Health Data Science Black Internship Programme
Expand your health data science knowledge and gain the experience you need to kickstart your career in this field.
Applications are now open for the 2026 internship programme - apply now!
About the programme
Our internships are a super way to gain hands-on experience, carrying out practical projects in the real world. It’s a great way to find out about a rapidly advancing area of science, meet fellow interns, looks superb on a CV – and can open doors to new opportunities. Our alumni go on to a range of careers including academia, civil service, business, medical school, additional internships and wider roles within health data and wider data science fields.
We are tackling underrepresentation of Black people within the health data science sector by providing you with an opportunity to expand your knowledge and gain the experience you need to kickstart, or advance, your health data science career.
The vast scope of the health data science sector includes – but is not limited to – genomics, bioinformatics, epidemiology, clinical trials, data privacy, data standards, medical imaging and instrumentation, health data access, health inequalities, modelling, patient-public advocacy, policy, clinical trials and biostatistics.
The impact of BIP 2025
What we offer
- 8-week paid internship (London Living Wage, currently £14.80)
- A laptop for duration of internship if required
- Opportunities across sectors in health data
- A real world data project developed by our host organisations
- Exclusive training activities every Friday afternoon
- Opportunity to join the wider 10,000 Black Interns community
- Customised learning pathway within HDR UK Futures
- Mentor and line manager
- Team technical challenge and prize giving
- Certificate recognising intern achievements
- In-person networking with other interns and host orgs
- Ongoing career support post-programme from HDR UK Alumni Network
2026 Black Internship Open Day
See what our 2026 Black Internship Programme offers you
Eligibility
There is no prior experience, academic grade or coding requirement for this programme. Our internships for summer 2026 will be open to all Black people (individuals with African, Caribbean and/or Other Black backgrounds and/or those with Black mixed heritage) who are:
- Current students at a UK university at any level (undergraduate, post grad diploma, Master’s, PhD or returning student)
- Recently graduated from a UK university (2024 and 2025)
- International students currently registered at a UK university
- Of any academic background, but is ideally suited to individuals with a degree in mathematics, physics, engineering or computer / data sciences, and bioinformatics-allied subjects.
- Based in the UK for the duration of the recruitment process and internship
All applicants must have the Right to Work in the UK.
Visas will not be provided to any candidate on the programme. Please reach out to us if you have any questions about eligibility:
Whilst we are delighted our alumni often want to return to this internship, we are only offering this opportunity to those who are new to the programme and health data science, to maximise the benefit they receive from the wider training programme. Candidates who have been previously successful at interview but later withdrew will also be ineligible. To find out about upcoming HDR UK Training opportunities, please sign up to our newsletter here.
Application and internship dates
The application portal for 2026 will be opening early November 2025.
Register your interest above to find out about our Open Day and when we open for applications.
Key dates for our 2026 programme:
Virtual open day (Zoom): Thursday 23 October 2025 11:00-12:30
Deadline for applications: Sunday 4 January 2026
Next steps for applicants call: Friday 16 January 2026
Information on reasonable adjustments call: Thursday 22 January 2026
Interview windows with host organisations: February – March 2026
The internship will be for 8-weeks on the following dates:
Internships: Monday 29 June – Friday 21 August 2026
Minimum working week: 35-40 hours (full-time), 20 hours (part-time)
Opening ceremony: Wednesday 24 June 2026
Closing ceremony: Thursday 27 August 2026
These are fixed dates to ensure everyone can participate in all elements of the programme. There is no flexibility to ensure consistency for all candidates and to ensure all interns are available for the ceremonies and other HDR UK-provided training opportunities. If you are not available for all dates above, please consider applying for 2027.
Application form
There are two stages of application to us and both will need to be completed within the specified deadline for your application to be eligible for the programme.
Stage 1: Deadline – Sunday 4 January 2026 23:45
Through our Applied portal, where you will be asked about the following:
- Your eligibility to work in the UK
- An up-to-date CV
- Three personal-statement style questions on your experiences, skills and motivation
Please ensure that your details (phone, email, university name, course name and dates) are up-to-date.
