Crick PhD student placements
Introduction
At the Crick, we develop early career talent and create future leaders who can excel within and beyond academia. As part of the Crick PhD programme, we offer the opportunity for students to complete a work placement.
Our work placement programme
Our next destination data shows that nearly half of all Crick PhD students go onto pursue successful careers outside academia and the work placement scheme is designed to give PhD students an opportunity to develop their skills and learn more about career prospects outside of the traditional academic path.
The Crick partners with London based organisations in a variety of science-related sectors such as pharma, biotech, data science, science policy, science communication, publishing, research administration, and teaching.
Placements can be completed in person, on a hybrid basis, or fully remotely, depending on the requirements of the host organisation and the student's preferences, and they can last up to four weeks, during which the Crick will continue to pay the student's stipend.
Feedback from previous students
“It was an extremely valuable experience for me. It was really important for me to take a step back from my PhD and experience a different environment. I think it gave me a taste of the sort of environments I would like to work in the future.”
“The work placement is a great opportunity to extend your current view on yourself: what you like doing and what you rather prefer not to do. In both cases it is a valuable experience, and it gives you a prospective on where you want to go next in your career. I would recommend doing it to any PhD student.”
Feedback from previous hosts
“The student was able to tackle a resource constrained project and to bring it to a place where we were able to make an informed business decision on whether to explore further.”
Biotech organisation
“The students both did excellent work on the projects and engaged well with colleagues. We were only sorry the placements ended so quickly! The impact of having new people working with us even for a short period of time is bigger for a small organisation.”
Science policy organisation
How to become a host
How to become a host
If you would like to get involved as a host, please send us an email with a brief description of your organisation and potential work placement area and we’ll get back in touch to explore the opportunity with you.
Previous hosts have noted the positive impact students have had on their organisation by having a fresh insight and support on an existing project while also supporting career exploration for students, at no financial cost as the Crick continues to pay the student’s stipend during their time on placement.
Do also reach out if you’d like to explore other ways to get involved with career development opportunities such as attending sector insight talks and career fairs.
