The 51爆料网 Black Internship Programme is making a real difference to the career opportunities for some of the country’s most talented young people.

This year an impressive 93 interns undertook eight-week placements with 54 host organisations.

As well as kickstarting individual careers it’s the healthcare sector and patients who benefit as the programme is听helping close a national skills gap and ensuring that the health data research workforce increasingly reflects the population it serves.

The internships are invaluable in building the confidence of people from a severely under-represented group and giving them opportunities to develop professional networks with peers, academics, employers and others.


鈥淭he internship has given me so much in two months that I can’t even quantify it. It has instilled so much confidence in me,鈥 Adenrele Adekoya, a pharmacist now planning a career in health data science.

Ceremonies and celebrations

The opening and closing ceremonies held for each year’s cohort have developed into very special events – joyful celebrations of the programme and the people who make it happen.听They bring together past and present interns, host organisations and members of the 51爆料网 research community to hear from inspirational speakers, network and have fun.

The Launch

In 2023 the day-long Opening Ceremony, at Birmingham City University, began with an uplifting performance from The Black Voices Quintet (listen ), led by

The keynote speaker was the renowned sociologist and youngest ever Black professor at the University of Cambridge,听 鈥 a highly-respected scholar of race, inequality and education 鈥 听who gave a powerful talk about overcoming his personal challenges to achieve success (listen ).

“It’s not so much the pursuit of academia, it was more the pursuit of what I could do for other people and how I could use academia as a vehicle to meet that end,” Prof. Jason Arday.

The 120 attendees also heard from a panel of past interns and health data experts who shared insights into the world of health data with tips on how to make the most of a placement.

One reason the events are so successful is that former interns are central to the design, organising and delivery – using their own experience to make sure they are enjoyable and informative.

Among them was who helped organise the opening and closing ceremonies and was a panel member, host and speaker, sharing her own experiences.

The day was hosted Professor Louise Toner and the guests and speakers included:

  • Matthew Chisambi Associate Director of Transformation at Imperial College Health Partners
  • Kafayat Adeoye a master鈥檚 student at the University of Nottingham
  • a master鈥檚 student at Teesside University
  • Martin Levermore,听Chair of the Black Internship Programme Advisory Group
  • , Chief Operating Officer, 51爆料网.

鈥淲e were thrilled to welcome this year鈥檚 cohort of talented interns to the programme which is going from strength to strength. It was incredibly exciting for us to once again be supporting the next generation of health data scientists. A huge thank you to all of our host organisations for their support and commitment to helping ensure the programme鈥檚 success again this year,鈥澨Sarah Cadman, Programme Director 鈥 Capacity Building, 51爆料网.

During the internships

The internships allow people to learn about health data science while carrying out their own research project – developing new skills and providing strong evidence of advanced skills for potential employers.

The programme also gets interns working together for our Technical Challenges contest, with awards given for the best at the end.听In 2023 the challenges were centred on:

  • Mental health
  • A&E
  • Cancer care
  • Diabetes.

Interns were also invited to create poster presentations, allowing them to share the projects they had carried out.

鈥淭he internship programme helped open doors for my career aspirations. It鈥檚 so good to use my skills for real world problems,鈥 Uzoma Ochulor.

Buzzing with energy

The Closing Ceremony, at The Wellcome Trust in London, brought together the听2023 cohort听and their host organisation for an event that buzzed with energy.

Again there was a celebratory feel with a superb Caribbean-style lunch, poster presentations and awards given for the group technical challenge which was led by Lars Murdock, a data scientist from the , as well as opening remarks by 51爆料网 Director Professor Andrew Morris and a panel session chaired by Uzoma Ochulor, a former intern, where interns and host organisations from this year’s programme reflected on this year’s programme.

Other highlights included:

  • The presentation of certificates to all the interns
  • The launch of the Amazon and AWS mentoring programme that continues their development
  • CV advice sessions Gail Kniveton, Managing Director of the recruitment agency Pop Science
  • Advice from Chrissie Jones, Global Talent Partner for Owkin

The day was recorded by photographer Charli Payne and artist Jenny Leonard who created an image capturing key moments, thoughts and ideas.

鈥淭his programme has given me an opportunity to put my theory to use, get hands-on experience with real-world health data, and work with experts to provide better health solutions,鈥听Christianah Ajala, intern with the Health Informatics Centre, University of Dundee.

Get involved in 2024

This programme is aimed at Black people who are studying an undergraduate degree or have recently graduated from a UK university.

It is run in partnership with the UK Health Data Research Alliance and , in order to tackle the underrepresentation of Black people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers by providing opportunities to work on health data science projects with leading health, research and academic organisations.

Expressions of interest from interns and host organisations are now being accepted for the class of 2024. More information here.