Ernest E. Just Life Sciences Initiative

UNCF Ernest E. Just Life Sciences Initiative

Program Overview

It is essential that our life sciences ecosystem values and embraces a diverse workforce. It is not only about equal representation, it is about the strong business case, the bottom line, and ensuring the next big breakthroughs to save lives and improve patient outcomes. That’s why here in Massachusetts, we know that the strongest life sciences sector is a diverse one.

The MLSC is proud to partner with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) on the Ernest E. Just Life Sciences Initiative, which creates internship opportunities in the Boston-area for students enrolled in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). Students gain valuable experience and a network of professionals to pave a path for a fulfilling career in the life sciences.

UNCF will help provide transportation, housing, and other vital wrap around services to ensure students have a welcoming, memorable, and rewarding time in Boston.

Host organizations that meet the eligibility criteria for the MLSC’s Internship Challenge can seek reimbursement from the MLSC for wages paid to their intern(s).

How to apply:

Click the button below to view guidelines and to submit an application to apply.

Impact on the Ecosytem

Since 2022, the program has created 59 meaningful internship opportunities with 14 different life sciences companies and research institutions throughout Greater Boston. The initiative provided students from around the country with an extraordinary opportunity to spend 11 weeks living with a cohort in Boston and interning with life sciences organizations of all sizes.

To date, the MLSC has sponsored nearly 20% of the internships offered through the Ernest E. Just Program and contributed $150,000 in funding to support program implementation.

MLSC has sponsored nearly

0 %

of the internships offered through Ernest E. Program

Provided the UNCF with

$ 0

in funding to support program implementation

Connect with us to learn more

If you have further questions regarding the application process, please email: internship@masslifesciences.com.

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Project Onramp

Program Overview

As part of an ongoing and strategic effort to support the development of a diverse workforce talent pipeline for the life sciences industry, the MLSC partners with Life Science Cares on Project Onramp. The program creates paid summer internships for Massachusetts college students who are under-resourced and often first-generation, helping to bridge the opportunity gap for these promising young people. Project Onramp also provides wraparound training and support for interns and their supervisors.

A primary Project Onramp partner is Bottom Line, a nationally acclaimed nonprofit that helps students from low-income backgrounds get into college and successfully graduate. Bottom Line provides our Life Science Scholars with one-on-one support every step of the way. Project Onramp also partners with Thrive Scholars and Minds Matter Boston, which are non-profits giving high-achieving, low-income students the opportunities they need to thrive at top colleges, and in meaningful careers.

Eligibility & Evaluation

Participating life sciences companies with 100 employees or fewer are eligible to apply for reimbursement of up to $9,600 per intern (up to two) through the MLSC Internship Challenge. Host organizations and interns must meet all of the same eligibility requirements and must submit all of the same documentation as required under the Internship Challenge.

Resources

Impact on the Ecosytem

Diversity is key to our state’s competitiveness and the MLSC is proud to work alongside the industry to ensure the sciences become more inclusive. Project Onramp is breaking down barriers and facilitating students on a pathway to success—while helping life sciences companies build a more diverse talent pipeline for the growing needs of the industry. These internship opportunities serve as a stepping-stone to a rewarding career for a talent pool that has typically had difficulty gaining access to the life science industry. The program will give the students – many of them the first in their families to attend college – hands-on experience and a valuable start towards a career in biotechnology. It will also help growing Massachusetts life sciences companies fill the positions anticipated across the industry. Since 2019, the program facilitated 771 internships with over 160 companies. MLSC has contributed $132,500 to administer the program and sponsored approximately 10% of internships through the Internship Challenge.

Onramp has facilitated

internships...

...with over

different companies

Connect with us to learn more

If you have any questions, please email Tiffany Zheng , Project Onramp Manager with Life Sciences Cares, at Tiffany@lifesciencecares.org.

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Internship Challenge

Applications are now open for the 2025 Internship Challenge program.

Program Overview

Investing in the next generation of life science professionals is at the core of our mission. The Internship Challenge enhances the talent pipeline by creating hundreds of new internship opportunities each year for college students and recent graduates interested in life sciences careers. Through an online platform, the program offers employers access to a searchable resume database to help them connect with qualified candidates from across Massachusetts. The program also enables eligible organizations to pay their interns by subsidizing wages up to $9,600 per intern (based on $20 per hour for 12 weeks).

