a wet lab role, it will be largely laboratory based at Norwich Research Park. This role is a great way to gain hands-on experience outside academia at a fast-paced, IndieBio backed start-up.

Project Focus

This project will use BugBiome’s proprietary collection of more than 2,500 microbial strains to create a curated natural-product extract library that will be screened by BugBiome for novel insecticides. BugBiome currently evaluates polar and low-molecular-weight fractions produced from microbial fermentations by an external collaborator. This project will bring that capability in-house, establishing a structured library of natural-product fractions from our own microbial collection. We are looking for a student with strong practical chemistry skills to lead the extraction and fractionation work. The student should be comfortable independently developing and carrying out natural-product extraction, separation and fractionation workflows. Previous microbiology
experience is not required, as full training in microbial culture, fermentation will be provided.

Key Respondibilities

  • Library building: Ferment and extract selected high-value strains, producing polar and small fractions towards a core set of strains with the support of the John Innes Metabolomics platform where needed.
  • Screening: Apply our insect screening platform to the natural-product extract library.
  • Collaboration: Work closely with our interdisciplinary teams, gaining insight into how natural product chemistry connects to broader commercial goals.

What We’re Looking For

  • Educational background: Currently pursuing a PhD in natural product chemistry, analytical chemistry, or a related field.
  • Technical skills: Hands-on extraction and fractionation experience is preferred, and confidence with analytical methods is valued.
  • Team player: Able to work collaboratively with diverse teams while managing tasks independently.
  • Proactive attitude: Enthusiasm for problem-solving and a proactive approach to driving projects forward.

What We Offer

  • Hands-on experience: Work with advanced technologies and methodologies in a supportive learning environment, with the option to gain some business development exposure.
  • Professional development: Build your skills and knowledge, and gain valuable industry experience outside of a university.
  • Collaborative culture: Join a young, friendly, dynamic team with regular team socials.

How to Apply

To apply, send [email protected] and [email protected] an email with your CV using the subject line “Natural product Intern”. Please tell us why you are interested in the role, the doctoral training programme you are on, and when you would be available. The ideal timeline is Q4 2026 (October to December), 2027 possible.

UKHSA Chief Data Officer Group – Deadline 31st July 2026

by

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). At UKHSA, our mission is to protect people’s health by preventing and responding to threats—whether that’s a new pandemic, everyday infections like influenza, or environmental dangers like radiation or extreme weather. We save lives, protect livelihoods, and work with partners across the NHS, care systems, and globally to keep communities safe.

We’re a hub of scientific and operational expertise, tackling health challenges at every level—local, national, and international.

The Chief Data Officer (CDO) group is the analytical powerhouse of UKHSA and plays a key role in making sure data is used safely, legally, and ethically. We support every step of the data journey—from collecting and managing information to analytics and delivering insights that drive real-world action. If you’re passionate about using data to make a difference and want to help solve big health challenges, there’s a place for you here in the CDO group.

Project Outline

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is looking for a data scientist with previous experience in R programming and machine learning (ML) and a strong interest using genomics data for public health. The successful applicant will support a project in collaboration with partners at the University of Glasgow to deploy a pretrained ML model for identifying emerging Avian Influenza (AIV) strains with zoonotic potential – which are able to infect humans – using viral genomic sequence characteristics.

The project will strengthen UKHSA operational zoonotic risk capability, by deploying an ML-based early warning tool for zoonotic pathogen risk detection, feeding into UKHSA AIV risk assessment and situational awareness reporting.  

Placement period

Placement start date: August/September 2026 Duration: 3 months, with strong potential for the placement to be extended as a paid opportunity for additional months with a minimum requirement of 20 hours per week.

