Oracle Cerner data science internship programme
This year, our UK-based data insights team launched an opportunity for three paid full-time data science internship positions. Having identified a workforce need for data scientists, the idea behind the programme is for us to grow our team by discovering talent at the first step of an individual’s career, as well as give back to the industry and data science community by upskilling future data scientists.
What does the data science internship involve?
The data science interns will work alongside our data insights team, and apply data science techniques to explore, analyse, and visualise health and social care data. We will provide structured induction and training to the interns throughout the programme, as well as give them the opportunity to work on a data science project with dedicated support from senior members of the team. Through the internship programme, data science interns will learn about Oracle Cerner, our teams, and different roles, will develop experience working on healthcare data, and will engage with our clients.
Interns will focus on the following three projects:
- Project 1: Mitigating bias and inequalities in machine learning models
- Project 2: Machine learning model output visualisation and interpretability
- Project 3: Application of machine learning in elective recovery
Introducing the September 2022 cohort
The three individuals taking part this year are Arwa, Karthik, and Somil.
Originally from Libya, Arwa has a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from University College London and is currently finishing her MSc in Health Data Science at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Arwa was interested in the opportunity as – although she enjoyed her master’s degree – she “wanted to be involved in hands-on experience and collaborating with clients to see how data science can impact the real world.’
Having lived in India, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, the US and now London, Karthik has experienced living around the world. This, in addition to having taken part in statistics internships since the age of 16, means that Karthik has an insight into global data and how it impacts populations. Karthik has a BSc in Mathematics with Statistics at King’s College and will soon graduate with an MSc in Health Data Analytics & Machine Learning at Imperial College London. When thinking about why he had chosen to pursue the data science internship Karthik revealed, “As soon as I had applied, everybody at Oracle Cerner was so helpful and knowledgeable. I was given open invites to contact members of the team, which has really helped me settle in.”
Somil brings a clinical background to the programme with an MPharm degree from the University of Nottingham, and will soon graduate with an MSc in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence from Queen Mary University of London. Somil is most looking forward to working as part of a diverse team and improving his knowledge of machine learning and elective recovery. When asked about what made him want to apply for the data science internship, Somil said, “It was not a difficult decision. I am driven by being able to help lots of people at once using data, even if this means not directly working with the patient.”
Both Arwa and Karthik heard about the internship from an email they received from their university and were keen to be involved, making the transition out of academia and into industry working.
How has the field of health data science impacted health and health systems?
Working with powerful databases, machine learning algorithms can help support healthcare service provision by identifying undiagnosed patients or predicting patient outcomes. Using longitudinal electronic health record (EHR) data, a data scientist can quickly analyse vast volumes of information to identify patterns and create accurate patient profiles and predictions. Through evolving technology that allows us to harness swathes of data like never before, health data science is an exciting field that has made significant impacts on health and care systems.
Data science can assist population health management in improving patient outcomes, enhancing care management, and addressing social determinants of health. Through its ability to improve diagnostic accuracy and efficiency, data science can help us predict future determinants of health within populations and, ultimately, help save lives.
We hope to continue this internship programme for years to come to enable even more talented young people to get their career off the ground and join the Oracle Cerner family. If you, or somebody you know, might be interested in future internship opportunities, please contact Jurgita Kaubryte ([email protected]).
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