Undergraduate Summer Placements

The EastBio partnership announces the deferral of its 2024/25 UKRI BBSRC-funded REP scheme (UG Research Experience Summer Placements) for 2025/26. For the duration of our BBSRC third doctoral training grant, EastBio has been delivering the Research Experience Placements scheme to 35 undergraduate students with a core Widening Participation remit. In addition to a funded 2-month lab placement in EastBio partner institutions, we have coupled the scheme with a mandatory residential Induction giving REP students the opportunity to meet as a cohort before their placements, demystify the PhD route, receive transferable skills training, and engage as a cohort with past REP cohorts, currently funded students, EastBio supervisors and industry reps. We offered students the opportunity to present on their experience in a post-placement online session and collected feedback on the experience and the scheme overall.

From autumn 2025, the EastBio Partnership will be partnering with In2Science  to deliver an UGR summer placements programme, with UKRI BBSRC DLA Flexible Funding. In 2025/26, EastBio Partnership will fund 8 places on the In2Research programme, each worth £6k. Similarly to the DTP Research Experience Placements scheme, the nationally recognised In2Research programme aims to enhance access to research and broader career opportunities for people from underrepresented groups. The programme also provides additional opportunities for Hosts and Mentors’ own professional development over a year of targeted activities. We are excited to work together with the  In2research team to optimise our widening participation provision and the professional development of Participants, Hosts and Mentors.