Edge is committed to fostering career development opportunities for young people through internships and work experience, and we continue to support the next generation of researchers through our Emerging Researchers Network. We have also, for the last six years, taken on interns from Destination STEM placements (previously Nuffield Research Placements). Hosting these internships offers us an opportunity to practice the values we preach: as an employer, making a contribution to young people’s development, in this instance by providing an opportunity for young people to gain real-life work experience and develop research skills and knowledge.
This summer, the research team at Edge hosted a two-week Destination STEM Learning placement. Our intern for 2026, Shahjahan, completed a report on degree apprenticeships in Greater London. Shahjahan studied Maths, Further Maths with the Further Statistics unit and Psychology at A level, and together with other students collaborated on a project with Hounslow Council to gather data on problems young people face in the borough.
Shahjahan Akbar, Work Placement, Edge Foundation"I would like to thank Josh Patel for being my mentor during the process of researching and writing my report and for checking in with me consistently throughout the project to give me recommendations, provide guidance and challenge me to think deeper on the topic and the data. I would also like to thank Sorah Gluck for helping to direct me to sources and further reading that I found very useful and the rest of the Edge Foundation team for making my research placement a very fun and informative experience."
Degree Apprenticeships were introduced with the intent to create a high-quality, vocational, employer led route into higher education without the need to take on the debts typically associated with traditional university education and to help bridge the skills gap found in the British economy by providing direct job training rather than the more theoretical and academic education approach of universities. You can download Shajahan's report below.