PIPS Opportunity: The Company of Biologists: Community Site internships

The Company of Biologists is looking for one or more interns, through the BBSRC DTP/PIPS or equivalent schemes, to work on our community sites – the Node, preLights and FocalPlane. This is a great opportunity to gain experience in the rapidly growing online science communication environment, to develop writing skills, and to learn about academic publishing.

Together, the Company’s three community sites provide platforms for the research community to share news, discuss issues relevant to the field and read about the latest research and events. The Node is a field-specific site for developmental biologists, FocalPlane aims to bring together the microscopy and biology communities, and preLights is focussed on highlighting the preprint literature and exploring the journey from preprint to publication. The intern will be involved in the day-to-day running of one or more of the sites, and will be mentored by the relevant Community Manager(s). The internship will be based in the office in Cambridge.

Core responsibilities of the position include:

  • Creating and commissioning content, including writing posts and soliciting content from the academic community, societies and other organisations
  • Providing user support
  • Helping to run the community site social media accounts.

The successful intern will have:

  • Relevant scientific expertise (ideally in the developmental or cell biology field, though they are open to applications from individuals working in other areas of biology)
  • Strong writing and communication skills
  • Keen interest in science communication
  • Experience of and interest in blogging and/or social media (ideally including experience with WordPress)

The Company of Biologists exists to support biologists and inspire advances in biology. At the heart of what we do are our five specialist journals – Development, Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Experimental Biology, Disease Models & Mechanisms and Biology Open – two of them fully open access. All are edited by expert researchers in the field, and all articles are subjected to rigorous peer review. They take great pride in the experience of our editorial team and the quality of the work they publish. They believe that the profits from publishing the hard work of biologists should support scientific discovery and help develop future scientists. Their grants help support societies, meetings and individuals. Their workshops and meetings give the opportunity to network and collaborate.

Application details:

They are looking for an intern to start in 2025 and encourage interested candidates to submit their application as soon as possible. To apply, please send a CV and cover letter, stating why you are interested in this opportunity, to recruitment@biologists.com and Katherine Brown (Development’s Executive Editor) at katherine.brown@biologists.com. Please also direct informal enquiries to the same addresses.