KI Summer School in Medical Research
The KI Summer School in Medical Research is a research-introductory school for students enrolled in First-cycle (undergraduate) programmes (beginner programmes) at Karolinska Institutet.
The goal of the Summer School is to introduce students to research early during their education at Karolinska Institutet. The Summer School provides students with the opportunity of carrying out a defined research project under the supervision of a scientist. By fostering curiosity for medical research, the Summer School seeks to encourage students’ future pursuit of a Doctoral education at Karolinska Institutet.
It is hosted by the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC) and financed by the Committee for Doctoral Education at Karolinska Institutet. The school was introduced in the summer of 2018. It is based on the discontinued course Sommarkurs i medicinsk forskning, 10.5 Hp/ Summer Course in Medical Science, 10.5 Credits (1QA017).
The KI Summer School in Medical Research runs from June to August for 7 weeks (corresponding to 7 weeks of full-time studies).
It starts off with an introductory week in June, with lectures covering a range of basic topics such as hypothesis testing, ethics, statistics, presentation techniques, description of Doctoral education at Karolinska Institutet, and how to write a scientific paper. Thereafter, students take part in a 6-week research project at a department of their choice at Karolinska Institutet. The research project is done under supervision where the main supervisor is responsible for the student throughout the project period. The Summer School ends in August with research presentations during which students give both oral and poster presentations of their summer project work. Students enrolled in the KI Summer School are entitled to a research scholarship. Supervisors are entitled to a bench-fee.
Application
Applications to the Summer School are submitted via the application portal PRISMA.
You will need to create an account in PRISMA in order to apply. Only complete applications will be considered.
Deadline for application
The portal opens 13 December 2023 and the deadline for application is 4 March 2024, changed to 25 March. A decision of acceptance is sent out to students in April.
PRISMA - Application portal and instructions
The student’s personal motivation for applying to the Summer School is of major importance in the overall assessment of the application. A solid track record of completed course credits from Karolinska Institutet is also important. Priority may be given to applicants who are in the beginning of their undergraduate training. Priority is also given to applicants that have identified a supervisor in the application (See Supervisor, below). Students already receiving financial support for doing a research project are not prioritized. Medical students that have participated in FOLÄK/Forskningsintroducerande kurs för studenter på läkarprogrammet are not eligible.
The Student
You need to be a First-cycle (undergraduate) student at Karolinska Institutet to be eligible to apply. Masters students are as such not eligible. At the time of submission, you need to have accumulated a minimum of 30 credits (30 högskolepoäng) from Karolinska Institutet. The research scholarship is set at 10 000 SEK/month. It is paid out according to scholarship regulations at Karolinska Institutet. The Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC) will arrange the payment of the scholarship. Students accepted to the KI Summer School in Medical Research are not eligible to apply for Student Aid (studiemedel) from CSN.
Evaluation Criteria
The Supervisor
Students interested in applying to the Summer School are strongly encouraged to contact a supervisor as early as possible. Identifying a supervisor at the time of submission is a merit for the application but not a requirement for being accepted. Contact your Program Director for advice on potential supervisors in your study area.
The main supervisor must be formally affiliated to and have a project account at Karolinska Institutet. The main supervisor should have a Doctoral degree (Ph.D.) but Ph.D. students can function as co-supervisors during the summer as long as a researcher with a Ph.D. plays an active role in the planning of the project and in the evaluation of the student’s written report.
It is advised that the student and supervisor meet, discuss and outline a preliminary project as early as possible. The student must receive supervision throughout the duration of the project. In the event that a student is accepted to the KI Summer School in Medical Research, the main supervisor is responsible for submitting a project proposal (See Project, below). The main supervisor is entitled to a bench-fee of 13 000 SEK at the end of the project.
The Project
It is very important to limit the extent of the project so that it can be completed during approximately 6 weeks of full-time studies. Note that at least 1 week of the project time may be needed for preparation of the poster and the oral presentation (See Project Evaluations, below). The introductory week of lectures at the beginning of the Summer School and the presentation days at the end are mandatory events; they are not to be used for doing the research project.
If the student is accepted to the Summer School, then the main supervisor will be asked to submit a brief project proposal to the Coordinator of the Summer School. This project proposal should include a general description of the work to be done during the summer. It should also specify the student’s participation in the project and provide a timeline for the project. Supervisors and students are encouraged to write the project proposal together.
Project Evaluations
In August at the end of the Summer School, each student holds a brief (7-10 min) presentation to their colleagues where the project and results obtained are disclosed. The student also prepares and defends a poster with their results during a designated poster session. Finally, the student has to submit a report of their findings written in the format of a scientific manuscript. The deadline for submitting this report extends beyond the last day of the Summer School. The supervisor must give feedback to the student on the presentation, the poster and the written report. The supervisor is also responsible for covering the cost of printing the student’s poster.
Programme
The KI Summer School in Medical Research is given entirely in English.