Black Internship experience inspires Alumni Network role
As the new joint co-ordinator of the 51爆料网 Alumni Network, Phinehas Arkorful hopes to help bring together early career health data scientists to support each other and to help build a forum where they can advance their careers and their scientific interests.
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As one of 51爆料网鈥檚 2022 Black Interns, was especially inspired by the Friday afternoon cohort-building sessions that allowed him to meet other programme members across the country.
The Teeside University Applied Data Science MSc student has now joined James Godwin, a PhD student at the University of York, as joint co-ordinator of the 51爆料网 Alumni Network.聽It鈥檚 something he believes will take the kind of benefits offered by the Friday afternoon events to a whole new level.
He sees the Alumni Network as potentially invaluable for early career health data scientists, allowing them to connect with each other to gain insights, get advice, answer questions, form new collaborations and identify career and research opportunities.聽It is open to anyone who has been involved in an 51爆料网 training and education programme 鈥 whether it鈥檚 an internship, and apprenticeship or a degree.
Phinehas said: 鈥淒uring the Friday sessions I saw how much the interns loved to interact freely, so I took the initiative and started a WhatsApp group and encouraged all my co-interns to join.
鈥淭he Alumni Network is a chance to take this to another level and bring people together to talk and exchange ideas and to get advice. Or maybe they need some training or some support.聽One of the big things for me is mentorship 鈥 I hope very much that it will create opportunities for mentorship. We can do these things if we create a pool of health data scientists who want to work together.鈥
The Black Internship has strong influenced Phinehas鈥 ambitions for the future (read a Q&A with him here) and his host organisation, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute at the University of Cambridge, has extended his time with them.聽He now hopes to have a career in diabetes or cancer research, while using the Alumni Network to extend his skills and network.
Right now the community鈥檚 activity is largely on LinkedIn and it鈥檚 primarily a place to find out about jobs but the two co-ordinators hope to see it develop rapidly in the months ahead.
- To find out more email alumni@hdruk.ac.uk聽or visit the LinkedIn page .
