The Amgen Foundation this week announced that its “Amgen Scholars Program” is expanding its presence with new host institutions in the U.S., Europe, and, for the first time, Japan. The Amgen Scholars Program “aims to inspire the next generation of innovators by providing undergraduates with hands-on summer research opportunities at many of the world’s premier educational institutions.” In this next phase of the initiative, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Harvard University, ETH Zurich, Institut Pasteur, Kyoto University, and the University of Tokyo are being added to the already distinguished group of host institutions.
Amgen has donated a tremendous amount to its education initiative. Through 2018, Amgen will invest an additional $18 million to support nearly 1,200 undergraduate students’ participation in the program. The Amgen Foundation’s total past and current commitment to the Amgen Scholars Program now reaches more than $50 million, bringing the Foundation’s total commitment to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education to over $100 million globally.
NIH recently made an announcement about their NIH-Amgen Scholars Program.
“As part of this opportunity, made possible by a grant to the Foundation of the NIH from the Amgen Foundation in Thousand Oaks, California, scholars will spend the summer working at NIH’s main campus in Bethesda, Maryland side-by-side with some of the world’s leading scientists, in an environment devoted exclusively to biomedical research.” Undergraduate students will learn lab work and science leadership skills with mentors from the National Institutes of Health, one of 17 facilities taking part in the Amgen Scholars Program to prepare students for careers in science. Beginning in 2015, NIH will participate as a host institution, appointing candidates who meet both the NIH and the Amgen Research Scholar requirements.
“An important aspect of this opportunity is that it will provide real-world experience to undergraduate students from low-resource settings who lack opportunities to perform independent research during the school year,” said Sharon L. Milgram, Ph.D., Director of the NIH Office of Intramural Training & Education. “We know that getting this type of hands-on experience makes a difference in retaining students in the sciences.”
Eduardo Cetlin, president, Amgen Foundation, states: “Amgen has seen the positive influence of the Amgen Scholars Program over the past eight years as alumni have gone on to earn Ph.D.’s, be accepted as Rhodes Scholars and to work as scientists at leading institutions.”
“We are proud to extend our network of world-class educational institutions and offer even more undergraduates this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to broaden their career perspectives and deepen their love of science,” Cetlin states.
View MIT’s announcement about Amgen’s scholarship program here.
Financial support for students is also a critical component of the program, which seeks to ensure that eligible students, regardless of their financial status, are able to participate.