Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) are leading by example in the health data science industry through their response to the issue that Black people are heavily underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) community. HDR UK and partners have recruited an impressive 54 interns to join this year’s Black internship programme thanks to the partnerships that form the HDR UK co-ordinated UK Health Data Research Alliance (HDR Alliance). The Franklin has joined the scheme and will be pleased to be welcoming two interns in the summer of 2021.
The Black community are heavily underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) community, with only 65 Black and 310 mixed and other individuals making up the total of 10,560 science professors in the UK – as highlighted in The Guardian.
As the UK’s national institute for health data science, Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) and its partners are delighted to announce that they have recruited a total of 54 interns -over 30 being women- to join this year’s Black internship programme, commencing in the summer of 2021. The internship programme -in partnership with the 10,000 Black Interns initiative and the UK Health Data Research Alliance (HDR Alliance)– will provide paid work experience to future Black data scientists as they work at 25 of HDR UK’s partner organisations.
The Franklin is delighted to have partnered with the scheme and are pleased to announce that we will be welcoming two interns to the institute this summer. This is an exciting milestone for the institute as they will be our first interns. Both will be based within our Artificial Intelligence and Informatics team.
Dr Dona Reddiar, our Training Coordinator, said “We are thrilled to be part of the scheme, it is brilliant to be part of something which is actively trying to change the status quo in data science – not just knowing it is a problem, but being part of a solution.”
Through the Black internship programme, HDR UK hopes to help tackle the underrepresentation of Black people within the STEM community by transforming the prospects of and providing the opportunities for young Black people in the UK to flourish in their future STEM careers.