As a BBSRC funded PhD student, one of the requirements of my PhD is that I have to undertake a three month internship at some point between the end of my first and start of my fourth year.I chose to carry out my internship at Sense About Science, a charity dedicated to defending evidence even in the face of adversity. The charity, based in London, runs numerous campaigns which I wholeheartedly support, such as ‘Ask For Evidence’, which encourages members of the public to stop taking things at face value and instead hold, largely companies, responsible for the claims they make. Another noteworthy campaign is AllTrials, aiming to get all clinical trials registered and their results reported.
My role as an intern involved a lot of dabbling in many of the different campaigns, website maintenance, liaising with scientists, assisting with public events, and writing articles for the general public. As some perks of the job I was able to attend certain events such as the final day of Royal Society Pairing Scheme, the awarding of the John Maddox Prize, and the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology event on Research Impact and Parliament.
Georgina L Glaser 