The GOS ICH Work Experience programme is jointly hosted by the Institute's 5 Teaching & Research Departments. Each Department contributes 2 or 3 sessions to the timetable, providing visiting students with the opportunity to learn about a wide range of research topics and techniques. Our aim is to give visiting students an understanding of the variety of career opportunities in research science.
Activities range from talks and interactive sessions in the lab with researchers and PhD students to attending Departmental seminars or taking part in a Journal Club. We organise several hands-on sessions such as looking at cells under a microscope and pipetting solutions. As we work closely with Great Ormond Street Hospital, sessions may also include visits to clinical labs in the hospital but will not include visits to hospital wards or other clinical settings.
Students interested in pursuing a medical career and looking for a clinical placement should visit the Great Ormond Street Hospital Work Experience webpage and the University College London Hospitals Work Experience webpage.
We offer 12 placements at a time and visiting students are expected to attend the entire week. Attendance is free and we provide visiting students with lunch each day. You will, however, need to pay your travel costs to and from the UCL GOS Institute of Child of Health.
Next Work Experience Week: Mon 30th Jun to Fri 4th Jul 2025
How to Apply
Eligibility:
You must be
- 16 or over at the start of the placement, having just completed your GSCEs or studying for your A-Levels or equivalent.
- Able to attend the whole work experience week
We particularly encourage those from disadvantaged backgrounds to apply.
Please note this is not a clinical placement. Preference will be given to those who express an interest in a science placement.
Application Process
- Applications are now closed.
- Applications for the next placement (planned for week of 27th October) will be open here after July 7th.
- Applications for June/July have been shortlisted and placements offered to students.
- Students must confirm their attendance for the full week. Any free places will be offered to students on the waiting list.
- We are unable to reply to all applicants. If you did not hear from us by end of April, your application was unsuccessful.
- A programme of events will be circulated to selected visiting students before the placement starts.
Feedback from previous students:
“Loved seeing all the different routes into a science career!"
"I just wanted to say thank you so much for the work experience opportunity I was given. I really enjoyed the week and found visiting all the different labs very interesting and eye-opening. I'm also grateful for all of the people involved who gave up their time to show us some of their work." “Thank you so much for organising this brilliant and informative week! I enjoyed every minute of it and feel lucky to have gained so much knowledge and experience. I came into this unsure of what degree I wanted to take or what path I wanted to follow, ... and it has helped to confirm my realisation that I would like to do a Biological Sciences undergraduate course.”
“Thank you so much for organising this work experience, I've found it incredibly enjoyable and informative in helping me decide what career I may like to do in the future. Also, thank you to all the speakers who took the time to give presentations, prepare PowerPoints and answer all our questions. It's been a great experience.”
Have Questions?
Contact the GOS ICH Work Experience team at ich.workexperience@ucl.ac.uk
The GOS ICH Christmas Lectures:
GOS ICH Undergraduate Summer Studentships
The Child Health Research Studentship Scheme offers up to 7 bursaries for undergraduate students studying science or medicine to carry out a research project over the summer.
In2scienceUK - Promoting Social Mobility and Diversity in STEM:
Clinical/Medical Placements
For students interested in pursuing a medical career:
Great Ormond Street Hospital