Advanced Therapeutic Technologies at RCSI

The internship takes place from January-August each year for all students in Year 3 of the BSc Advanced in Therapeutic Technologies.

By this stage in their degree, students have received a thorough grounding in 

• Human Genetics & Genomics
• Pharmacology & Theranostics 
• Bioinformatics and Biostatistics (R and Python programming)
• Project Management
• Computational Biology
• Regulatory Science 
• Biologic & Immuno-therapeutics Medicines – Drug Life Cycle
• Biophrma Manufacturing Methods – NIBRT trained
• Power/Transferrable skills – communication, project management

See further details here.

Students are particularly suited to internship roles in the following areas of activity:

• Data analytics
• Clinical Data Integrity 
• Manufacturing/Technical Operations - MSAT
• Analytical technologies 
• Validation
• Life Science Consulting 
• Scientific writing 
• Regulatory affairs 
• Business Services
• Research

Advertise 

To benefit from the largest selection of students it is advisable to email us with your work placement vacancy description(s) as early as possible.  We continue to advertise work placement vacancies throughout the year starting in June and running through to the program cut-off just after the official work placement start date in January. Please note, vacancies are advertised on a first-come, first-served basis.  

To discuss your specific requirements, please contact an ATT team member.  Following this discussion, you will be invited to email a job specification for each available vacancy.

The job specification should ideally include: 

• Company name and address 
• Short paragraph about the company 
• Remote/hybrid/on site location
• Number of students required 
• Job title
• Brief job description including skills desired or required 
• Salary (minimum wage or higher expected)
• Start date and duration (please align with BSc ATT timelines January-August)

We have developed a platform for students to apply for placement opportunities. The platform lists an indicative number and type of placements available at each organisation and the student applies directly to the organisation in question, supplying CV and/or other documents requested by the employer. The company will then select the students they wish to interview.

Interview 

We advise that you select candidates for interview as soon as possible after receiving CVs to ensure as many students as possible on your list are still available. When you have made your selection, please contact the ATT office (bscplacements@rcsi.ie) to confirm the interview schedule.  

Hire 

Students attend interviews from September – December of the year preceding placement. Students are hired by the first employer to notify the ATT office of the job offer or click hire on the portal.  Therefore it is advisable to contact us as soon as possible after the interview with the name(s) of your chosen candidate(s).

Of course, we would be delighted to list your role on our portal with a link to the external site.

By hiring an ATT Student, you are agreeing to the following terms and conditions: 

1. The employer will nominate a named employee for each ATT student who will be responsible for their supervision and for providing advice, guidance support and feedback. 
2. The employer will be responsible for providing relevant work experience, as outlined in the job specification. 
3. The employer is asked to provide each ATT student with a contract of employment or letter of offer in addition to copies of all relevant company/organisation policies, procedures and agreements. 
4. The employer will ensure to maintain the health, safety, and welfare of each ATT student at all times during the work placement. In compliance with the Health Safety and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (or the equivalent legislation in a non-Irish jurisdiction), the employer is asked to provide all necessary health safety and risk training/instruction.
5. The employer will provide all necessary equipment for each ATT student to complete their job successfully.
6. In the event that an ATT student breaches, or is alleged to have breached any employer disciplinary code or procedure, or is otherwise alleged to have been engaged in misconduct of any kind, this shall be promptly brought to the attention of the ATT Office by the employer. 
7. In the event of any breach of discipline, the employer has the right to terminate the work placement after conducting an investigation in conjunction with the ATT team. 
8. If a placement is terminated following investigation by the employer and the ATT team, the student can be deemed to have failed the ATT module.

Yes, we kindly ask that you pay each student at least National Minimum Wage.  Please refer to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) guidelines on remuneration for further information.

We advise that you issue a written fixed-term contract to be signed by each ATT student.

ATT students are covered under RCSI’s Public Liability Policy for claims relating to the University's negligence, details of which are available on request. We ask that the employer also maintains public liability and employer’s liability insurance (or the equivalent in non-Irish jurisdictions) which provides cover for each ATT student in their care and which indemnifies RCSI whilst the student is under the employer’s supervision.

Upon request, the employer shall provide evidence of such insurance cover. The company should immediately inform the ATT Office of any accident or incident involving an ATT student.

In relation to intellectual property it is advisable for the employer to draw up an Intellectual Property Agreement and/or Non-Disclosure Agreement to be signed by the ATT student prior to the commencement of the placement. Please note that University staff cannot be held responsible for signing such documents.

Under Irish law, work permits are not required for ATT work placement students from outside the EEA, because the work placement is a mandatory accredited module and is part of the degree programme. According to this legislation, students are permitted to work on a full-time basis for the duration of the placement. For further information please refer to the Irish National Immigration Service (INIS) guidelines for further information.

Once an intern is on board, the assessment process will be supported by a dedicated Enterprise Liaison resource at RCSI, to minimise the time commitment required by the internship host. 

We have developed an easy to use interface, with drop down menu rating scale. 3 assessment time-points occur during the 8-month placement (at 2 months, 4 months and 8 months). Self-Rating (Level 1-5) by the student and rating by the Supervisor (Level 1 -5) at 2 months and 4 months are formative (i.e. provision of feedback). For ease of completion, Supervisors will receive an email link to the assessment at each time point When completed, these ratings form the basis of a student-supervisor conversation.
Student Self-Rating (Level 1-5) and Supervisor rating (Level 1-5) completed at 8 months is summative – i.e. At month 8, students must attain a level 3 or higher rating in all domains (Professional, Collaborator, Leader, Communicator, Scholar & Researcher) to pass the Placement module.

Please Note: For each Domain examples of workplace behaviours/competencies listed are indicative only. Every within domain behaviour/competency need not be demonstrated.

Rating Level Rating Descriptor

1. Requires complete guidance; “I had to do”
2. Able to perform but requires repeated direction; “I had to talk them through”
3. Some independence but intermittent prompting required; “I had to direct them from time to time”
4. Independent for most things but requires assistance for nuances; “I had to be there just in case”
5. Complete independence; “I did not need to be there”.

ATT Placements Liaison Office – bscplacements@rcsi.ie 

• Dr Ben Ryan - Deputy Head of School, RCSI, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences
• Susan Butler – HCI Project Manager
• Kevin Smith – ATT/Enterprise Liaison