Internships can be part- or full-time and can take place any time during the Program Year, which runs from May 1 through April 30.

Funding is available on a first-come first-served basis, and allocated only after offer requests are approved by the MLSC within the organization application.

Program Application, Eligibility Requirements, Resources and FAQs:

For Interns

View the Internship Challenge program’s eligibility requirements, access resources, read frequently asked questions, and start the application process.

For Host Organizations

View the Internship Challenge program’s eligibility requirements, access resources, read frequently asked questions, and start the application process.

Students and organizations already registered can log in here to access the application.

Impact on the Ecosystem

The Internship Challenge embodies our belief in the power of experiential learning to cultivate a workforce pipeline. As the longest-running program at the MLSC, the Internship Challenge has expanded the pool of prospective employees who have practical experience, increased opportunities for mentoring, and enabled more students from across the Commonwealth to explore careers in the life sciences industry. This initiative has reached every region of our state to the benefit of a diverse pool of talented young people. The program creates new internship opportunities for college students and recent graduates by enabling small companies, of 100 employees or less, to hire paid interns.

Funded more than

internships...

...over

Massachusetts organizations...

...with students from

different academic institutions

Nearly

0 %

of interns that had completed college were offered employment directly following their internship

Internship Program Partners

As part of our commitment to increasing access and diversity in the life sciences workforce, the MLSC also partners with Project Onramp and the UNCF Ernest E. Just Initiative to support internship opportunities for low-income and underrepresented students.

Ernest E. Just Life Sciences Initiative

Project Onramp

The program creates paid summer internships for Massachusetts college students who are under-resourced and often first-generation, helping to bridge the opportunity gap for these promising young people. Project Onramp also provides wraparound training and support for interns and their supervisors.

MLSC Internship Success Stories

A Sweet Spot for Growth and Development: Internship Challenge part of FloDesign Sonics success story

Defining a Student’s Career Trajectory

High Throughput: EpigenDx in Hopkinton Providing Internship Opportunities for 10 years

Internship Challenge providing professional experience opportunities: Quinsigamond Community College

Sustainable Opportunities: KnipBio

The Internship Challenge Business Model: Enable Life Sciences

A Massachusetts Life Sciences Culture

Catalyzing Success and Growth

Building A Company Around an Idea

The Data Challenger: Liz O’Day

Business Front Door

Team Massachusetts is excited to connect you with the latest and most relevant resources available for businesses. We’re here to support you every step of the way as your company grows. Through the Business Front Door, we can make your business journey in Massachusetts a successful one.

Connect with us to learn more

If you have further questions regarding the application process, please email: internship@masslifesciences.com.

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Upcoming Info Sessions

High School Apprenticeship Challenge

Applications are now open for the 2025 High School Apprenticeship Challenge.

Program Overview

The High School Apprenticeship Challenge facilitates and funds paid internships for underrepresented and low-income high school students throughout Massachusetts. The program creates more than 150 new internship opportunities each year by subsidizing intern wages for research institutions and small life sciences companies to enable them to hire paid interns. The program also offers pre-internship training programs that provides rigorous biotechnology/biomedical and professional skills development.

The MLSC reimburses eligible host organizations up to $4,080 per intern, based on $17 per hour for six weeks of full-time work. Internships can be part-time or full-time and must take place between May 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026.

The program seeks to create paid work-based learning opportunities for underrepresented youth, supplement life science education with pre-internship training, foster relationships between economically disadvantaged schools and life sciences employers, develop students’ professional workplace skills, increase awareness of life sciences careers, and build a diverse STEM workforce pipeline.

Funding is available on a first-come first-served basis, and allocated only after offer requests are approved by the MLSC within the organization application.

Show

Program Application, Eligibility Requirements, Resources and FAQs:

For Interns

View The High School Apprenticeship Challenge program’s eligibility requirements, access resources, read frequently asked questions, and start the application process.

For Host Organizations

View The High School Apprenticeship Challenge program’s eligibility requirements, access resources, read frequently asked questions, and start the application process.

Students and organizations already registered can log in here to access the application.

