Over the summer period, Health Research Council staff were thrilled to have extremely talented interns from a variety of educational backgrounds work alongside them. In addition to contributing fresh and insightful ideas, the interns powered through a huge amount of work in their short time with us – work that will be used to inform and refine our processes.
Below, in their own words, you can read about what they did during their time at the HRC and the skills they will take away to help them in their careers. We look forward to seeing what exciting things the future holds for them!
Nikolas Kalmakoff
Nicolas is a fourth year LLB(Hons) & BA student at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka I University of Otago.
Why did you apply for an HRC internship?
I applied for the HRC internship as I am passionate about developing equitable social outcomes for New Zealanders. I completed a Sociology degree prior to studying law and politics. The social sciences fascinated me with nuanced understandings and critiques of the social reality of New Zealand. Upon researching the position, the HRC’s core values and objectives closely aligned with my own ethos. I saw the HRC as an incredible opportunity to develop pragmatic insight of the public service and how health research promotes equitable, rather than equal, health outcomes.
What projects/tasks have you been working on during your internship?
I have worked on several projects during my internship. My initial task was to read the current Ethics Guidelines as well as the Approval Guidelines for HRC accredited ethics committees and find areas of improvement. I identified a few areas of improvement and sections that needed to be added that were not pertinent at the time the guidelines were written. Many of these areas became so extensive that they became documents of their own. I also assisted in updating the document for the annual reporting requirements for HRC accredited ethics committees. I am genuinely fulfilled that I was able to contribute to the degree I have in the refreshing of these documents.
Can you share any interesting learnings/findings/facts from your internship?
My internship is specifically within the ambit of ethics. I have been very interested to learn the practical reality behind ethics processes for health research. Ethics committees face an endemic understaffing due to institutional under resourcing. Notwithstanding this underserving, the HRC accredited ethics committees work incredibly hard despite the gaps in their operational capacity. If New Zealand wants to promote high-quality health research – invest in ethics committees.
What aspect of the internship have you found most enjoyable?
The aspect of my internship I have enjoyed the most has been developing relationships with my fellow colleagues and interns of the HRC. From personal experience working in retail and a supermarket; it is the people that make the job enjoyable. The HRC is no different – everybody is spirited, interested, and genuinely cares.
As a bonus point, the mahi has also been extremely enjoyable. I have thoroughly enjoyed wholeheartedly applying my writing and analytical skills to my tasks. I have created guidelines, references, frameworks, and structures that will help shape the future of ethics review in New Zealand. The ethics internship has been exceedingly rewarding.
What have you found most challenging?
The subject I have found the most challenging of the internship is fitting my theoretical knowledge to feasible practical realities. I have discovered it is all fine and well to know the theory of social praxis or how society should operate in academia. However, real-world pragmatics of resourcing, bureaucracy, administrative capabilities, and timelines is an entirely different world. Academia presents a very ‘blue-sky’ picture of institutional machinations. Industry experience has been immensely valuable insight to ground my expectations of what is realistically achieved and the work that is required to support that.
What new skills have you learnt? Are there any new skills that you will take with you throughout the rest of your studies/career?
This internship has taught me several new skills. The interpersonal and communication skills I have learnt from my internship will be invaluable. Additionally, the developments in my writing and analysis skills will further complement the rest of my studies. The ethics internship has been an excellent opportunity to explore how the skills evolved through my studies mingle and scaffold each other to produce high-quality and professional results.
Has anything about the role of ethics in health research funding surprised you?
The part that has surprised me the most about the role of ethics in health research funding is the expanse of ethical considerations. Almost every single component, feature, or outcome of health research can be subject to meticulous scrutiny by an ethics committee. The range of expertise and backgrounds that compose ethics committees to ensure high-quality interrogation and protection of participants is immense. In meetings with secretariats or members of ethics committees, I quickly found myself struggling to keep up with the pace in which issues were identified. After completing my internship, I am unsure if I yet understand the breadth of ethics.
In three words, how would you describe working at the HRC?
Vibrant – intrepid – fulfilling
What would you say to those considering applying for an HRC internship?
Please apply – I cannot stress in the confines of words how valuable this experience has been for me.
Tom Wilkshire
Tom is a 6th year student at the University of Otago, where he completed a degree in Biomedical Sciences majoring in functional human biology. He is now in his fourth year of Medicine, starting clinical placement in Wellington.
Why did you apply for an HRC internship?
