The aim of the programme is to fund 4-year Non-Clinical PhD studentships research areas which align with the strategic interests of AstraZeneca. The three broad areas of research interests are:
- Innovative Technologies ...
Internships are a great way for students to get hands-on experience of synthetic biology-related research and development and in related areas such as policy, science communication and intellectual property. The IRC can help connect students in Cambridge and local or national providers.
For potential interns
Internal Opportunities
The Engineering Biology Interdisciplinary Research Centre acts as a hub for synthetic and engineering biology activities at the University of Cambridge in collaboration with corporate partners, policy organisations and NGOs. We coordinate a broad set of activities exploring the implications of applying formal engineering principles to biological systems and developing novel biological functions. This stretches from development of foundational tools and technologies to exploring global policy and regulation to establishing outreach and educational activities. If you are interested in biological engineering and particularly novel forms of IP, open source technologies, regulation of emerging biotechnologies, responsible research and innovation, public engagement and related topics, please feel free to get in touch and we will aim to direct you toward any relevant opportunities.
External Opportunities
We also have a wide network in local companies and organisation and we're happy to facilitate links for external opportunities, in addition to advertising existing vacancies and calls on the site.
The University of Cambridge Faculty of Biology provide an excellent list of internships and work experience opportunities, as does the Royal Society of Biology.
In the computational biology field, Microsoft Research Cambridge often offer 12-week paid interships targeted primarily at Masters and PhD students.
For organisations offering internships
The IRC advertises internships both within the University and at external institutes and companies:
- directly through our website, newsletter and Twitter feed
- specifically to BBSRC-DTP students to undertake their funded PIPS internship (more info)
- via other means such as the University Careers Service and through the Cambridge University Synthetic Biology Society.
The SRI can help connect you to a pool of bright, talented and academically excellent undergraduates and graduates at the University of Cambridge with an interest in synthetic biology. In general, internships should be paid but students occasionally have their own funding. Specifically, all BBSRC-DTP PhD students are expected to undertake a total of 3 months internship work and are funded through their studentship (more info). There are also schemes in place to help fund interns:
- The Santander Internship Scheme for SMEs funds 50% of a final year or graduate's intern salary for three months, with the SME contributing the other 50%.
If you are interested in offering a synthetic biology or related placement e.g. an interdisciplinary placement that connects biology and engineering, please contact the SRI Coordinator on synbio@hermes.cam.ac.uk and we will be happy to assist.
Latest Internships
Summer internship opportunity at the Departments of Biochemistry and Physics, with Dr Leonardo Mancini (Herchel Smith Fellow, Welch/Cicuta Labs).
This would be a really good opportunity for a second or third year...
12 week bioinformatics internship available at Illumina, Cambridge. Suitable for 3rd-year undergraduates and above.
The Engineering Biology IRC is pleased to announce the dates for the 2022 No-Code Programming for Biology Training Workshop. The workshop will take place over two sessions from 5:30-7:00pm on 27th June and 1st July, and will include hands-on sessions, as well as the opportunity to meet other budding biomakers.
12-month internship available for engineering student studying mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering or similar interested in a year long placement.
University-wide call for data champions to act as local advocates for good research data management, supporting researchers in areas such as data organisation, storage and sharing.
Internship opportunity at British American Tabacco Southampton for current undergraduates in life sciences, biology, biochemistry or organic chemistry.
1 year paid internship available for 2nd year and above undergraduates as a Statistician, Statistical Data Scientist or Statistical Programmer/Analyst at GSK.
8-12 week internship opportunity at research tools provider CRB Discovery. Working on generation of a new set of antibodies to be added to the Discovery Antibodies Catalogue.
Various internship opportunities available for Masters and undergraduate students interested in bioinformatics and computational biology.
6-12 month paid internship opportunity available at Cambridge-based startup Oxcitas. Working on analysis on omics datasets, bioinformatics and the AI/ML drug discovery process.
SynBioUK is partnering with Hummingbird Ventures (HV) to offer a nation-wide Venture Fellowship allowing participants to learn more about the synthetic biology and biotechnology market.
12-week internships available for undergraduates and postgraduates in the Health Intelligence team at Microsoft Research Cambridge. Areas include: hospital care, mental health, medical imaging, immunomics and synthetic biology.
