At this time of year, we open our Summer Studentship Scheme for applications. Students (and their Supervisors) are given the chance to apply for funding to support a research project that they complete over the Summer. Most applicants are 2nd and 3rd year undergraduates, but we do get the occasional Master’s student applying too.  

What do the students get out of it?

It’s an opportunity to win £350 a week subsistence for up to 10 weeks, and £1,000 to pay for lab reagents, small bits of equipment or software to help them get experience of what it’s like to carry out real research in a real research group.

If it all goes well, then the student’s work can contribute to a larger project for their host lab and they might get their first scientific publication out of it. They can even lead to postgraduate and PhD opportunities for them. If it doesn’t quite go as expected, we support them through it, so the student still gets invaluable research experience, the opportunity to hone their scientific writing and comms skills, and a strong addition to their CV. 

If a student has a negative research experience – and many of us do in the lab when things don’t go to plan – it can help them inform their career choices. Finding out what really doesn’t float your boat is just as important as finding out what does.

Scientific careers don’t have to be research-based. They can be charity-based, in comms, advocacy, governance, analysis, policy, or many, many other areas. 

What do we get out of it?

Apart from the warm fuzzy feeling of helping a brand-new shiny scientist get a ‘leg up’ in their academic and career journey? We get the opportunity to influence the next generation of scientists. To help them see that a career in the biosciences if that’s what they intend to pursue after their degree, need not involve the use of animals. That there is another way.

If they have a positive experience, it can encourage them to become lifelong champions for animal replacement and animal-free science.  

Engagement with their Supervisors can also lead to another lab transitioning away from using animals and animal-derived products like foetal calf serum, antibodies or MatrigelTM . 

How do they fit into the grand scheme of science education things?

At the moment, the UK has a particularly high level of tertiary attainment. Nearly half of our school leavers end up with university-level qualifications, with a greater proportion of women than men reaching this level of education. The majority of Summer Studentship applicants are women, many of whom then go on to postgraduate research. But even if a student goes on to complete a PhD in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subject in the UK, the majority will end up in careers outside science.

Estimates back in 2010 were that only 3.5% STEM PhD grads ended up in permanent academic research jobs and as few as 0.45% became Professors. Globally, we train way too many research students to enter the academic workforce, but research experience, analytical and critical thinking, and the wider experience of research culture imbue graduates with so many other skills that are easily transferrable and invaluable in other sectors and aspects of life.   

Why it’s important that they continue

The students have to write their Studentship application themselves, with a statement of support and sign-off from their supervisor. The quality of applications each year is mind-blowing. (Yes, it is quite easy to tell when the supervisor has written the application instead of the student!)

Talking with colleagues, there is no way that we would have had the wherewithal, confidence or skill to do similar when we were at their stage of life and education. These are thoroughly engaged students. Not all of the applicants will be the highest scoring academically, but that’s no matter! When a student has enthusiasm for animal replacement science, their supervisor tends to as well, and this can lead to us developing deeper relationships with their universities as a result. 

Over the past year, we have had a long hard look at the activities we fund. At Replacing Animal Research, we know the importance of investing in the next generation. And I am very pleased to say Summer Studentships are here to stay for the foreseeable! 

We’d love to hear from students about what you think and what you’re looking for from programmes like this!