Category: Career Opportunities, Internships & Volunteering

Branco Weiss Fellowship – deadline 15 January 2025

I am delighted to draw your attention to a remarkable opportunity – the Branco Weiss Fellowship. The global application process for this prestigious fellowship has just opened, with a deadline of 15 January 2025.

Branco Weiss, a renowned Swiss entrepreneur and supporter of science, has dedicated nearly his entire fortune to supporting exceptional postdoctoral researchers with a generous 5-year grant (more information available at https://brancoweissfellowship.org). Since 2002, the Branco Weiss Fellowship – Society in Science has supported more than 150 early-career researchers. Fellows are free to carry out their projects at any academic institution worldwide, allowing them to choose the environment that best suits their research needs.

We welcome applications from a wide range of disciplines, including the humanities and social sciences.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our team at brancoweissfellowship@ethz.ch.

Home – The Branco Weiss Fellowship

Become a Student Programme Partner for the Imperial Women Networks Alliance (deadline: 22 Nov 2024)

ECRI are pleased to open applications for a Student Programme Partner (SPP) opportunity to support the newly created Imperial Women Networks Alliance. This exciting developmental opportunity will give you the chance to become a Student Programme Partner and engage with the academic lead for this new network, Dr Jess Wade, to help shape its scope and develop its activities and events.

About the Imperial Women Networks Alliance

We are an alliance of diverse networks and individuals working toward and passionate about women’s empowerment. We are an umbrella of a variety of initiatives focussed on supporting women at different stages and in different disciplines. We have one joint vision: to create an inclusive, welcoming community with a focus on accelerating the progress of women and their careers.
The network is open to all members of the ECRI community. Affiliate status will be offered where necessary.

Background

The PRES 2023 indicated that women PhD students are experiencing less satisfaction than their male counterparts at Imperial. In response to this, ECRI (formally the Graduate School), in partnership with the Union and Associate Provost EDI, established the “Women PhD Perspectives Project.” The objectives of the project were to:

  • Understand more deeply the barriers and challenges experienced by women PhD students at Imperial
  • Generate ideas for tangible actions the College could take to improve the experience of women PhD students.
  • Report findings/recommendations to ECRI (formerly the Graduate School), Student Experience Forum, Postgraduate Research and Quality Committee (PRQC) and the Education and Student Experience Committee.
  • The project comprised of three activities (a women’s experiences workshop, the collection and review of PhD case studies submitted by women students, and a survey sent to all women PhD students), which informed the final recommendations. A recurring theme, which emerged at each stage of the project, was the need to establish stronger networks for women Doctoral and Early Career Researchers. As such, funding was awarded to appoint an SPP to work with academic and administrative leads to establish this network.

Remit of the Development Opportunity

The successful candidate will be awarded £1,000 per annum bursary top-up (10 monthly payments of £100 over the course of the year) and work closely with the academic and administrative leads to:

  • Assist with establishing a women’s PhD network
  • Lead on activities as agreed by the network
  • Assist with appointing a Women’s PhD Network Committee to manage network events, including an annual women’s showcase event

Who Can Apply

The SPP opportunity is open to Doctoral students who have completed at least their first year of study.

How to Apply

Students wishing to apply for this opportunity should complete the online application form.

The application deadline is Friday 22nd of November 2024 @ 17:00.

Any additional queries, please contact the Manager of ECRI Administration, Bethan Ritchie.

Call for volunteers – Confront Educational Inequality mentoring programme

Do you want to contribute to making higher education accessible for all students, but don’t know how? Then we have just the program for you!

Confront Educational Inequality’ is a grassroots-driven, EDI seed-funded, mentoring programme, providing 6th form students from a school in a socioeconomically deprived area of London with extra support. We have partnered with Ark Academy in Wembley and now for the first year Barnet Pioneer for the last 5 years to assist highly motivated students (Year 12) in:

  1. Creating a scientific poster in the mentee’s topic of choice.
  2. Applying to universities.

Partnered with the Ark Academy in Wembley, and Ark Pioneer, Barnet the CIE (Confronting Inequality in Education) programme provides support to Year 12 students studying STEM subjects. The initiative aims to foster a nurturing environment for scientific exploration, and to equip students with a diverse set of skills to strengthen university applications.

