PIPS Opportunities

About UKHSA

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.

Period of placements

Placement start date: April 2026 onwards
Duration: 3 months

Working pattern and location of placements

Placements will be remote/hybrid with occasional office/event attendance, but this is at the successful candidate’s discretion. Our head office is in Canary Wharf, we also have offices in Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham.

Full-time is preferred so you can fully immerse yourself in the team and project, but we will work flexibly if part-time hours are required. Placements must be completed in one continuous block due to IT and data access/security requirements.

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Placements

The UKHSA are offering a number of placements which will be suitable for PIPS:

• D&D and AI Digital Delivery (MT)
• Digital and Data Mapping (P)
• Digital & Data Product Analysis (L)
• Digital & Data Project Management
• UKHSA Health Data Model DTP Placement

Please use the links below to see further information on each placement:

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How to apply

Closing date for applications: 31st May 2026

Application format: CV and a 500/1000-word (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 500/1000 words) to the CDO Partnerships Team, UKHSA, [email protected] with the subject line of the role to which you’re applying e.g. “AI Digital Delivery DTP application”.

Please note this opportunity is being advertised at multiple universities.

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Support for students

UKHSA is an excellent placement opportunity as we have a developed culture of learning and development, fostered in an inclusive environment. To ensure that the postholder has opportunities to expand their skillsets and to develop professionally, we can provide some training in analysis, where required, but we also encourage the student to engage with subject matter experts and other early career researchers (ECR) across the UKHSA. At UKHSA, we have a thriving Early Career Research network led by our CDO Partnerships team. The student will have the opportunity to join and be supported by the ECR network within the UKHSA, and by other ECRs and team members within the host team. The ECR network has fortnightly meetings to bring learning and development opportunities to placement students as well as quarterly away days at our head office.

Background

The ABPI exists to make the UK the best place in the world to research, develop and use new
medicines. We represent companies of all sizes who invest in discovering the medicines of the
future.

Our members supply cutting edge treatments that improve and save the lives of millions of people.
We work in partnership with Government and the NHS so patients can get new treatments faster
and the NHS can plan how much it spends on medicines. Every day, we partner with organisations in the life sciences community and beyond to transform lives across the UK.

As part of ABPI’s work to communicate on the discovery, development, regulation and manufacture
of medicines, we have an award-winning Resources for Schools website (https://www.abpischools.org.uk/) with interactive content and animations to support science
teaching and learning for teachers and young people. The resources are in line with the curriculum,
and many of them link topics studied in school to their application in industry and research. All our
resources link science topics covered in school to the world outside and, particularly, to the
treatment of disease.

Project offered

The ABPI is offering an exciting opportunity for a PIPS student to apply bioscience knowledge in a
science communication context. The ABPI dedicated website for schools aims to support teachers and students drive long term achievement and attainment in STEM subjects.

The ABPI retains a commitment to support STEM education at all levels through the development of resources to promote learning and engagement across key stages 1 to 5.

Particular areas under development are:

• Tackling mis- and disinformation
• Ethical use of animals in research
• Support for medical charities

This 12 week project will centre around the above areas with the student conducting online
research, liaising with subject experts or other external stakeholders as appropriate, training on use
of in-house software for content creation, and drawing on the student’s own creativity and
knowledge to produce written and interactive content focused primarily on key stage 5 Extended
Project Qualification supporting material, as well as scope for producing some content for younger
key stages.

The output of the project is expected to include:

• Review of the desk-based research already undertaken
• Production of new resources linking to agreed objectives
• Content will be packaged for use on the ABPI award-winning schools’ website

The student will be working within the Education & Examinations team and will liaise with colleagues across ABPI and within our member companies as required. Where there are opportunities for attendance at internal meetings or with pharmaceutical site companies, the student will be able to take advantage of these, alongside any other opportunities to build a personal network.

The successful applicant can expect to have a supervisor who would meet regularly for guidance and support.

