HDRUK – Telling your story. Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) is the UK’s national institute for health data science. Their vision is that every health and care interaction and research endeavour will be enhanced by access to large scale data and advanced analytics.
An independent charity, with work based at 31 locations in the UK, spanning across academia, healthcare, industry, and charities, as well as patients and the public. They have chosen to help transform the prospects of talented Black Health data scientists in the UK by providing opportunities to flourish in STEM careers through their health data research Black Internship Programme.
I was honoured yesterday to be speaking at their 2022 Closing Ceremony and Celebration held at the Wellcome Collection. It was inspirational to see approximately 50 (unfortunately, not all the participants of the programme were able to attend) early career Black data scientists gathered at the ceremony, sharing their stories and keen to learn more to further their careers.
HDRUK – Telling your story
The afternoon began with lunch and professional headshots (provided by the talented Layton Thompson from Layton Thompson Photography). The Closing Ceremony was officially begun with an opening address from David Seymour, Chief of Staff Health Data Research UK. The Black Internship Programme Technical Challenge Showcase was next, where we watched the winning team’s presentation (Jadene Lewis, Nadia Blocker and Ashley Tabansi) on predicting COVID-19 mortality rate from diet.
I delivered a masterclass on creating the right strategy to land the job you want, and Stephanie Parrott, Senior Manager, Marketing and User Insights, HDR UK, followed with a masterclass on how to create a great LinkedIn profile. These were topics requested by the interns to help them on their next steps in finding the career that they want, and very well received!
Melissa Lewis-Brown from Cancer Research UK gave a host organisation perspective on the intern programme, followed by individual presentations from the interns who were collecting their certificates.
The event finished with a lively networking and drinks reception, where the interns continued their discussions from the day and planned their future.
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