KI Summer School in Medical Research (KISS) - Programme description

The Summer School was given for the first time 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).

Eligibility

The student must be enrolled in a first-cycle (undergraduate) study programme (“nybörjarprogram”) at Karolinska Institutet and have at least 30 credits (30 Högskolepoäng) from Karolinska Institutet at the time of submission of the application. Students that have taken the Summer School once during their undergraduate training are not eligible to participate a second time.

Objectives

The overall goal of the Summer School is to introduce students to research early during their education at Karolinska Institutet, by performing a research project at Karolinska Institutet under professional supervision. 
 
After completing the Summer School, the student should be able to: 

• Understand basic research methodology 
• Apply basic research methodology to a research project of choice at Karolinska Institutet 
• Handle research material/data in a safe and orderly manner 
• Present research data in a poster, a written report and an oral presentation 
• Understand collegiality and Good Research Practice

Content

The Summer School begins with an introductory week with lectures covering hypothesis testing, statistics,  ethics, presentation techniques,  research  documentation,  description of Doctoral education at Karolinska Institutet and how to write a scientific manuscript. Thereafter, students take part in a six-week research project at a department of choice at Karolinska Institutet. The project should be defined and designed together with a supervisor so that it can be performed during approximately six weeks. Projects that require the student to perform laboratory work are preferred.

The workload put into the project must correspond to a minimum of six weeks of full-time studies (40 hours per week). The research project is done under supervision where the main supervisor is responsible for the student throughout the project period. At the end of the project, the student must give a brief presentation of their project and of the obtained results in the form of a poster and an oral presentation. Approximately 1 week of the project time may be needed for preparing the poster and oral presentation. The student must also submit a written report of the project in the format of a scientific manuscript.

Requirements for passing the Summer School

The summer project and obtained results must be presented in the form of a poster, an oral presentation and as a written report.

The student must attend the following mandatory events: 

• The introductory week 
• The research project, approximately six weeks at a department at KI 
• The presentation days

The Summer School Coordinator decides if and how absence from participation in mandatory events can be compensated. Students who do not participate in mandatory events, or who do not provide compensation as per the instructions of the Coordinator, will not have fulfilled passing criteria for the Summer School.

Students who do not submit the written report within the deadline will be withheld a designated sum of their research scholarship, and will not be issued a Certificate of Participation. In the event that the written report needs revision, students will be given one opportunity to revise the report within the same year after having taken the Summer School. Additional revisions or missed  deadlines will only be considered the following year when the next class submits their reports. 

After the report has been approved, and provided other requirements for passing are met, the student will receive an original printed Certificate of Participation. This certificate can be used as a merit in future applications.

Other directives

The Summer School is only open to students enrolled in first-cycle study programmes (undergraduate studies) at Karolinska Institutet. An evaluation will be performed at the end of the Summer School and submitted to the Committee of Research Education at Karolinska Institutet.

The Summer School is given in English.