Outline of duties:

  • Genomic Data Collection and Preparation
  • Data preprocessing and ML feature extraction
  • Code refactoring
  • ML model deployment using Kubernetes OpenShift AI
  • Stakeholder collaboration
  • Effective communication of outputs and technical concepts

Essential Skills

  • R Programming
  • Ability to write modular code, and follow other best practices
  • Understanding of Machine Learning
  • Familiarity / knowledge of git/GitHub, version control
  • Maths, programming, statistics
  • Evidence of collaboration and independent working
  • Evidence of self-development and application of learning

Desirable skills

  • Familiarity with genomics and utilising genomic data
  • AI Awareness
  • Experience with OpenShift or High-Performance computing

Funding

This placement will be offered as an unpaid visiting worker. Applicants should seek funding through their funder/research council to complete this placement. UKHSA shall not be responsible for any payment to the Visitor or for any travelling and accommodation expenses incurred, except for necessary travel authorised in advance by UKHSA. The Visitor will be bound by the UKHSA Business Expense policy in respect of any such expenses. UKHSA shall provide the Visitor with appropriate working facilities during the placement, free of charge.

How to apply

Closing date for applications: 31st July 2026. We anticipate a short turnaround, as the team is keen to appoint a candidate as soon as possible. Therefore, we expect to send interview invitations and times by 7 August 2026.

Application format: CV and a 500 (max) cover letter to evidence how you fit the project requirements, skills and what you can bring to this role.

How to submit an application: Send your CV and a cover letter (max 500 words) to the CDO Partnerships Team, UKHSA, [email protected] with the subject line “AIZR ML YB DTP ” placement application”.

Please note this opportunity is being advertised at multiple universities.

Host contact details

Any queries about this opportunity should be addressed to the Host Organisation.

CDO Partnerships Team, UKHSA
[email protected]  – please reference the placement you are enquiring about in the subject heading.

UKHSA Job DescriptionDownload

Gina Vong – The Society for Experimental Biology

by

Where did you go and what did you do?

I completed a remote placement jointly with the Society for Experimental Biology (SEB) and two of its journals, where I contributed to a wide range of publishing, outreach, communications and membership activities. During the placement, I wrote an article for the SEB Magazine, developed an educational outreach resource on Minecraft foxes, and helped create a new outreach resource for Nottingham Science Festival 2026. I also curated a series of Grant Stories showcasing the impact of SEB funding and contributed to the Society’s Awards Nomination Taskforce. Within journal activities, I led the creation, promotion and delivery of the first Conservation Physiology webinar, supported the Open Education and Development (OED) webinar series and working group, and managed the journal’s social media presence. In addition, I assisted with membership record management through the Society’s CRM system, conducted competitor analysis of Conservation Physiology and related journals, generated leads to encourage more plant science submissions, and helped clear a submission backlog for the Journal of Experimental Botany ahead of a transition to a new submission platform. I also supported the Journal of Experimental Botany 75th Anniversary Symposium, gaining experience across scientific publishing, stakeholder engagement, event delivery and research communications.

What made you want to do that particular PIPS and what skills have you learned?

I was interested in publishing, learned societies and science-adjacent careers.

Through this placement, I developed a broad range of professional and technical skills relevant to scientific publishing, communications and event management. I gained hands-on experience managing customer relationship management (CRM) and content management (CMS) systems, helping to maintain membership records and online content efficiently. I built skills in online event planning through supporting and leading webinars, and learned how to organise productive meetings that achieve clear objectives and outcomes.

Working with academic journals gave me valuable experience navigating journal submission systems and editorial workflows, while conducting competitor analysis strengthened my ability to assess organisational performance and identify opportunities for growth. I also developed expertise in social media management, including creating and promoting content to engage target audiences. In addition, I enhanced my proficiency in Advanced Excel, improving my ability to organise, analyse and interpret data effectively.

Ask lots of questions and be open to new experiences!

What has been the impact (or likely future impact) of your PIPS?

Competitor analysis will be used to inform the journal strategy for the next year. Educational resources and webinars hopefully help inspire young scientists. Hopefully improve representation of minoritised scientists in prestigious science awards.

How would you sum up your PIPS experience?

A well-rounded experience that gave lots of insights into publishing, running a society and working in the charity sector. I’m grateful for the trust I was given and the amazing mentorship I received from both teams.

