Northern Care Alliance has been named as an Employer of Choice by Manchester Metropolitan University.
The accolade has been developed to recognise employers who consistently provide high quality opportunities to the university’s students and graduates.
A key part of this is the student internship programme within our Research and Innovation department
Inpatient research delivery team lead Beth Charles said the programme, which has been running since 2022, has been a hugely positive experience for both the students and the research team. It sees students from the university’s biomedical science degree take up a year-long placement as research support workers.
They gain wide experience, including screening patients and gaining their consent for research studies, handling samples and work in laboratories, data management and more. The students are able to shadow different teams and roles, attend scientific meetings and conferences and study for the NHS Care Certificate.
Student blogs
Students who have completed the placement say it’s given them valuable experience seeing their academic studies come to life in a real-world setting and also helped shape their future careers. Neda, Akifah, Portia and Celina have all written blogs about their year with the team.
And there are benefits for the research team too. Beth said: “We’ve found all our placement students have had a can-do attitude when taking on new responsibilities and have been caring and responsible when dealing with patients. They become valued members of the team during their time with us.”
NCA colleagues also attend events on campus and are represented on Employer Advisory Boards.
Partnership
Research and Innovation managing director Professor Steve Woby added: “We are delighted to be recognised by Manchester Metropolitan University as an Employer of Choice. This acknowledges our collaborative partnership with their Careers and Employability department, and the fact that we are a provider of high-quality employability experiences for students and graduates.
“We also collaborate with experts at the university on a range of research studies that aim to improve diagnosis, treatment and care.”
Pictured are our 2025-26 research support workers on placement – Peasca Ekhator, Amanjot Kaur, Katie Hood and Natalia Wierzbowska.