University Summer Placements

Summer Placements are usually offered to high calibre students studying a university degree, or its equivalent, from the UK or elsewhere. With this type of placement, the trainee is paid directly by Diamond. 

The Diamond Student Summer Placement scheme allows undergraduate students studying for a degree in Science, Engineering, Computing or Mathematics (and who expect to gain a first or upper-second class honours degree) to gain experience working within a scientific environment at Diamond.

These 12 week placements are paid positions and will provide successful students with an opportunity to work on a research or development project within Diamond. The placements are available to students who are registered as undergraduate students at the time of the placements – typically during the summer of their penultimate year.

Your Placement

You will work on your own project during the summer by collaborating with your group and staff all across the organisation along with the support from your supervisor/s. Diamond has an excellent track record for helping students execute work which is valued not only by Diamond staff but also our User community. We have also welcomed previous summer placement students back to Diamond as they work and study towards one of our competitive joint PhD studentships, which shows how impactful our placements can be.  

In addition to working on your own project, you will also have the opportunity to get involved with other areas of work at Diamond to gain a wider view of the full range of what our facility does. You will be encouraged to learn about research teams based at Diamond and other facilities on-site at the Harwell Campus, and to participate in public engagement events, and in communicating science to a wider audience. 

Training and experience is also provided in the following areas:

• Presentation training to prepare for your final talk on your project
• Poster design as an important skill for the communication of science
• Python programming
• Public engagement skills
• An internal programme of seminars and talks from leading scientists
• Tours and talks of other science facilities across the Harwell Campus

See what our previous Summer Placement students had to say about our programme:

"When I look back on this summer, I know it will always be one of my favourites. From studying Chemistry that excites me and hearing about research on topics I'd never even conceived of to meeting the loveliest people, my 12 weeks at Diamond have been incredible."

- Srija, 2022 Summer Placement

"It was my best summer so far. I met great people, explored Oxfordshire, built a software package I can show to future employers, and got paid to do it."

- Aurys Silinga, 2021 Summer Placement