King's College London

The internships offer health and care professionals the opportunity to engage in research alongside their clinical work. They are aimed at professions that have historically been underrepresented in research, including nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, pharmacists, healthcare scientists, social workers, and registered public health professionals.

Over the course of ten months, the interns will benefit from monthly workshops, meetings with an allocated research mentor, and a four-week placement in a research team. Crucially, the internship funding provides protected time for self-directed work. This could allow the interns to draft a project proposal, put together a poster or talk for a conference, or work on their research competencies. Buying out time to engage with research alongside clinical practice is often challenging, so programmes offering funding for dedicated research time are valuable.

The programme is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and is managed by A Centre of Research for Nurses and Midwives (ACORN) at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT), one of King’s College London’s NHS partners.

Dr Sam Irving, who leads the internship programme, said: “This nationally funded regional programme pays for health and care professionals to take their first steps in research. 23 interns from across South London came together for their introduction to the programme, which offers them access to mentorship and placements as well as self-guided study time.”

Alongside her role on the internships programme, Dr Irving serves as Associate Director (Professions Allied to Healthcare) for Kings Clinical Academic Training Office (KCATO). KCATO supports research-active health professionals working across King’s and its NHS partner Trusts, and all interns will have access to the resources and support that ACORN and KCATO offer.

“The internships are a great opportunity for anyone interested in research to get involved and find out where it can take them in their career,” Dr Irving said. “It’s fantastic to see how organisations such as KCATO, ACORN and GSTT are coming together to support clinical academic careers for colleagues from all health professional backgrounds.”

Applications for cohort 2 are expected to open in May 2026. Follow KCATO on LinkedIn and sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date with the latest funding opportunities for health and care professionals.