About the role
This internship is suited to a post-A-level or early undergraduate student intending to study, or already studying, chemistry, medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, biology, biomedical science or a related subject.
What you will do
- Help define what the system needs to observe, measure, and record during routine lab processes.
- Work with engineering colleagues to make scientific requirements testable and practical.
- Prepare simple solutions and dilution series for safe demonstration experiments.
- Run plate-based colourimetric experiments using pipettes, plates, labels, camera measurements and/or a plate reader.
- Capture images and measurement data, then help analyse the results in spreadsheets or Python/Jupyter notebooks.
- Help compare measurement repeatability across different concentrations, plates, lighting conditions or workflow steps.
- Write clear experimental notes, simple SOPs, materials lists and test reports.
- Help organise lab materials, labels, stock records, SDS files and COSHH records.
What we are looking for
- Strong A-level background in relevant subjects; Chemistry and Biology are especially useful, with Maths, Physics or Computer Science a bonus.
- Interest in practical lab work, assays, measurement, data and reproducibility.
- Careful pipetting, labelling, note-taking and attention to safety.
- Clear written communication and comfort documenting scientific work.
- Curiosity about robotics, automation, data, and how lab work can be made more reliable.
- Willingness to learn unfamiliar tools and ask for help when something is unclear.
Skills you will gain
You will get experience with practical assay setup, dilution series, plate-based measurements, experimental documentation, simple data analysis, lab safety records, SOP writing, and the practical compromises involved in turning a scientific idea into a repeatable prototype workflow.
Internship Details
Location: South Cambridgeshire / Cambridge area.
Duration: 4–8 weeks over summer.
Pay: £450 per week, based on a 37.5-hour week.
Hours: Full-time or part-time by agreement, on site
Supervisor: Dr Stephen Starkie, Chartered Engineer.
Eligibility: You must have the right to work in the UK.
How to apply
Email [email protected] with a CV and short covering email. Please include a brief description of something practical you have tested, investigated, measured, built, analysed or documented.