The Nuffield Research Placement Scheme is aimed at the current 5th year pupils who will be sitting their Highers in 2019 and who are studying any Science, Technology, Engineering and/or Maths (STEM) subjects at that level. We are also now placing students into Social Science placements where there is an aspect of analysis, statistical investigation and mathematics involved, so the placements are very wide ranging. The placements help increase confidence and improve key skills including practical, communication, report-writing and presentation skills. They also provide students with excellent experiences & skills to include on CV’s and personal statements. By working with professional scientists and engineers in a real-life environment, the students gain an invaluable insight into a wide variety of careers. This is a wonderful opportunity for your students and we hope you will promote the scheme to them.
To be eligible to apply for a Nuffield Research Placement, students must:
Be over 16 years old
Be in full-time state-funded education in the UK
Have at least 5 National 5 / GCSEs (or equivalent) at Level B / 6 or above, including maths, a science subject and English (or another humanities subject)
Be studying one or more Scottish Higher, A-level (or equivalent) in science, technology, engineering, economics, geography, psychology, computing, statistics or maths
Be able to spend several weeks (4-6) of their summer holiday working on a research project
Students must also meet at least ONE of the following criteria:
Come from a family with a combined household income of below £30,000 a year
Be entitled to free schools meals, either now or at any time in the last six years.
Be the first in their immediate family to participate in higher education (not including any older siblings). This means neither of their parents/carers have participated in higher education, either in the UK or another country. If their siblings have attended higher education, but their parents/carers have not, they are eligible.
Be living, or have lived in, local authority care.
Summary of the process:
Students apply by completing an online application which can be accessed on the Nuffield Research Placement webpage
When registering, students insert an email address of the teacher who is to provide them with a reference. The system automatically initiates an email to that teacher to allow them to add reference.
After the closing date (February 27th 2019)
Placements normally take place at the end of June, July or early August. The student will normally be working Mon-Fri (9am-5pm) for 4, 5 or 6 weeks. Students should therefore be made aware that is quite a big commitment.
All students will receive reasonable travel costs to and from their placement. Students who are eligible for bursary will receive an additional £100 per week of placement.
Successful students are required to submit a report at the end of their placement and are also invited to display their work in poster format at a celebration event in Edinburgh, taking place at the end of August / early September.