Maria Pattichis – UK Open Innovation Team (OIT)

by

Where did you go and what did you do?

I completed my PIPS at the Open Innovation Team (OIT), who are a team that provide policy advice and analysis for projects across different government departments. They focus on increasing evidence-based policy decisions by highlighting academic and industry expertise during the policy development process. They also provide policy engagement advice for academics at their partner universities, which includes York.

During my placement at the OIT I was involved in a few projects. At the beginning of my placement, I was on a project for the Department of Education (DfE) around educational technologies. I was involved in drafting the report for submission to the client, which included writing policy analysis for the policy options we presented in the report. After this, I was moved onto a project about Media and Trust for the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS). This project had just kicked off, so I was involved in different activities than the other project, which was in its later stages. For this project, I was involved in doing an initial literature review, identifying experts in the field, and then interviewing the experts. By the end of my time on the project, I had also led some of the expert interviews.

During the main projects, I was also involved in delivering some of the OIT’s partner university benefits. This included giving policy engagement advice for academics based on their research and policy impact ambitions.

Use this time to venture out of your comfort zone and place yourself in an experience that pushes you to gain new skills. It can help you evaluate future plans and gain more experience of different applications of a PhD.

What made you want to do that particular PIPS?

From the beginning of my PhD, I knew that I wanted to get out of the lab for my placement. Doing a policy-related placement appealed to me as I was interested to explore other avenues for impact outside of research. I was also interested in experiencing the policy-science interface from the policy angle, which a placement with the OIT allowed, given their involvement with academics.

What skills have you gained from your PIPS?

One of the parts of my placement that I had no previous experience with was expert engagement. I had never interviewed experts before my placement, and by the end I was able to lead interviews as well. Expert engagement, through both expert interviews and academic policy advice clinics, ended up being some of my favourite parts of the placement.

The drafting process for reports at the OIT was very different than I was used to. Writing for a policy audience felt very different to academic writing, which was something I had to get used to. The process was fast-paced, and the feedback and revision process was almost continuous, which was different to how I am used to writing. Developing my writing skills for a policy audience has positively impacted my writing by making me think about how to best present my work in an accessible and succinct manner.

What has been the impact (or likely future impact) of your PIPS?

I have contributed significantly to a report that is due to be sent to the client soon and could inform new policies. I’ve also helped with the kick-off for another project, which involved doing the initial literature review that will provide the basis for the report, as well as conducted expert interviews, which are important in the development of policy recommendation ideas. The OIT have PhD students year-round and PhD students contribute significantly to the projects they carry out.

How would you sum up your PIPS experience?

I had a wonderful time during my PIPS! It was nice to experience a completely different type of work and the topics of the work I was doing were very interesting. The team was also very lovely and provided a positive environment to work within.  

Miguel Aracena Valazquez – Astbury Biostructure Laboratories, Leeds University

by

Where did you go and what did you do?

I spent my placement at the Astbury biostructure laboratories at the University of Leeds as a member of the Cryo electron microscopy facility team. During my time, I was responsible for training and supervising users on various technical facility equipment, providing an efficient supply of consumables for users and generally developing methods for sample preparation of cells on cryo-em grids for in situ structural biology work.

What made you want to do that particular PIPS?

I wanted to further technical skills I had developed during my PhD and expand on them by using specialist equipment for in situ and tomography work, which is not readily available at York. Furthermore, I wanted to see what it was like working at a specialist facility as an alternative to postdoctoral work which would keep me close to scientific research but be different to working in a single lab.

What skills have you gained from your PIPS?

I have gained further technical skill in sample preparation and using various pieces of equipment at the facility (confocal microscopes, plunge freezers, and Focused Ion Beam scanning electron microscopes). In addition, I have learned how to be more adaptable and responsive both to changes in requirements from users and other team members.

What has been the impact (or likely future impact) of your PIPS?

I think this PIPS has been useful in providing me skills which could help expand my ability in the adjacent field of cryo electron tomography. It has also provided me with insight into what working in a facility is like and provided me with a viable alternative to postdoctoral work.

