An internship programme to help talented Black health data scientists flourish in STEM careers

Tackling underrepresentation within health data science and providing motivated candidates with an opportunity to expand their knowledge and gain experience

Working together to transform prospects

The UK has an urgent need for new health data scientists – it’s a rapidly expanding field with the recognised potential to transform the future of health and care for all, and we believe that health data science should be as effective as possible in serving and reflecting the needs of the entire UK population.

With the UK Health Data Research Alliance and the 10,000 Black Interns Foundation, we are committed to delivering the fourth year of our programme. We continue with our aim to tackle the underrepresentation of Black people within health data science and, with your support, provide motivated candidates with an opportunity to expand their knowledge around the sector and gain the experience they need to advance their careers.

The programme is championed in the Medical Research Council’s Strategic Delivery Plan 2022-25 as a way to develop a diverse research and technical workforce with the skills to address today’s innovation challenges.

Interested in hosting interns for 2025?

What we offer to host organisations

Promote the programme to a national audience of students and graduates to generate a large pool of potential candidates
Oversee the recruitment process from receipt of applications to sifting, whilst also ensuring that host organisations have suitable interviewees
Manage the internship education and co-ordinate cohort-wide training programmes and activities throughout
Support mentors for interns and mentoring guidance
Highlight the impact from the programme and provide communications toolkits
Provide ongoing support to you before, during and after internship programme
Develop and deliver networking events for all involved in the programme
Highlight relevant career opportunities across your organisation for alumni interns

What we ask from host organisations

Pay interns the Real Living Wage for London (£13.85/hour) as a minimum (regardless of where host or intern are based)
Reimburse interns for their travel expenses for the opening and closing ceremonies according to your organisation’s staff expense policies
Obtain organisational permission to host interns
Let us know about logistical requirements in our pledge form
Carry out interviews – (we will screen and match applicants for you)
Conduct Right To Work in the UK checks
Create an 8-week health data project for your intern(s)
Provide a laptop if needed for your intern(s)

Pledge now

Dates for the Black Internship Programme 2025

Pledge deadline: January 2025
Recruitment windows: February and March 2025
Opening ceremony: Wednesday 25 June 2025
Internships: Monday 30 June – Friday 22 August 2025
Closing ceremony: Wednesday 27 August 2025

If you have any further questions or you’d like to find out more, please contact us below.

Impact

The Impact of Our 2023 Internship

Our Black Internship Programme is about more than providing excellent training opportunities - it actively celebrates the UK's diversity and talent. The programme itself, plus the opening and closing ceremonies were all designed to create strong and lasting links between the interns, their host organisations and HDR UK.

Learn more

Host organisations for our 2025 programme

Pledge here for 2025

We are pleased to have worked with organisations in health data across a wide range of sectors including academic, charities, civil service, industry and the NHS.