Student Casual - NIHR Summer Internship in Evidence Synthesis and Patient and Public Involvement – Applied Health Sciences – Grade 6 – 907378 in Birmingham

This internship focuses on understanding which tools and interventions (including hybrid and digital options) are effective, for whom, and why, with a particular emphasis on addressing health inequalities among older adults and minority ethnic populations. Despite the UK having one of the highest asthma-related mortality rates among young people in high-income countries, and COPD being the fourth-leading cause of death nationally, primary healthcare systems still struggle to provide integrated care. Your internship will help identify gaps and solutions to make these life-changing technologies more accessible and practical.

Both interns will be jointly supervised. Dr. Jacqueline Thompson, a statistician with expertise in systematic reviews, will lead the review searches and provide tailored training to ensure the interns understand the process of conducting reviews. Dr. Onaedo Ilozumba, a mixed-methods researcher with expertise in qualitative and participatory methods, will lead supervision of the qualitative and participatory approaches.

Both research interns will conduct independent research under close supervision and support. The expected outputs for the internship are a presentation and a short-written report. There will also be an opportunity for interns (if interested) to contribute to a peer-reviewed publication, offering an additional avenue to develop their research skills. At the end of the internship, interns will be invited to present at an informal seminar, an opportunity to share experiences, reflect on skills gained, and explore future career options. Our experience of hosting interns shows that these cohort activities are highly valued and significantly enhance the internship experience.

By the end of this internship, you will be able to:

• Design and execute comprehensive literature searches using appropriate search strategies, Boolean operators, and database filters
• Critically appraise and synthesise research findings from quantitative and qualitative sources
• Plan, facilitate, and analyse participatory workshops with healthcare professionals, patients, and public stakeholders
• Communicate complex information effectively to diverse audiences, from specialists to the general public
• Contribute to team-based research projects through collaboration, shared responsibilities, and the integration of diverse perspectives

Main duties include:

• Design and execute comprehensive literature searches across academic and non-academic databases (the search strategy will be provided by supervisors)
• Co-facilitate a workshop with 4-8 healthcare professionals (contacts provided by supervisors)
• Engage with people living with respiratory conditions, including those from minority groups (contacts provided by supervisors)
• Write a short internship report of 2,500 words

Required knowledge, skills, qualifications & experience:

• Third year of study or beyond. Studying a priority area or related subject, for example, medicine, nursing, biomedical science or psychology
• Interested in public health, health inequalities, or digital health
• Eager to develop research, analytical, and communication skills
• Motivated to engage with diverse communities and stakeholders
• No prior research experience required - just enthusiasm and commitment!

For any informal queries, please contact Jacqueline Thompson (j.y.thompson@bham.ac.uk) or Onaedo Illozumba (u.ilozumba@bham.ac.uk).

The University of Birmingham restricts all students to working up to 20 hours per week during term time for a maximum of 13 consecutive weeks. If your application is successful and your course does not follow the usual academic term timetable (e.g. PGT, PGR or PhD student), you and your supervisor must formally agree vacation periods if this role exceeds 20 hours per week. In addition to this, please be aware if you are an international student you will be required to apply to the Registry for the appropriate authorised absence. You are only eligible to apply to this role if you are a current University of Birmingham student. If you are not a University of Birmingham student your application will not be considered.

To work you will need to carry out a right to work check. These checks will need to be completed prior to work commencing.

Regarding the use of AI in applications, we review hundreds of applications and shortlist candidates based on their unique perspective, motivations and potential. Cover letters generated through, or edited by, AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT or CoPilot) are easy to identify. They produce generic answers and will not score highly enough to progress. You may use AI tools for research, but all written content in your application must be your own work. Authenticity and originality are key to standing out in this process.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we’re unable to contact all applicants individually. You can check the progress of your application by logging into the Worklink jobs portal using the same email address you used to apply. If you haven’t heard back within six weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful.