Royce’s continued partnership with In2scienceUK allowed more students from low socioeconomic and underrepresented backgrounds to complete placements with some of our researchers this year.
In2scienceUK exists to unlock the potential of young people from low socioeconomic backgrounds and boost diversity and inclusion in the sector, ensuring the UK remains at the forefront of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) industries. It does this by:
- Empowering young people from underrepresented backgrounds to progress to vibrant careers in STEM
- Championing diversity in the STEM sector to drive enterprise, foster innovation and tackle our global challenges
- Working together with the STEM sector to actively address the skills shortage by breaking down barriers to access STEM careers
Royce funding particularly focuses on the In2research programme; allowing researchers to mentor participants on 8-week summer placements that form part of a year-long cohort programme for undergraduates. These projects offer a chance for researchers working across the Royce partnership to mentor a young scientist, share insights into what research life entails, and build connections to upcoming talent. For the participants, the programme opens the door on a future research career, helps them to network beyond their immediate course and lecturers, and get involved in real-world scientific research.
One success story for last year’s cohort is Mariam, who spent her placement with Dr Gunnar Kusch, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge.
(Photo credit: In2scienceUK)
Dr Kusch says:
“Mariam has been very active in a measurement series that we’ve got with our postdoc supervisor here. It’s tying into his larger PhD project and she’s helping him with bits of it, looking at solar cell materials and trying to understand them better. She helps him with analysis, with actual measurements, plotting things and thinking about the problems. Now she’s quite efficient and knows what to do, she knows how to handle things herself. She sees a clear line and how to go forward and that’s something I always find quite nice to see.”
Mariam says:
“I didn’t really know the PhD application process or that sort of thing, or even really what the day-to-day entails. I definitely think I have a good idea of that now. I had no idea what research would be like until I came here and I found I genuinely enjoy it. I felt supported by my hosts. I think it’s a really good opportunity and you get to learn new things. I think I want to do a PhD, but not straight away – I think that I will probably apply for a graduate scheme.”
Tom Hancocks, Training and Skills Manager at Royce, says:
“Mariam’s experience over the summer working in Dr Kusch’s lab is great vindication for our support in In2Science’s programme. Opportunities like these offer students experiences and insights into future career pathways, making connections and discovering more about what a PhD can offer, before they need to make the decision. I’m thrilled that Dr Kusch was able to act as a host and mentor, and hope we can support more materials science early-career researchers in the future.”
For further information on the In2research programme, click here. Applications for the 2025/2026 programme open in August.