Four week online course for postgraduates and researchers. Free self-paced course from the University of Cambridge Biological Sciences Libraries Team.
Recordings from our November No-Code Programming for Biology workshops are now available online. Follow along to get started with your own custom devices.
Position available for recent graduate or post-graduate working in the Open Cell COVID Testing Facility on Jersey.
Opportunity for academics and postdocs to undertake short (up to 6 month) secondments with industry partners. Funds a basic salary and £100 research expenses.
A new project launched by the University of Cambridge aims to connect young people, researchers, and creatives to address the challenges and opportunities of developing a sustainable future.
Three-month internship for final year PhD students in the area of food science and technology. £5000 funding available to cover extension to PhD award, maintenance and accommodation.
Postgraduate 3-month PIPS internship with an award winning SynBio venture building next generation microbiome-editing therapeutics. The role will be Cambridge based with the possibility of visiting our offices in London. CC Bio are keen for the candidate to become a valued member of the team.
Our Biological Computation group in Cambridge is developing theory, methods and software for understanding and programming information processing in biological systems. Our research currently focuses on three main areas: Molecular Programming, Synthetic Biology and Stem Cell Biology. We need someone who can develop and apply computational methods to help us transform our experimental data into a mechanistic understanding of biological processes, helping create the foundations of a platform for programming biological systems.
Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK is leading the way in applying techniques from diverse fields such as biology, machine learning, human-computer interaction, systems, security and programming languages to explore new domains of research in areas such as healthcare, cloud computing, and programming biological systems.
We are looking for an intern to join us in the last of these. Our Biological Computation group in Cambridge is developing theory, methods and software for understanding and programming information processing in biological systems. Our research currently focuses on three main areas: Molecular Programming, Synthetic Biology and Stem Cell Biology. We need someone who can develop and apply computational methods to help us transform our experimental data into a mechanistic understanding of biological processes, helping create the foundations of a platform for programming biological systems.
There is no closing deadline for this post. The post will be filled once suitable candidates are found so if you are interested please apply as soon as possible.
[Apply by 8 July 2018] Summer internships available! Biomakespace biology and engineering programmes
Biomakespace is a not-for-profit social enterprise establishing a community laboratory for lifelong learning, curiosity driven research, entrepreneurship and public engagement at the interface of biology and engineering. We are offering 10-week paid internships in our Biology and Engineering Programmes to help build the foundations for our work and get involved with technical projects, public engagement, training and business development in this innovative environment. The successful candidate will be highly motivated and proactive with excellent communication skills and have some experience in a biology lab or engineering workshop respectively. Interests in informal science education, maker spaces, open science, DIY science and public engagement are all desirable.
Funding is available to allow EPSRC-funded postdocs to take up short term placements in a partner organisation in industry, the public sector or third sector (not at other Universities). The funding is intended to enable the postdoc to apply their research-based knowledge and expertise in a different context, helping the partner organisation innovate and the postdoc to gain valuable work experience.
BrisSynBio are looking for an enthusiastic individual to support some of BrisSynBio's innovation activities in 2018. They will develop, organise and participate in the BrisSynBio 4-Day More Business Acumen (MBA) course
Cambridge Consultants is building an exciting new business in biotechnology, particularly synthetic biology. They’re working to bring together biology, chemistry and engineering to design and build engineered biological systems. As part of this mission, they're looking for a bright, motivated PhD student to join the team on an internship.
The Biomaker Challenge is a four-month interdisciplinary programme with multiple teams building low-cost sensors and instruments for biology, co-organised by OpenPlant, the Synthetic Biology SRI and CamBridgeSens. We are looking for a coordinator for 10 weeks Jun-Sep 2017 to take responsibility for supporting the participating teams and managing online communications and social media.
FORCE11 is a community of scholars, librarians, archivists, publishers and research funders that has arisen organically to help facilitate the change toward improved knowledge creation and sharing. It is seeking applications from individuals who will implement the communication needs of the community.
This summer Microsoft Research offer a 12 week long internship to a Graduate/PhD student that is interested in taking part in an interdisciplinary research project that will focus on plant communication and signaling in plants. [Deadline March 2016]