Careers and Training
The HDR UK Capacity Building Team has a wide range of initiatives to help create the highly skilled health data research workforce the UK needs in order to drive improvements in health and care.
Cutting edge skills for an emerging sector
Health data science is a rapidly emerging sector, offering rewarding careers at the forefront of medical and healthcare research. We are committed to ensuring that health data scientists have the education and training they need for a flourishing future and that the next generation are equipped for the exciting challenges ahead.
Nurturing talent and providing training are also essential to filling the national data skills gap and to building the workforce needed to fulfil HDR UK’s mission to improve health and care by realising the potential of large-scale data.
What we offer
Our Capacity Building Team works in partnership with a wide range of national and international organisations to provide:
- Expert-led bite-sized video-based CPD training courses via the Health Data Research Futures virtual learning platform
- Workshops, webinars and seminars
- Internships – including the Black Internship Programme
- MSc-equivalent apprenticeships
- Online courses in areas from longevity medicine to data analysis
- MSc courses
- A prestigious PhD programme
- Research fellowships.
We have a T-shaped strategy aimed at offering breadth and depth of learning. Our aims include attracting new people from diverse social, academic and professional backgrounds into health data research.
We are also striving to ensure that researchers, at all stages of their careers, have access to skills and knowledge that will keep them at the cutting edge of the field. In the years ahead the HDR UK Talent and Training Team will be rapidly expanding the number and range of training and learning opportunities it provides.
HDR UK Alumni Network
HDRUK-Wellcome Biomedical Vacation Scholarships in Health Data Research
In 2022 Health Data Research UK launched a new Wellcome-funded undergraduate scholarship programme to provide UK-wide summer vacation work placements.
Health Data Research Futures
Continued Professional Development
The world of health data science is constantly evolving. Our growing portfolio of CPD courses will provide you with the skills and insights needed to keep up to date with the latest developments.
Work Experience
As the UK’s national institute for health data science, we are working to help transform the prospects of, and provide opportunities for, early career health data scientists.
Higher Education
Our masters, PHD and apprenticeship programmes aim to upskill early career data scientists, provide the best possible foundation for a career in health data science and to develop future leaders in health data science.
Community and Partners
We are striving to build a community of skilled and motivated health data scientists to position the UK as a leader in the use of data to make lasting improvements to the health of the public.
Apprenticeships – boosting careers and benefitting employers
To mark National Apprenticeship Week (6-12 Feb) we interviewed Stephanie Parrott about her time as a senior manager with HDR UK. We also discussed her Level 3 Data Citizen Apprenticeship for which...
HDR UK bursaries for Oxford wearables machine learning course
Bursaries are being offered to early career scientists affiliated to members of the UK Health Data Research Alliance (the Alliance) for an immersive week-long course exploring Reproducible Machine...
HDR UK Master’s Programme Trains 300 Students
We have worked with leading universities across the UK to establish a variety of specialist master's courses that have prepared hundreds of talented people for careers in health data science
Careers at the cutting edge: Dr Rona Strawbridge
Our Alumni Network is all about supporting and developing fulfilling career in health data science. As part of this we are profiling the work and careers of HDR UK alumni - finding out about their...
Experimental and Observational Methods for Health Data Science in Health Data Training
An immersion week delivered as the first part of a series introducing graduates with advanced skills in mathematics and computational science to key health data science topics. Dates to be...
Northern Care Partnership drive to build NHS health data science skills
Capacity building is essential if the UK is to have the level of health data research expertise needed to address its mounting healthcare challenges. Professor Peter Bath, Training Lead for HDR...
HEALTH INFORMATICS: Hon. Professor Phil Quinlan – the reluctant academic
As someone with a senior university post, and who is closely involved with HDR UK, it may seem surprising that Phil Quinlan is a reluctant academic. More broadly he argues that research, and the...
RESEARCH: Professor Emily Jefferson – pushing boundaries
After cycling from New Zealand to the UK Emily Jefferson found herself in Scotland with a job at the University of Dundee Health Informatics Centre. Professor Emily Jefferson Soon afterwards she...
INTERN: Shahriar Kabir Khan – a future researcher
The health data research sector is in search of promising young people with the talent and vision needed to tackle the major challenges facing healthcare. Shahriar Kabir Khan Kabir joined HDR UK...
Meet our team
- Sarah Cadman, Programme Director for Capacity Building
- Tim Frayling, Chief Talent and Training Officer
- Rosie Wakeham, Head of Training
- Dona Reddiar, Doctoral and Internship Programme Manager
- James Kavanagh, Training Support Officer
- Jack Greenslade, Educational Videographer.
Training needs and aims
Our training and learning initiatives are directly geared to supporting HDR UK’s the National Research Priorities which are: Better care, understanding the causes of diseases, improving public health, applied analytics, plus better, faster, more efficient clinical trials.
HDR UK is aiming to identify and to meet the country’s health data research needs. We would love to hear from you at Learn@hdruk.ac.uk if you have a training need we can help with, a training offer for health data science researchers or want to know more about our work in talent and training.