Timing

The exact timing can be confirmed with the successful applicant, though likely undertaken across Q3 &/ Q4 2026 – negotiable for the right candidate. The project should be completed over the 12-week placement. This is a contract for Monday to Friday 9-5pm, with a one-hour lunch break.

Location

The ABPI have offices at 2nd Floor Goldings House, Hay’s Galleria, 2 Hay’s Lane, London, SE1 2HB,
and currently adopt hybrid working – the exact number of days in the office/working remotely can
be negotiable for the right candidate, so do not let location dissuade you from applying.

Benefits

This project is a great opportunity to gain and develop science communication experience, with
similar projects in the past having provided opportunities to develop contacts which could be helpful to someone considering a future career in industry. The successful applicant can be expected to be treated as a member of the ABPI Education & Examinations Team that sits within the wider Medical Affairs Directorate, and as such, will benefit from professional development, cross functional working, interaction with wider stakeholders and an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the pharmaceutical industry.

Funding

We reimburse modest travel expenses when travelling to the London offices. If during the project
you are invited to, and accept, an external visit, travel expenses and reasonable lunch expenses will
be fully reimbursed.

Applications

A CV and covering letter should be sent to Andrew Croydon, Education & Examinations Policy and
Partnerships Director, ABPI ([email protected]), before Monday 25th May 2026. Should you
have any questions prior to applying, please do not hesitate to be in contact.

Who we are and what we do?

We are the UK’s leading sepsis research charity.

Our Vision is: To Stop Sepsis Now.

Our Mission is: To save lives and improve outcomes for sepsis patients by funding research and raising awareness.

We:

• Support research into sepsis
• Raise sepsis awareness across the UK
• Shape policy and decision-making involving sepsis across the UK
• Tell sepsis stories through the eyes of people affected by it

Project outline

As the leading charity in the UK funding sepsis research, it is crucial that we communicate effectively about the research we fund – particularly its impact to date – to our audiences including the public, policymakers, donors, and the wider UK media.

The PIPS Intern would take a key role in planning and delivering a suite of high-quality research content for the charity’s website, which would be then published and pushed out across the charity’s communication channels.

This is a fast-paced role with the opportunity to rapidly earn responsibility quickly. The Intern would take the lead on planning and creating up to 50 website articles, and drive delivery in co-ordination with our Chief Medical Officer, colleagues from communications, fundraising and marketing, ensuring the content was fit-for-purpose. This therefore provides project management experience in addition to the other editorial skills. The charity is rapidly growing with a team of around 20+ staff and trustees plus nearly 200 active volunteers. Therefore, a PIPS Intern would quickly become a well-known and valued member of the growing team, able to make a significant and measurable difference quite quickly.

Indicators of success would be in terms of articles published, audience numbers reached, and
engagement on the content.

Alongside the editorial work we can offer additional opportunities to help get involved in the charity’s in person events which include community fundraising efforts, conferences, and donor networking events.

The goals of the project are:

• To raise awareness of Sepsis Research FEAT and the research it funds among target audiences
• through content creation, communications, and by working with external partners to amplify the
• reach of this content
• To increase the charity’s engagement on social media channels and dedicated web pages
• To achieve media coverage
• To support the charity’s participation in external events

Essential Skills

• Supportive of the charity’s mission
• Ability to organise and prioritise work
• Good writing/written communication skills, and the ability to draft engaging copy and content
• Good IT skills and computer literacy
• Willingness to develop new skills and receive feedback
• Ability to work remotely and to develop productive working relationships with colleagues as part of a team

Skills Developed

• Editorial / writing
• Communications
• Website content management and SEO
• Marketing
• Project Management
• Relationship management (colleagues, patients, experts, external partners)
• Self-discipline and time management

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Number of places offered

1 for this project / job description

Should we receive many high-quality applications we may offer further, similar projects for an additional intern to develop similar skills in science communication, events, and campaigns.