I was hoping to gain some experience in health research, and although science students often opt to help an established researcher on an active project, working at the HRC gives insight into all kinds of different projects from various fields. The opportunity to work with clinical proposals, public health proposals, and a whole range of different biomedical proposals was undeniably appealing. Alongside an amazing team of people, you get to discover how health research funding in New Zealand works, as well as being part of the emerging research that could change health and medicine forever.
What projects/tasks have you been working on during your internship?
My main task has been vetting and recruiting external peer reviewers who evaluate the research proposals that are submitted to the HRC for funding in 2025. I’ve also been involved with some of the smaller projects that take place around the HRC, including data analysis, creating databases for internal use, and research into how we can continue to celebrate the success of our researchers.
Can you share any interesting learnings/findings/facts from your internship?
My first fun fact is that the peer reviewers we ask to review the submitted research proposals are at the top of their respective fields from all around the globe, not just Australia and/or New Zealand. We have been in contact with people from France to South Africa, to Thailand and beyond. My second fun fact is that all of us interns are from very different backgrounds, whether it’s engineering, law, medicine, or science. So, to prospective future interns, regardless of your background don’t be scared to apply if you have any interest in health research!
What aspect of the internship have you found most enjoyable?
The huge range of people I have been able to speak to is my personal favourite. Not just within my peers and colleagues who make this a great place to work but having the opportunity to engage with people all over the world who are passionate about their research and their respective fields. You get to work with all these people on a diverse range of tasks, or at the different stages of a single task such as peer review.
What have you found most challenging?
The most challenging part is coordinating these people from all walks of life around the world at once. Whether that’s the inconvenience of time zones, busy times of the year, or making sure everyone is meeting deadlines, there’s always something to keep you on your toes, albeit nothing that can’t be achieved.
What new skills have you learnt? Are there any new skills that you will take with you throughout the rest of your studies/career?
I’ve honed my skills at using various programmes, including an introduction to the HRC’s online system ‘Gateway’, as well as common Microsoft programmes such as excel. Additionally, some of the personal skills that I have continued to build on include time management, presentation skills, and ability to plan effectively, which will be useful for all kinds of different potential career paths.
Has anything about the research funding/application assessment process surprised you?
Most surprising was the number of different funding types that people can apply for. Whether that’s Projects (our three-year grants), Programmes (our five-year grants), career development awards (to support those switching into research), health delivery grants or more, there’s a lot of diversity with a huge range of applications and goals.
In three words, how would you describe working at the HRC?
Dynamic, engaging, and sociable.
What would you say to those considering applying for an HRC internship?
Reiterating from my answer above, don’t be afraid to apply regardless of your background. This is an inclusive and truly enjoyable team to be a part of, staff are especially supportive and everyone is very social. Moreover, your time here is spent helping the progression of meaningful work that could make a real difference. So, if that sounds like something you want to be a part of then just go for it! I would encourage future interns to try and be a part of a range of available projects, as it’s an awesome way to work with new people and further develop skills.
Renee Shields
Renee is a Biomedical Science Masters student at the University of Auckland. This year, she’s working at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences on an immunology project investigating children’s antibody response to infection with Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A).
Why did you apply for the HRC Internship?
I applied for an internship at the Health Research Council because I wanted to broaden my understanding of the research funding and grant application process. I’m familiar with the process from a research point of view but I had no idea about what goes on behind the scenes at the HRC. Over previous summers, I have done a summer research project and worked in retail, so I also wanted to broaden my work experience into the public sector.
What have I been involved in during my time at HRC?
During my internship, I have primarily been involved with the external peer reviewer recruitment process for our biggest funding rounds; the Programme and Project grants. This has involved independently finding and recruiting hundreds of national and international experts to provide peer-review reports for grant applications that will give advice to the assessing committees. Other than this, I’ve done various tasks including co-leading a quality improvement project to refine application assessment procedures, collated archival information and designed a database for ex-research committee members, reviewed and edited external peer reviewer guidance documents to align with the Plain Language Act, and helped to develop criteria and design of a new award the HRC is going to present this year.
Interesting learnings/findings/facts:
Getting to read the grant applications has been fascinating, learning about all the amazing research that is being done by teams all over the country. I also had no idea how rigorous the assessment process is – every application goes through many assessment steps to ensure each proposal is given a fair and unbiased assessment. I hope I’ve come away from my time here with a better understanding of how to write good grant applications, which is essential for a career as a researcher.
Most enjoyable part of the internship:
Getting to work with the lovely HRC team (and the shared morning teas).
Most challenging:
This is my first experience having an ‘office’ job or one where I am working for the government as a public servant. There were certainly a lot of things to catch up on, including a lot of HRC policy and strategies, and the code of conduct that comes with public service. Additionally, I found the peer review recruitment daunting at first, but as I got more familiar with the process it became easier.
