Getting started in research

Find out more about the training and development opportunities that are available if you are at an early stage in your research career.

Launchpad Internship Programme

The Launchpad Programme, NIHR South Central Region Internships, offers annual research internships (up to £10,000) to undertake research activities of your choosing.

People can apply as an individual or as a team. Applicants will need supervisors, support from their managers, a fully costed application and a training plan.

The internships come at two different levels, depending on the experience of the applicant:

Getting started: Individuals/teams who are interested in beginning to explore how to engage with research and implement it into their practice.
Develop and progress: Individuals/teams who have already undertaken research or research career development activities and need time to plan their next steps, related to a specific project or career pathway.

The launchpad Programme provides a Getting Started in Research training course. It is a free, two-day online course designed for health and care professionals curious about research.

All information is available on the Launchpad internship webpages, including an extensive application guide and templates.

South Central INSIGHT Programme (SCIP)

SCIP is an NIHR INSIGHT master’s degree programme for the South Central Region.

It provides:

Training for early career health and social care professionals to undertake research inclusive careers
Support for a wide range of health and social care professionals to study at one of five regional Universities
Opportunities for multi-professional extra-curricular activity and CV building
Master’s course fees (full or part-time)
Stipend of up to £20,780

For more information, please visit the SCIP webpages or contact the SCIP team at scip.insight@soton.ac.uk.

MRes Clinical and Health Research

This master's course at the University of Southampton could help to give you the knowledge and skills you need to work in clinical, healthcare or academic research. It recruits graduates in the health care professions, medicine and biological sciences.

The programme covers the entire research process, and includes the opportunity to develop a research project within a specialist area. You can choose to study full-time or part-time across 2-5 years and at a PGCert, PGDip or master's level.

Find out more on the course webpages.

Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE)

Involving people in clinical research is about more than asking them to take part in a trial or study. Volunteers also help to shape clinical research through PPIE, working with researchers to decide what to do and how to do it. This is key to doing the right research, well, which is why it is core to nearly all grant calls.

The PPIE team at at University Hospital Southampton (UHS) provide free support and advice on including PPIE in your research. You can contact them at ppiesupport@uhs.nhs.uk.

NIHR Associate Principal Investigator Scheme

The NIHR Associate Principal Investigator (PI) Scheme is a six-month development programme for health and care professionals interested in a career in research delivery. It provides practical, hands-on experience of clinical research through involvement in an NIHR portfolio study.

Designed for those who would not typically have the opportunity to participate in research as part of their day-to-day role, the scheme enables participants to gain valuable experience and develop their understanding of study delivery under the mentorship of an experienced local PI. A PI is responsible for the conduct and oversight of a research study at an individual site.

For more information, please visit the NIHR Associate PI Scheme webpage.

Additional resources

Additional training programmes are summarised by Clinical Academic Training & Careers Hub (CATCH).

NHS England and NIHR have also developed two free e-learning modules: ‘Building research skills across the NHS workforce’.