Possible timeframe

We are looking for an Intern who can join us as soon as possible. However, we understand that September 2026 is the standard start time for Internships to begin, and this is also fine.

Application process

Please note this Job advertisement is only open to applications from UK based PhD students who are funded to complete a 3-month placement as part of their DTP for example through BBSRC. The
charity is unable to pay a salary to Interns. The charity cannot host unpaid Interns.

If you are interested in applying, please email our Communications Lead Abi Dawson at:
[email protected]

• A CV
• A brief supporting statement outlining your motivation for applying, what you believe you can offer, and when you are available to start

Random42 Scientific Communications Internship

Random42 provides digital scientific communication solutions to the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, and we have an in-house team of PhD level scientists who work on content and client management. Random42 consists of scientists, artists, animators and programmers, who collaborate to effortlessly intertwine the worlds of science, art and technology, producing some of the most impactful scientific imagery, stories and interactive experiences.

Find out more here: https://random42.com/

See also the blog post written by our recent PIPS interns:

Mawgan Trebell
Gillian Caalim

What you will do

The PIPS intern would join our medical team to work on the following areas day to day:

• Researching background information for new projects
• Drafting short scripts – This involves putting together a word document that includes the narration and a description of the visuals to be paired up with the voice-over
• Referencing scripts (each statement must be backed up by recent publications)
• Putting together reference packs and adding annotations to storyboards
• Sitting in on client calls to gain live-feedback on scripts and project progress
• Making script/reference amends as requested by clients
• Researching specific protein structures via the Protein Data Bank and drug molecules via Pubchem, to ensure a high level of scientific accuracy in projects
• Putting together storyboards to brief to our production team
• Spend time with our Production Director to see the process of modelling various structures, and how these are then turned into a scene and animated
• Gain an understanding of the whole project process, from script to voice over recording, animation and delivery of the final video

Benefits to the student

• Client management skills
• Writing skills for different audiences
  Working with creatives
• Digital asset approval processes
• Quality checking
• Brief writing and presenting

Benefits to the company

Previous interns have had a huge impact on projects, helping push them to completion in time for deadlines, checking quality and scientific accuracy, gathering background information and helping to form storylines. In short, they become one of the team!

Details

Where: 114-116 Marylebone Lane, London, W1U 2HH, UK

Contact: Eleanor Spreckley, email: [email protected]

How to apply

Please email [email protected] with your CV and a covering letter explaining why you are interested at working at R42.

Deadline for applications

Interested students can apply at any time.  However, this is a popular internship so applications are encouraged to apply ASAP.

Overview

QIAGEN is the leading global provider of Sample to Insight solutions to transform biological materials into valuable molecular insights. QIAGEN sample technologies isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from blood, tissue and other materials. Assay technologies make these biomolecules visible and ready for analysis. Bioinformatics software and knowledge bases interpret data to report relevant, actionable insights. Automation solutions tie these together in seamless and cost-effective molecular testing workflows. QIAGEN provides these workflows to more
than 500,000 customers around the world.

QIAGEN employ approximately 6,000 people in over 35 locations worldwide. Our mission is to make improvements in life possible by enabling our customers to achieve outstanding success and breakthroughs in life sciences, applied testing, pharma and molecular diagnostics.

Our commitment to the markets, customers and patients we serve drives our innovation and investment in all areas where our Sample to Insight technologies are required. The exceptional talent, skill and passion of our employees are key to QIAGEN’s excellence, success and value.