How would you sum up your PIPS experience?

PIPS has been a welcome change of pace from the PhD and has left me with more skills than I had coming in. It’s been a great opportunity to meet new people and help grow my professional network of connections.

Don’t be afraid to push for a PIPS that suits your interests. I have chosen to do quite a scientific PIPS because that’s what I wanted to do and felt would be the best use of my time.

Ashleigh Whelan – Foods Standards Agency

by

Where did you go and what did you do?

I completed my PIPS with the Food Standards Agency (FSA). I was involved in several studies relating to antimicrobial resistance and animal welfare. I produced literature reviews on: antimicrobial susceptibility testing; precision fermentation; and whole genome sequencing techniques. In addition, I produced: a summary of the welfare of farmed animals act; a checklist document of animal welfare requirements for new food technology applications; and a comprehensive document on the methodologies used in antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

What made you want to do that particular PIPS?

The FSA plays a critical role in ensuring that food suppliers maintain excellent health and hygiene techniques, while food supplies and food additives are free from harmful microbes and toxins. I attended an excellent talk by Rick Mumford from the FSA at a White Rose DTP AGM, which piqued my interest in antimicrobial testing of animal feedstuffs. I was keen to learn more about how the FSA analyses and approves applications for new animal feedstuffs and feed supplements, as well as their role in ensuring good farm animal welfare practices are maintained at all times.

What skills have you gained from your PIPS?

My PIPS project has helped me to further develop my transferable skills. Working within a team and having regular catch up meetings with my supervisors was incredibly beneficial in showing me how groups interact within a workplace environment and helped hone my presentation and inter personal skills.

I was required to understand and disseminate information on several topics for which I had very little previous knowledge, and produce detailed documents within a limited time frame. This helped to enforce my previous organizational, time-keeping, and science communication skills, while challenging me to work outside my comfort zone. I also gained experience in negotiating difficult and sometimes arduous bureaucratic documentation, transforming information gleaned into a format that could be understood by the whole team.

What has been the impact (or likely future impact) of your PIPS?

I contributed to enhancing the FSA’s knowledge and ability to independently assess

the safety of microorganisms in feed additive applications. The documents I produced  on whole genome sequencing, microbial susceptibility, and animal welfare will be used to improve the FSA’s knowledge and to develop training materials for new starters. Additionally, the checklist I produced relating to farm animal welfare can be used by the FSA to ensure that applicants proposing new feed additives have complied with all relevant animal welfare regulations during animal feed trials. I now have links within the Food Standards Agency and may consider a career working there in the future.

How would you sum up your PIPS experience?

My PIPS was an incredibly edifying and satisfying experience. Producing documents on microbial testing of animal feed additives and the need for strict animal welfare practices allowed me to gain an understanding of the intricacies of government legislature. It allowed me to apply my scientific and communication skills within a professional workplace environment. It also pushed me to work outside my comfort zone, while improving and enhancing my transferable skills. This has resulted in increasing my confidence in my own abilities.

What advice would you give to other PGRs about PIPS?

I would advise other PGRs to spend time researching possible PIPS placements, and to choose one that piques their interest while challenging them to work outside their comfort zone. Feel free to approach people and places that aren’t advertising PIPS on the DTP website – I contacted Rick Mumford from the FSA directly after listening to his talk at a White Rose DTP AGM. He quickly approached other colleagues within the FSA for possible projects, and I was lucky to have a detailed project produced especially for me by my ultimate supervisor David Kovacic.

Jodie Armand – University of Sheffield, Public Engagement Team

by

Where did you go and what did you do?

I worked with the University of Sheffield’s public engagement team for my PIPs on a flexible part-time basis to help with two of their major public engagement events in the 2023/24 calendar: Biofest (Nov 2023) and the Festival of the Mind (Sept 2024). I was more heavily involved in the planning and delivery of Biofest compared to Festival of the Mind and they both utilised very similar skills, so to avoid this being too lengthy I’m just going to focus on my experience with the former.