Stage 2: Deadline – Sunday 11 January 2026 23:45
After your application has been successfully screened in Stage 1, we will invite you to provide the following on Microsoft Forms:
- Your contact details (name, email address, phone number)
- Preferred internship location in the UK
- Any part-time internship requirements
- If you require any reasonable adjustments for interview
- If you require a laptop for the duration of the internship
- If you are open to internship opportunities that are longer than 8 weeks
- Your subject area and skills
You will be able to save a copy of your Stage 2 application submission.
Applying via 10,000 Black Interns
We are proud to be collaborating with 10,000 Black Interns on our programme.
Any candidates applying for an internship with us via the 10,000 Interns Foundation Pinpoint recruitment system will be directed to complete our Applied application process (Stage 1 and Stage 2).
Recruitment process
After the interview window has concluded, we will be in contact with unsuccessful candidates to let them know that they did not secure an internship with us for 2026.
Selection criteria
We don’t expect you to have developed all these skills just yet or have previous experience, but some of the skills you should have include:
- Passion for solving health data problems, no matter how big or small; and are strongly motivated to get things done.
- Sound quantitative skills and the ability to conduct analysis using data.
- Competent pattern recognition and predictive modelling skills.
- Appreciation for our mission and values as the UK’s national institute for health data science to unite the UK’s health data to enable discoveries that improve people’s lives, and balance this with a collaborative mindset to prioritise work.
- An interest and willingness to learn and develop new skills within health data.
We will look for these and your authenticity primarily in the answers to the personal statement-style questions in your application to us.
A diverse and inclusive culture
We aim to support you and ensure a smooth, transparent and fair recruitment process for this programme. We will provide:
- All information pertinent to recruitment to be listed on this webpage or clarified in emails to you
- A virtual Open Day hosted by our former interns about the programme including an opportunity for you to ask any questions
- A recruitment support package with tips on what to include / not to include in your CV
- Feedback on your application if you are unsuccessful
- A Next Steps call in January with guidance on how to prepare for interview
- Feedback from host organisations if you are unsuccessful at interview
We aim to accommodate specific needs and personal circumstances. Please make us aware of individual circumstances when applying by contacting us below:
If you have questions or require adjustments to the application process, please contact us via email.
HDR UK collects and stores personal data from the participants in this programme, including diversity and destinations data. HDR UK will share this data with the host organisations of the programme as part of the application process. HDR UK may contact you in the future to request information on your destination following your participating in the programme. HDR UK may also contact you to invite you to join in our alumni network. For further information on how HDR processes personal data please see our privacy statement.
Other info
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Diversity data from across the health sector shows that in comparison to the wider UK population, Black people are severely underrepresented in STEM roles – and in particular health data science. As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion we wanted to address this issue head on and in 2020 we made a commitment to create an internship programme that would offer early career Black scientists the opportunity to participate in a paid internship programme and give them access to training and networking opportunities. The HDR UK Black Internship Programme was set up working in collaboration with the wider 10,000 Black Interns programme.
You can read more about the aims the 10,000 Black Interns programme here and more on the widely reported challenges around under representation of Black People within STEM and health data science in some of the listed articles here and here.
The programme uses the principles of positive action as set out within the Equality Act 2010. It is not unlawful discrimination to take proportionate, specific action aimed at alleviating disadvantage or underrepresentation experienced by groups who share any protected characteristics.
Providing internships, work placements and access to training are all accepted forms of taking proportionate positive action to address the 3 areas identified above. The EHRC also recommends internships as a form of positive action in its guidance to employers here.
Interns who go on to apply for employment or further educational opportunities following the Black Internship Programme are subject to an individual organisation’s standard recruitment or application process and are not given any preferential treatment.
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We advertise nationally and through a range of avenues to reach Black students and recent graduates from universities across the UK.
61% of our interns are women. Our interns have a range of subject background expertise and are based all across the UK, in different universities – 58% of our interns are from non-Russell Group universities – and at different career stages (undergraduate, early career, PhD, post-PhD, returning students, working professionals).
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We work with a range of host organisation partners who are based across the UK. We work hard to match host organisation requirements on a range of internships (in-person, online or hybrid) with local interns.
Interns must have the Right to Work in the UK for July-August 2026 and be based in the UK throughout their internship. This also applies to remote-based internships.
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We understand that circumstances change and for different reasons.