Project Outline

At QIAGEN Manchester we focus on delivering solutions which facilitate personalised healthcare. You will join a
highly motivated team working on developing Molecular Diagnostic PCR-based assays

Key responsibilities:

• Design, plan and perform studies for individual research project to support the development of new
  diagnostic products
• Ensure that experiments are completed to the required quality and regulatory standards
• Analyse and present results in written reports
• Work as part of the product development team to ensure a safe and efficient laboratory environment

Requirements

• University degree and currently completing a PhD in a relevant field
• Experience in molecular biology (e.g. PCR, RT-PCR, primer design, dPCR, NGS)
• Good analytical skills and attention to detail
• Planning and problem solving
• Positive attitude and self-motivated

Skills developed during placement

• Work experience in a professional environment
• Experience in new molecular biology techniques
• Day to day work following quality and regulatory standards

Number of placements offered: Two placements per intake

Possible Timeframe: Expected intakes are September, January and May, for a minimum period of 12 weeks

Submit your application (CV & cover letter) to the following contacts at QIAGEN (please include the following in email subject: PhD placement – “your name”)

Brandon Foster ([email protected]
James Curran ([email protected])

MORF is a web-based platform for storing, sharing and interrogating multi-omics data. It was custom built in the Thomas group at York as part of the DETOX project, for which it is a key resource for analysing and disseminating project data. MORF is now being developed as a service for academics and industry to use for their own data, either for their own primary analysis and use or for data dissemination through publications and other routes.

We are looking for a PIPS intern with a strong interest in programming to work in the MORF team, developing the platform and delivering MORF projects for clients. As well as having the chance to put their coding skills to the test, the intern will join the exciting journey to commercialise MORF!

Candidate requirements

Essential:

• Experience of programming with Python and R.
• BSc in biology or a related subject
• Excellent communication skills

Desirable

• Web development with JavaScript
• Good knowledge of ‘omics technologies and microbiology

Placement

This opportunity is expected to be fulfilled remotely by a candidate with access to their own computer and internet, supported by in person meetings in York with the MORF team. The candidate will develop their coding skills and apply this to data visualization, integration and analysis problems to help improve the functionality of the tool. Experience in teamwork, time management and customer facing communication will be gained. There may also be opportunities to contribute to publications in this role.

Application Details

Please contact MORF Business Manager Joyce Bennett for informal enquiries and to submit your application and cover letter: [email protected]

Azotic Technologies Ltd is an innovative Biotech company specialising in the development and commercialisation of novel microbial biostimulants for the agricultural sector.

We are a global leader in Biological Nitrogen-Fixation (BNF) and are currently expanding our
commercial microbial product portfolio into markets in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia. Our
products provide fixed nitrogen across all crops, resulting in enhanced yield and plant health, savings on nitrogen fertiliser while reducing the environmental impact of intensive crop production.

With sites in the UK, Canada and North America, we are a rapidly developing company with a unique product portfolio and an exciting product pipeline beyond Nitrogen-fixation.

Azotic is currently embarking on an expansion program to meet our global objectives. This expansion includes significant growth in our global team and a substantial investment in our technical and operational infrastructure. We have recently moved into our bespoke Technical Development Centre in Dunnington, York housing up to 30 scientific and administrative employees.

We are looking for motivated and enthusiastic people to join us on our exciting journey to enhance global food security.

Project Outline

You will be working in a highly skilled team investigating the effects of Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus (Gd) and designed consortia of microorganisms on main crops and horticultural
crops, aimed at addressing challenges posed by global warming and to reduce the use of pesticides.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, plan and perform studies to support the development of new products
• Ensure that experiments are completed to the required quality and regulatory standards
• Analyse and present results in written reports
• Work as part of the product development team to ensure a safe and efficient laboratory
  environment

Skills developed during placement

• Work experience in a professional environment
• Multi-disciplinary skills in Biotechnology
• Day to day work following quality and regulatory standards
• Entrepreneurial skills

Requirements

• University degree and currently completing a PhD in a relevant field
• Experience in microbiology, biochemistry or plant physiology
• Good analytical skills and attention to detail
• Positive attitude and self-motivated

Contact: [email protected]

If needed, the host organisation is willing to provide additional funding for accommodation and travel.  If you are not sure how to approach this, please consult your local PIPS Contact.