We present opportunities for young people in our local community to develop employment skills.

A four week paid internship at the Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM), a University of Edinburgh medical research centre based at the BioQuarter, is offered each year to a pupil from Castlebrae High School motivated by science.

Kelsey Wallace, 2016 Intern

“I never really liked biology until I came here. School science is so different to science at the centre; it’s more interesting and feels more relevant and real to that which we do in school.

It’s made me feel more confident about what I want to do when I leave school. I’ve not decided yet but I have ideas of biochemical science or nursing, so the work here was very relevant. I told my classmates about the work and they all felt it was inspirational. It’s made biology easier for me, I understand it now, especially the cell work as at the centre it was so much more advanced.

When I first came to the centre I felt awkward, I didn’t know what to do with myself, now I know what I’m doing, I know exactly what to do and when to do it, I feel more natural. I feel like I could go to another science building and get into it, feeling more confident.”

-Kelsey Wallace, Castlebrae Community High School

 

Tomas Soto, 2019 Intern

In 2019, we offered an internship to a pupil from Holy Rood RC High School, another high school local to the BioQuarter.

“The month that I spent at the CRM is one that I will never forget. It was my first real experience in an area that I’m really interested in and I was able to learn about so many different parts of biology as well as about working in a lab. I also had the opportunity of meeting amazing and very interesting people from whom I got very good advice.

Even now, I am not able to describe with words how fun and just how different it felt from going to school. Although I had to give up my summer, it now feels like it was a small price to pay for the incredible opportunity I had and I would recommend it to anyone who has the chance to do it.”

-Tomas Soto, Holy Rood RC High School

 

Read Tomas Soto's article in full