Pre Internship Training Programs:

The after-school/summer training program provides rigorous pre-internship biotechnology/biomedical and professional skills development for underrepresented and/or low income students. The program has been offered in Brockton, New Bedford, Worcester, and Cambridge (serving Greater Boston students). Students at Brockton High School and New Bedford High School should ask their Biology teachers about application information. For students enrolled in Worcester or the Greater Boston area (Boston, Cambridge, Everett, Revere, Chelsea, etc.), please visit the respective websites of our training partners to learn more and apply: LEAH Project, BioBuilder, WPI MeDHigh, or Digital Ready.

Impact on the Ecosytem

Since the program launched in 2016, the MLSC has supported over 950 internships at more than 120 organizations. Interns have represented nearly 200 Massachusetts high schools and over 500 students have participated in MLSC-sponsored lab training programs designed to better prepare them for internships.

Supported over

internships...

...at more than

organizations

Interns have represented nearly

Massachusetts high schools &...

...over

students have participated in MLSC-sponsored OST lab training programs

Business Front Door

Connect with us to learn more

If you have further questions regarding the application process, please email: internship@masslifesciences.com.

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Capital, Data Science

Bits to Bytes

Biomanufacturing, Capital

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Data Science Internship Program

Join the Heart of the Hub

Sign up for The Beat our weekly newsletter

Name*
First Last
Email*
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Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Data Science Internship Program

Applications are now open for the 2025 Data Science Internship program.

Program Overview

The Data Science Internship program focuses on increasing the availability of data science talent in the life sciences. The program creates new internship opportunities for qualified candidates, including those at the Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate levels, by enabling research institutions and small companies to hire paid interns for up to four months. The program connects employers with prospective interns through an online platform and reimburses eligible companies (100 or fewer employees in Massachusetts; no more than 250 globally) and research institutions for intern wages. Companies with greater than 100 FTEs in Massachusetts are also encouraged to use the portal to search for unsubsidized interns. The program is intended to provide opportunities for intern exposure to advanced data analytics and data science applications to the life sciences. Prospective interns must demonstrate proficiency in advanced analytics skills and technologies based on their work experience and/or academic training. Internships can be part- or full-time and can take place for companies any time during the program year, which runs from May 1 through April 30. Prospective interns submit an online application, including their resume and identification of specific data science skillsets. There is no application deadline since internship placements are rolling. Approved employers will review applications and contact candidates directly if they are interested in hiring them for an internship. Funding is available on a first-come first-served basis, and allocated only after offer requests are approved by the MLSC within the organization application.

Program Application, Eligibility Requirements, Resources and FAQs:

For Interns

View the Data Science Internship program’s eligibility requirements, access resources, read frequently asked questions, and start the application process.

For Host Organizations

View the Data Science Internship program’s eligibility requirements, access resources, read frequently asked questions, and start the application process.

Students and companies already registered can log in here to access the application.

Impact on the Ecosystem

The Data Science Internship program is designed to address the rapidly increasing demand for data science talent by expanding the pool of qualified applicants by facilitating practical experience and eventual employment in life sciences careers in Massachusetts.

The program contributes to the development of a robust and diverse life sciences workforce by providing new opportunities for students pursuing data science and related majors, engaging research institutions and industry in recruiting from a global talent pool, and increasing awareness of career pathways in life sciences. Since the program launched in 2020, 127 companies and research institutions have hosted over 315 interns. Interns have represented 68 different colleges worldwide.

Since 2020 more than

companies and research institutions

Hosted over

interns since 2020

Success Stories

A Sweet Spot for Growth and Development: Internship Challenge part of FloDesign Sonics success story

Defining a Student’s Career Trajectory

High Throughput: EpigenDx in Hopkinton Providing Internship Opportunities for 10 years

Internship Challenge providing professional experience opportunities: Quinsigamond Community College

Sustainable Opportunities: KnipBio

The Internship Challenge Business Model: Enable Life Sciences

A Massachusetts Life Sciences Culture

Catalyzing Success and Growth

Building A Company Around an Idea

The Data Challenger: Liz O’Day

Business Front Door

Connect with us to learn more

If you have further questions regarding this program, please email: internship@masslifesciences.com.