Biofest was a huge public outreach festival that was organised to showcase the amazing research taking place in the then newly formed School of Biosciences. We disseminated this research to the general public and key stakeholders in a variety of ways, including multiple science-art commissions, creative projects with local schools, and several public open nights where the University opened its doors to the public and engaged people of all ages with interactive activity stalls and inspiring talks from some of our most accredited scientists. It was a hugely successful and impactful event; over 200,000 people visited Firth Hall during the public open nights and 90% of visitors said that they came away with a better understanding of the research taking place in the department.

I took on a variety of different roles during my time with the public engagement team and helped with several aspects of the organisation and delivery of Biofest. This included liaising with the students and staff that were hosting an interactive activity stall during the public open nights to ensure their activities were safe, engaging and effectively communicated their research, as well as editing the brochure for the festival to make sure all its information was scientifically correct but easily accessible to a wide audience. After the festival I also helped analyse the public response and collected feedback from the students and staff that collaborated with artists and/or participated in the public events, which contributed towards the public engagement team’s formal evaluation of the festival’s success.

I also had the honour of working directly with the internationally renowned artist Luke Jerram who was commissioned to make a new piece of artwork for the festival that encapsulated our research endeavours in combating climate change. In this collaboration I took the role of scientific adviser and discussed with him all the photosynthetic research taking place in the department. This inspired him to create ‘Microcosmos’, a collection of glass diatoms (photosynthetic algae) which was the centerpiece to the festival and is now on permanent display in the entrance to Firth Court. During our collaboration I also visited his studio in Bristol to record a podcast about the science and creative process behind his artwork, which is on the University of Sheffield Player (digital archive). 

Feeling very inspired by my time working with Luke, I then decided to make a piece of artwork informed by my own research that utilised my own creative skills. I image cells on the leaf surface in 3D for my PhD to help us understand how they change shape, and I adapted my knitting technique to work with metal wire and went about knitting the cells captured in one of my 3D images using stainless steel. The final sculpture turned out much better than anticipated and I was fortunate enough to be allowed to have it on display during Biofest, and it was so well received that the University decided to purchase it and make it part of their permanent display in Firth Court. Thanks to the exposure from the festival I’ve since had several other commissions from scientists wanting to collaborate with me and create some science-art, and I’m currently working on a new sculpture for a ‘Future of Food’ exhibition that is taking place at the Science Museum in London this summer!

What made you want to do that particular PIPS?

I wanted to work with the University’s public engagement team for my PIPs because I have very strong practical creative skills that weren’t being used by my research, and I wanted the opportunity to apply these in an impactful way to help the general public engage in scientific research. I had actually had previous interactions with the public engagement team a few years earlier when trying to secure funding to collaborate with an external artist for the Festival of the Mind in 2022. Unfortunately we didn’t get the funding and so the project never went ahead, but it left me wondering how the public engagement team sources funding for public engagement projects and how they decide how this funding gets allocated.  So, a year or so later when I was thinking about where to do my PIPS, working with the public engagement team to utilise my creative skills and get an insider’s perspective on the funding landscape seemed like a no-brainer!

What skills have you gained from your PIPS?

Working with the University’s public engagement team for my PIPs definitely improved my event organisation, people and risk management, negotiation, and interpersonal skills. I’ve also come away from my PIPs with a much better understanding of how funding for public engagement is acquired and allocated having heard the conversations and decisions that take place behind the scenes. Rather than take a 3 month break from my research I decided to do my PIPs on a flexible part-time basis (a few hours per week) so that I could make the most of the different events that the team had planned throughout the 2023/24 calendar. This meant picking up extra work here-and-there and fitting this around my research was challenging, but it undoubtedly strengthened my time management skills. Finally, as you all know doing a PhD can feel very isolating, but when I was working with the public engagement team I was constantly interacting with new people of different ages, backgrounds and opinions which was so refreshing and I now feel much more confident talking to anyone about anything at anytime!