Please let us know by sending us a short email to blackinternprog@hdruk.ac.uk and we can update your application status.
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This programme will be for eight weeks in July and August 2026. Candidates looking for longer placements or subject-specific areas should speak to their university course tutors about alternative options.
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No. We will match eligible applications with host organisations within local areas.
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Internship formats are entirely at the discretion and capacity of our host organisation partners, and the policies they have in place for their own staff. Applicants should be prepared to go into the office daily for their internship if successful, unless told otherwise.
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All interns on our programme are automatically eligible for our HDR UK Alumni community which provides ongoing support through:
- A dedicated mentorship scheme
- Exclusive training opportunities delivered by HDR UK
- Access to a curated experience on our Futures platform
- Posts about job opportunities within health data
- Networking opportunities with other Alumni
- Guidance on PhD applications
- Opportunities to shape future training delivered by HDR UK
- Signposting for other training programme opportunities
Take a look at some previous projects
2025 Internship Projects
The Health Data Science Black Internship Programme highlights the vast scope of the health data science sector. This includes – but is not limited to – genomics, bioinformatics, epidemiology, clinical trials, data privacy, data standards, medical imaging and instrumentation, health data access, health inequalities, modelling, patient-public advocacy, policy, clinical trials and...
2024 Internship Projects
The Health Data Science Black Internship Programme highlights the vast scope of the health data science sector. This includes – but is not limited to – genomics, bioinformatics, epidemiology, clinical trials, data privacy, data standards, medical imaging and instrumentation, health data access, health inequalities, modelling, patient-public advocacy, policy, clinical trials and...
2023 Internship Projects
The Health Data Science Black Internship Programme highlights the vast scope of the health data science sector. This includes – but is not limited to – genomics, bioinformatics, epidemiology, clinical trials, data privacy, data standards, medical imaging and instrumentation, health data access, health inequalities, modelling, patient-public advocacy, policy, clinical trials and...
Our previous interns' experiences
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I love a technical challenge!
Ayoola Dosu recently joined HDR UK’s Technology Team as part of the 2024 Black Internship Programme. Here, she shares her passion for data analysis in the health sector and the significance of...
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From Pharmacist to Health Data Scientist: My HDR UK Internship Journey
Oluwatobi Oni took part in the HDR UK Health Data Science Black Internship Programme at the University of Glasgow in summer 2024. In this blog, Oluwatobi charts his journey into health data...
Opinion
Black Internship – An Amazing Journey
Eghosa Lucky Emumwen is a medical doctor who was hosted by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) for the Black Internship Programme – we asked him to tell us about himself and how it...
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My journey from third year medical student to computer programmer
Elise Uzokwe shares her journey from medical student to coder as part of the 2023 Health Data Science Black Internship Programme.
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Internship Gives Freedom To Learn
Black Internship alumnus Adenrele Adekoya recently carried out an analysis that could have important implications for the teaching of health data skills to medical school students. He graduated...
Opinion
Son’s jaundice at birth prompts data scientist’s research journey to help others
Serifat Folorunso’s motivation for entering the health data research field came after the birth of her second son. With her son presenting with jaundice, Serifat had many questions for...
Opinion
My HDR UK Black Internship Programme experience in health data: Phinehas Arkorful
We caught up with Phinehas Arkorful mid-way through his placement on the Black Internship Programme to find out if it's what he expected and what's he's learnt so far.
Opinion
My HDR UK Black Internship Programme experience in health data: Uzoma Ochulor
We caught up with Uzoma Ochulor mid-way through her placement on the Black Internship Programme to find out if it's what she expected and what's she's learnt so far.
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My HDR UK Black Internship Programme experience in health data: Chrysie Alexiou
We caught up with Chrysie Alexiou mid-way through her placement on the Black Internship Programme to find out if it's what she expected and what's she's learnt so far.
Some of our previous host organisations
Could your organisation host an intern?
Visit our partnerships page to learn more.
Our interns
HDR UK Event
HDR UK Black Internship Programme: Five Years of Impact and Building Momentum
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Class of 2025
We are keen to help transform the prospects of, and provide opportunities for, early career Black people in the UK to flourish in their future health data science careers. Here you can meet...
