McMaster SynBio
High School Internship
The High School Internship Program allows enthusiastic students from grades 10-11 to immerse themselves in the post-secondary research environment and learn new skills related to wet lab, engineering, and community engagement. Applications close May 30th 11:59PM EST.
What is the SynBio High School Internship?
A 4 week internship, taking place annually, with in-person and online components that will require 10 hours of work per week.Interns will be introduced to undergraduate science and engineering ideas that fit into the realm of synthetic biology and genetic engineering. Interns will be assigned a case at the start of their internship, and will continue to work on solving a problem with a bio-based solutions, following the McMaster-originated PBL system. In essence, a problem based learning project.
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(https://teachingexcellence.mcmaster.ca/our-teaching-innovations/)
McMaster Science students are assigned at least one PBL project in their first year, and are able to develop university level critical thinking and teamwork. This internship will allow students to shadow dynamic student researchers, while learning and applying concepts from the SynBio sub-teams to their PBL cases.
What we're looking for:
The STEM field is composed of individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds, with no two individuals having the same career path or schooling. What unites scientists, engineers, and other STEM professionals is interest in the world around us. Curiosity and persistence create the basis for discovery and innovation, and we encourage students from all backgrounds that have varying levels of previous experience to apply. What we’re interested in is in getting to know you and what drives your curiosity and enthusiasm in the field of synthetic biology.
We want students who are curious about science and engineering. Students who are unsure of if science research is a viable career choice.
Students who are unsure of the careers that come from science and engineering.
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Students who want to learn about careers in science that are not medicine.
We want students who might not consider science seriously, or have had positive science experiences in the past.
We want to show you the amazing world of science, and make a livelihood out of it!
Through the internship students will be guided through:
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Mock PBL/University Assignment Experiences
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Knowledge on Science Careers at McMaster
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Critical Thinking at the University Level
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Literature Review of Recent Global Problems
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Science Communication and Graphical Abstracts
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Creation of Publishable Science Conference Poster File
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Shadowing University Student Researchers
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Learning about iGEM and Synthetic Biology
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Certificate of Completion
Week 1
University Life & Team Formation
(3 hours in person, 6 hours online synchronous)
Week 2
Dry Lab: Modelling & Plasmid Design
(6 hours online synchronous, 3 hours online asynchronous)
Week 3
Wet Lab: Laboratory & Experimental Design
(3 hours in person, 6 hours online synchronous)
Week 4
SciComm: Scientific Conference Poster Design
(6 hours online synchronous, 3 hours online asynchronous)
In-person components are mandatory:
July Cohort (July 6th - August 2nd) In-person Attendance
Monday, July 6th - 12pm-3pm - Welcome Week
Monday, July 14th - 12pm-3pm - Wet Lab Workshop
Saturday, August 2nd - 12pm-3pm - Case Symposium and Award Ceremony
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August Cohort (July 28th - August 23rd) In-person Attendance
Monday, July 28th - 12pm-3pm - Welcome Week
Monday, August 11th - 12pm-3pm - Wet Lab Workshop
Saturday, August 23rd - 12pm-3pm - Case Symposium and Award Ceremony
Disclaimer
This internship is only open to students who have just completed Grade 10 or Grade 11 by the time of application. If you are entering Grade 10 in Fall 2025, or have already graduated high school, you are not the intended audience and not eligible. This experience is not paid, and does not qualify for volunteer hours, it may qualify for CAS hours. Students only interested in software engineering or medicine are not encouraged to apply.