Think outside the box! Do something that you will genuinely enjoy, and make it worthwhile for you.

What has been the impact (or likely future impact) of your PIPS?

My PIPs and all the additional opportunities it led to have had such a positive impact on my future career. I now have a much better understanding of the career opportunities that exist in the public engagement sector,  and more specifically those that lie at the crossover between the sciences and the arts. Now that I’ve experienced sci-art collaborations as a scientist, an artist and the ‘middleman’ that sits between them,  I am so much more confident to explore this territory when I finish my PhD and I’m really excited to see where it leads!

How would you sum up your PIPS experience?

I thoroughly enjoyed working with the public engagement team for my PIPS due to the variety of different roles it allowed me to take, the independence to pursue my own creative ambitions and the wealth of opportunities that it has led to.

Gillian Caalim – Random42

by

Where did you go and what did you do?

I joined the Science and Project Management team as an intern at Random42 – a medical animation company. They specialise in visual scientific storytelling through various formats such as high quality animations, infographics, and virtual and augmented reality for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

The science team are PhD-trained members involved throughout the whole process of an animation, so my role involved sitting in on client calls, researching the scientific background of projects, then drafting and referencing scripts. We create storyboards for the in-house animation team, and we also record AI voiceovers to create a draft of an animation. Along this entire process, there are multiple rounds of internal feedback with other members of the science team as well as the animation team, and external feedback from the clients.

As cliché as it sounds, no two days were the same! On any given day I could be working on a script about OCD, editing a storyboard about heart disease after receiving client feedback, then finishing off another storyboard about immune thrombocytopenia before briefing it to the animation team. The variety of topics kept the work exciting, and I really enjoyed the fast-paced environment I was in.

What made you want to do that particular placement?

I’ve followed a very traditional academic route so far and I wanted to see how the skills I have could be applied in a different setting, and how valuable these skills are in other industries. A PIPs at Random42 appealed to me as I knew it was going to challenge me to think about science in a new way – a chance to think more visually and create engaging narratives to tell a story – which I don’t get much chance to do while doing a PhD.

How did you go about finding and planning your PIPS?

The PIPs case studies listed on the WR DTP website was my first point of call. After reading through several case studies, I knew I wanted to do my PIPs at Random42. I sent my CV to Elly and Jen expressing my interest, and soon after we had a Zoom meeting set up to chat informally about what the role entails. It was all straightforward, and I appreciated that Random42 were flexible around start dates as I wanted to make sure my PhD was at a point that I was happy to take a 3-month break from it. They were also happy with my request for my PIPs to be hybrid, and I carried out most of my PIPs virtually.

What have you gained from doing your PIPS?

Naturally, I feel more confident about my science communication skills outside of writing in a very detailed and technical way that all PGRs are used to. I learned a lot about working in a fast-paced environment, as projects often move quickly so I needed to manage my time carefully to handle different projects at once. I also learned how to use the resources I have available more efficiently when researching topics I was very unfamiliar with, as scientific accuracy is at the core of every project.

I’ve gained a unique insight into client relationships, which I had never experienced before. Being able to handle their feedback constructively and understanding their personalities and expectations is so important to maintain good client relationships. I’ve also learned more about career paths as a whole – the science team are PhD-trained members and asking them about their career trajectories post-PhD was useful for me and I started to think about the things I could do after my PhD.

How would you sum up your PIPS experience?

I really enjoyed my experience at Random42, and I think a huge part of that is their work culture. They’re very collaborative and supportive of each other; everyone’s super lovely which made it easy for me from day one. That kind of positive environment made the work so much more enjoyable, and overall it was a very rewarding experience.

What advice would you give to other PGRs about PIPS?

Doing a placement is such a rare chance to try something different, so I would encourage others to use this opportunity to explore career paths you might not otherwise encounter! Regardless of what your PIPs experience shapes up to be, you’ll have much more clarity about how transferable your skills are, and whether it’s a career path you’re open to follow or avoid after your PhD.