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The Health Systems Innovation Lab (HSIL) Internship Program is designed for highly motivated undergraduate students and individuals early in their research careers. This program offers a supportive, flexible environment to build practical skills in understanding health systems, global health research, and the translation of evidence into policy and practice.

As an intern, you will:

• Serve as a student research assistant within the lab
• Develop skills in data analysis, writing, and evidence translation
• Contribute to research outputs and publications

The program is primarily remote and designed to be flexible around student schedules and commitments. You will collaborate with peers from around the world who bring diverse academic backgrounds and perspectives, enriching your own approach to research and problem-solving. While many of our interns come from medicine, public health, engineering, and economics, students from all disciplines are welcome and encouraged to apply.

Eligibility:

• Undergraduate students globally may apply.
• Undergraduate students based in Massachusetts must either receive academic credit or external funding to participate. Some funding opportunities and resources are listed here.

The Health Systems Innovation Lab Research Collaborator Program is designed for mid-level researchers, including graduate students and clinical residents in all disciplines, who want to deepen their expertise in health systems, global health research, and the translation of evidence into policy and practice.

The program is primarily remote and designed to be flexible around student or work schedules and commitments. This program is ideal for highly motivated, self-directed individuals who are also seeking opportunities to further develop their research skills, understanding of health systems and innovation, and leadership. Research collaborators will be matched with ongoing HSIL projects that align with their skills, experience, and interests.

Eligibility:

• Harvard graduate students and Harvard teaching hospital clinical residents may participate to fulfill practicum or independent study requirements.
• Post-doctoral candidates may join as visiting scientists to conduct their research within HSIL.
• Graduate students globally are welcome to apply.

Applications are reviewed three times per year. Applicants should apply before the close of each application cycle to be considered within that cycle:

• Cycle 1 closes: January 31^st
• Cycle 2 closes: May 31^st
• Cycle 3 closes: September 30^th

Applicants applying after the closing date will be considered in the subsequent application cycle.

Applicants will be informed if they have progressed to interview within 31 days of each application cycle closing.

For all positions we ask you to fill out this form which will ask for your details and the following documents: 

• Your most recent CV. 
• A cover letter of up to 400 words detailing what makes you excited about Global Health, Health Systems and/or Healthcare Innovation, why you would like to work with the HSIL, your envisioned goals and activities at the HSIL and any relevant skills and experiences.  
• Any other documents you feel will help us to better assess your prior experiences. 

The goal of the Practicum project is to provide students an opportunity to integrate and apply the public health knowledge and competencies gained in the classroom to a real world public health problem. All professional Masters (MPH) students at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health are required to complete a Practicum project during their program of study, working as individuals or as members of a practicum team. Practicum projects are approved by practice course faculty in a student’s field of study and completed under the supervision of a Preceptor at the host organization.

While we encourage people of all backgrounds and experiences to apply to our programs, we are specifically looking for research collaborators and interns with the following skills and experience: 

• Research & Writing
  • Experience conducting systematic reviews and scoping reviews
  • Strong academic and scientific writing skills
• Quantitative, Data Analysis and Visualization Skills
  • Coding proficiency (e.g., R, Python, or similar)
  • Data cleaning and wrangling
  • Regression analyses
  • Experience with ML methods such as LLMs
  • Development of data visualizations
• Health Systems Specific Skills
  • Health systems performance analysis
  • Analysis of health systems financing
  • Health systems costing analyses
• Innovation and New Ventures
  • Experience with startups, hackathons, incubators, accelerators, and innovation studies