GenerationResearch provides paid and stipend-supported technical and research opportunities to talented UK students from diverse backgrounds, with a commitment to provide practical solutions to creating sustainable diversity in STEM. 

To ensure an impactful and inclusive future for STEM, it is crucial to engage diverse communities of highly-skilled individuals to empower the next generation. However, essential investment in early career stages often fail to reach some of the most talented undergraduates.

Since its launch in 2021, GenerationResearch has funded 100+ research, technical, and policy summer projects, 7 Masters by Research and industrial placements, and 2 PhD studentships. Students come from universities across Yorkshire, and placements are completed across a wide range of UK and US institutions. 75% of GenerationResearch students undertake a project that is different from their degree, allowing knowledge creation beyond disciplinary boundaries. 

In 2024, GenerationResearch received over 600 applications for 41 summer studentship placements. With your help we can provide more opportunities for students from underrepresented groups.

Adam is one student who has benefitted from a GenerationResearch summer studentship, researching a pilot approach to try and identify microbes more quickly in clinical settings. This process would normally take around two to three weeks, which is not clinically viable, with the research hoping to shorten this to days. As well as the longer term benefits of this research, Adam has personally benefited from the experience, gaining confidence and security for his future career.

“In donating to GenerationResearch, you'd be donating towards a lot of anxious students, a lot of people who are not so sure of what they should do with their career and stuff like that. And you'd really help guide the next generation of scientists and help fund them and make them more confident. It's like an investment in future scientists in a way.”

Adam, GenerationResearch student

Access to paid studentships is important if students want to be competitive with peers in areas including continuing in higher education (Masters and PhD programmes), graduate research and technician positions, the industrial and pharmaceutical job market, and medicine.

Often these schemes offer little transparency over the choice of candidate, and are unpaid, reducing accessibility. Thus, students with ‘low social capital’, or students with protected characteristics, often do not apply or do not win these opportunities due to financial restrictions, lack of support, or problems with the usual selection procedures. GenerationResearch is working to change this.

Please consider helping us to change this and make STEM more inclusive by making a gift to GenerationResearch this Giving Day. 

Thank you.