An assessment of the impact of Digital Research Infrastructure at the University of York
Project Overview
This project involved an evaluation of the impact of the N8 CIR Programme at the University of York, using thematic analysis, content analysis, and semi-structured interviews with former interns and project supervisors. The work examined student skill development, career outcomes, and institutional research impact, highlighting how Bede and the wider digital research infrastructure support and strengthen computational research across the N8 universities.
What are the key results of your research project?
- Students picked up technical skills they never would have got through their degree alone - things like Python, machine learning, and working with the Bede supercomputer. For many, it was their first real exposure to high-performance computing.
- It was not just the students who learned. Supervisors consistently said they picked up new methods and ideas from their interns too. The learning genuinely went both ways.
- The internships made a real difference to people's careers. Several interns walked straight into jobs or PhD programmes because of their placement. In one case, an intern went from the placement into a research job and then into a PhD - a path they would not have found otherwise.
- The work students produced did not just sit in a folder. Pipelines built during placements are still running in research groups today, and data generated has gone directly into grant applications.
- One internship alone led to a research paper, which led to a new PhD student, which then supported a brand-new grant proposal. That is a huge chain of impact from just eight weeks of work.
- There were honest challenges too. The admin and payment process was stressful and kept coming up across interviews. Some interns did not get enough day-to-day support. And there is currently no way of knowing what happens to interns after they leave.
- The fixes are not complicated - simplify the admin, introduce regular check-ins, make Bede access standard for every project, and run a simple annual survey to track where people end up.
Research Publication
S. RajKumar and B. Baruah, "Bridging Education, Research, and Industry: The Role of Computational Internships in Higher Education," 2026 22nd International Conference on Information Technology Based Higher Education and Training (ITHET), Lilihammer, Norway, 2026, pp. 1-6, doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/ITHET69978.2026.11585144.
How do you feel you have benefitted from completing this internship?
This internship has genuinely been one of the most valuable experiences of my time at university. Before starting, I had very little idea about what research actually involved in practice. Going through the full process of designing interview questions, speaking to academics and researchers, analyzing transcripts, and writing up findings gave me a completely different level of confidence in my own abilities. One of the things that stands out the most for me is that I had never interviewed anyone before this internship. I had no experience of conducting research interviews at all. Getting the opportunity to speak directly with academics, project supervisors, and the Director of the programme was something I never expected to do as a postgraduate, and it is an experience I will carry with me for a long time.
On a personal level, it made me realize that I genuinely enjoy research. There is something really satisfying about starting from a question you do not know the answer to and working all the way through to findings that actually mean something. I did not expect to feel that way going in, but I really do now.
This experience has also been incredibly useful for my CV. Having real interview experience and a formal impact evaluation under my belt is something that will genuinely add weight to any application I make going forward. In terms of career paths, it has absolutely made me think differently about what I want to do next. Before this internship, I was not seriously considering research as a direction. Now it feels like a real possibility. It has opened my eyes to areas I had never thought about before.