The programme involves:

  • Matching an Imperial postgraduate student or staff member (mentor) with a Year 12 student (mentee), according to mutual research interest where possible
  • 1-2-1 remote meetings between the mentor and the mentee, with three face-to-face meetings. A time commitment of about 4h / month for the duration of the programme. You do not need to be based in London but we do ask you to try to come meet your mentee during the face-to-face meetings (see dates below) whenever possible to benefit mentor-mentee relationships
  • Until Spring 2025, supervise your mentee to make a scientific poster on a topic of their choice, that will be presented at the final showcase at Imperial College. Afterwards, support your mentee on career aspirations and university applications

Provisional Dates 2024-2025

  • w/c 2nd December, late afternoon/ evening: Career speed-meeting to meet your mentee and give them insights into your studies and/or career path. Location: Ark Academy, Wembley or Ark Pioneer, Barnet (depending on your allocated mentee)
  • Mid to Late January, Afternoon: Crash course for mentees on how to make a scientific poster. Location: Imperial College (South Kensington or White City campus) – this is optional for mentors
  • Late April, Afternoon: poster presentations by mentees to their peers, mentors, and other interested parties. Location: Imperial College (South Kensington or White City Campus)
  • Summer: mentees write personal statement for UCAS applications with mentors support
  • Autumn / winter: Interview preparation.

The students (Y12) are taking courses in Maths, Chemistry, Physics, and/or Biology, and we are looking for mentors whose research has a base in any of those topics, including Engineering.  We are looking for mentors, ranging from PGT students to PIs – everyone is welcome to join!  Any additional experiences (a day in the lab, running a small experiment) that you could give your mentee, would be the cherry on top!

Register to become a mentor here: https://imperial.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a9LkJlOM6D8CcXc

This year we have a record number of mentees signed up, and it would be fantastic if we were able to support them all.  If you have any questions, please get in touch with ciementoring@imperial.ac.uk

Harvard Innovation Labs Stealth Startup Internships & Full-Time Opportunities

A Harvard Innovation Labs stealth startup is offering paid (1) Research, (2) Business Development, (3) Computational Biology, (4) Software Engineering, (5) Operations, (6) Campus Ambassador and (7) Executive Assistant internship and full-time opportunities to PhD, MS and exceptional undergraduate students, clinical trainees and recent graduates.

Further Information:

(1) Researchers will focus on experimental design, patent drafting, scientific assessment of proteins and pathways of interest, conducting literature reviews and prioritizing targets and assets.

(2) Business Development team members will partake in activities related to funding and partnerships, including preparing materials and analyses for government, academic, philanthropic and venture-based grants as well as due diligence.

(3) Computational Biologists will design and implement efficient algorithms to analyze high-dimensional biological datasets and advance data curation efforts.

(4) Software Engineers will develop, maintain, and optimize applications and tools to advance research and business objectives.

(5) Operations team members will support various functional aspects of the company, executing core business objectives, streamlining processes and supporting organizational efficiency.

(6) Campus Ambassadors will spearhead campus engagement efforts and support recruiting initiatives through strategic outreach, relationship building and promotion.

(7) Executive Assistants will provide administrative assistance to the CEO and senior executives, managing appointments and maintaining accurate records and documentation.

The positions pose a great opportunity to get hands-on experience in biotech company building and drug discovery. Interns and full-time hires will be provided with a highly competitive salary and the option to work remotely. Full-time hires will be provided with a generous benefits package, including healthcare and paid time off. Internship positions will require approximately 5-10 hours of work per week for a duration of 3 months, with an option for extension and promotion for exceptional performers.

Qualifications/Requirements:

  • Must be a graduate student (PhD, MD, MS), outstanding undergraduate student, clinical trainee or recent graduate at or from a top institution; Prior work or research experience are preferred.
  • Strong scientific or business acumen and curiosity, with the ability to navigate or support the advancement of biomedical fields including gene therapy and molecular and cell biology. A basic understanding of the drug discovery process is helpful, but not required.
  • Excellent communication and writing skills, with proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel. Resourceful, proactive, independent and able to function at a high level with intermittent supervision, possessing meticulous attention to detail and organization.
  • For Computational Biologists: Proficiency with algorithm development and statistical analysis
  • For Software Engineers: Facility in developing and deploying complex software applications

About the Company:

The company is developing a novel therapeutics platform for an array of monogenic and common diseases. Work to date has been funded by the Harvard Innovation Labs, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a number of U.S. venture capital funds, including the Harvard’s Allston Venture Fund, backed exclusively by six funds: Bain Capital, General Catalyst, Polaris Partners, Highland Capital, Underscore VC and GETTYLAB, as well as Pillar VC and BlueYard Capital.

Application Submission:

All applicants should use the following link to apply: https://form.typeform.com/to/pBdXLsGD

Volunteer as a Tutor with The Access Project

The Access Project is looking for volunteers to support disadvantaged young people aged 14-18 for 1 hour a week with their academic studies, through our easy-to-use dedicated online platform.

  • Support a young person in a school subject to achieve the GCSE / A level grades they deserve and to fulfill their potential
  • Inspire, motivate and raise aspirations towards further education & the world of work
  • Students supported by The Access Project typically achieve a grade higher at GCSE and are four times more likely than their peers to progress to a top-third ranked university.

No prior experience necessary, full training included over autumn with start dates throughout the autumn term.

Sign up: www.theaccessproject.org.uk/volunteer