New skills learnt:
I can say that I can now confidently find the correct email address online for almost any academic; I’ve become a bit of a super-stalker. Also, I am a whizz at sending out email invites now. Collectively, I think the interns sent out over 1000 email invites to potential reviewers.
On a more serious note, I think I’ve learnt lots about what job in the more advisory/administrative side of science looks like, and it’s very different to my experiences in academia. Having this experience has enabled me to make informed choices about my career, which I’m extremely grateful for.
Anything about research funding/application assessment that has surprised me:
As I said before, I really did have absolutely no idea just how much work goes into the compliance and assessment of the applications, how much work it is, and how many people it involves. Furthermore, the importance of aligning with government health and research strategies is an integral value of the studies funded by the HRC. It’s not enough to just have a novel research idea, it also must have a tangible and worthwhile health benefit to the people of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Three words to describe working at HRC:
Interesting, enjoyable, productive.
To those considering applying for the HRC internship:
I think if you are genuinely passionate about any part of health research, you’ll enjoy working at the HRC, and you’ll get a lot out of it. I had never thought about interning for the HRC before, but now I think it’s one of the most worthwhile experiences I’ve had in a summer job.
Dayna Cracknell
Dayna recently finished her university studies doing mechanical engineering as an undergraduate and then completing her PhD where she focused on developing orthotic insoles for diabetic patients.
Why did you apply for an HRC internship?
Being in the healthcare research space, I had heard of the HRC as one of my supervisors and their colleagues had applied for funding. When I saw the internship come up, it seemed like an amazing opportunity to see how everything works behind the scenes. I also knew that I would be exposed to a large range of different areas of research which I thought would be incredibly interesting.
What projects/tasks have you been working on during your internship?
I have had the opportunity to work on diverse projects at the HRC. The primary task was finding external peer reviewers for funding applications. This was very enjoyable as we could look at a large range of projects, anywhere from preclinical studies to applications based on public health. We had to familiarise ourselves with the contents of each application and find the best-suited experts from around the world to review it.
I also contributed to analysis projects looking at how funding committee members found the experience of being on an assessing committee. I went through five years of past reports, finding central and frequent themes that emerged. This was incredibly rewarding, as I was able to see the changes that the HRC has made over the years and how it has impacted those involved in assessing applications.
Can you share any interesting learnings/findings/facts from your internship?
I found out how supportive the international research community is. We were contacting people all over the world to ask them to help with the assessment of applications. Sometimes they didn’t know about the HRC (some were even surprised about how much research we do here in New Zealand!), but nearly half of the people I contacted were eager to help provide a fair assessment for HRC funding applications.
What aspect of the internship have you found most enjoyable?
For one, working with everyone here at the HRC. It is such an amazing group of people, and it has been great to get to know them! On the work side of things, I really appreciated my superiors having the faith in me to try something new. It kept the internship very exciting, and I felt like I was constantly engaged in the work I was doing. I was able to learn how to do a thematic analysis from scratch, which is something that I am sure will be very valuable for my future career.
What have you found most challenging?
Coming from an engineering background, I had to learn a lot of medical terms on the fly. But if I am honest, this was also one of the fun parts! For example, I hadn’t known anything about proteins, but I now know exactly what a P2X receptor does. It was quite cool to learn about it on the job!
What new skills have you learnt? Are there any new skills that you will take with you throughout the rest of your studies/career?
Learning complex concepts very fast. Even over the course of three months, I have noticed that I am much more efficient at figuring out medical concepts quickly, which will be an incredible skill to take with me.
Has anything about the research funding/application assessment process surprised you?
I have been involved with applying for funding previously, and I thought I knew how rigorous the assessment process was. However, working at the HRC, I found out how much care is given to the process and how many people it takes to create a fair assessment. There is a lot of effort given and emphasis on mitigating any bias, conflicts of interests, and ensuring confidentiality is maintained. I was also surprised about how much incredible research is going on here in New Zealand; our research community is even larger than I thought!
In three words, how would you describe working at the HRC?
Engaging, encouraging, and supportive.
What would you say to those considering applying for an HRC internship?
If you love looking at what is happening at the leading edge of healthcare research in New Zealand, this internship is for you! It feels incredible to be able to meaningfully contribute to such an important organisation and the research community as a whole. If you’re anything like me, you will love having a wide variety of tasks that are all as interesting as the last! Also, just know you are coming into such a lovely work environment surrounded by people who are very supportive and friendly. It’s one of those places where you enjoy going to work every day.