The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

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traineeship Info

ORGANIZATION INFO

RBG Kew was founded in 1759 and operates across two sites: Kew Gardens in London, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and at Wakehurst in Sussex, which is the home of RBG Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank. We also have a permanent research station in Madagascar. We use the power of our science and the rich diversity of our gardens and collections to provide knowledge, inspiration and understanding of why plants and fungi matter to everyone.

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MENTOR(S) FROM THE ORGANIZATION

Tim Pearce

Conservation Partnerships Coordinator, Africa

Eve Lucas

Research Team Leader

Louise Colville

Senior Research Leader, Seed and Stress Biology

Richard Gianfrancesco

Senior Science Officer

VACANCIES

Mentor(s)/ Co-supervisor(s)

Louise Colville

Senior Research Leader, Seed and Stress Biology

co-supervisor

Anne Visscher

Research Associate

co-supervisor

Brief Introduction of the Department

The Trait Diversity and Function Department explores the properties of plants and fungi and their potential applications to human health, well-being and sustainable development. We research how traits have evolved and how they function to reveal how species have adapted to particular environments and how resilient they may be to future change. This will enable better conservation of plants and fungi and identify species that we can use sustainably and equitably for the benefit of humankind. Within the Trait Diversity and Function department there are six teams: Biological Chemistry, Character Evolution, Seed and Stress Biology, Comparative Fungal Biology, Plant Health and Adaptation, and Crops and Global Change. This internship will be in the Seed and Stress Biology team, which is based at the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst, in West Sussex. The research of the Seed and Stress Biology team focuses on key seed functional traits related to germination, longevity and stress in wild plant species to inform development of seed conservation and use strategies.

Department Staff Number

More than 10 people

Internship Job Description

Assist with setting up and monitoring germination and stress tolerance experiments to investigate the resilience of tree seeds to drought and high temperature stress. The experiments will form part of a larger 3-year project, “Unlocking tree seed functional trait diversity and stress resilience to enhance ex situ conservation for restoration and use”. These experiments will use tree seed collections conserved at the Millennium Seed Bank to identify tree species with exceptional tolerance to environmental stress during germination and early stages of seedling development, which could be of particular interest for reforestation and restoration.

Preferred Intern Education Level

Undergraduate students (third year and above)
Master students

Preferred Intern Skill Sets or Qualities

Undergraduate with at least two years university education or graduate in biological sciences, preferably with plant science component
Interest in biodiversity and conservation
Experience of practical lab-based studies
Experience of collecting and analysing data
A working knowledge of word processing, spreadsheets and/or database software

Internship Period

From June 10 to September 1, 2024 (adjustable at the discretion of the organisation)

Others

Salaries (stipends) not provided.
Benefits not provided.
The position is located in Wakehurst
The position is and must be subsidized by 「教育部學海築夢」 scholarship, so non-Taiwanese students are not eligible to apply.

Mentor(s)/ Co-supervisor(s)

Eve Lucas

Research Team Leader

co-supervisor

Gemma Bramley

Research Leader

co-supervisor

Brief Introduction of the Department

Taxonomy has been the backbone of RBG Kew’s scientific research throughout our history, and our collections and taxonomic experts are essential to the processes of describing and conserving biodiversity. Drawing on increased data availability and new tools and technologies, including phylogenomics and machine learning, we will push the frontiers of taxonomic research to accelerate the characterisation and identification of species in near real-time. We will also develop methods for speeding up the discovery of hidden diversity in natural history collections. In delivering the aims of this Priority, our focus will be on taxonomic groups and regions where progress is most needed, and our outputs will include detailed taxonomic publications, online tools, and other resources tailored to the specific needs of our stakeholders.

Department Staff Number

More than 10 people

Internship Job Description

Some tropical genera are so taxonomically complex that they are frequently left out of other studies or processes such as species risk assessment, just because the species are so hard to tell apart and manage. Syzygium (Myrtaceae) and Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae) areexamples of this. The intern of this internship will assist in survey of morphological traits of Syzygium and Cyrtandra species from either herbarium specimens or material collected and preserved in alcohol. The intern will supplement this dataset within formation from the literature, where necessary and possible. Results will be recorded as images or into a spreadsheet. The intern will spend some time curating herbarium and/or alcohol collected specimens. Light microscopy will be used to examine, measure and record floral and fruiting traits to contribute to a larger dataset resulting from similar surveys. Results will be considered considering recently published phylogenetic hypotheses of the genera and will ultimately support ongoing evolutionary or systematic projects including new species discovery.The student will experience working in and curating, the herbarium at Kew, and will be involved in published outputs – to be decided depending on the interest of the student.

Preferred Intern Education Level

Undergraduate students (third year and above)
Master students

Preferred Intern Skill Sets or Qualities

An interest in biodiversity, its sustainable use and conservation
Experience of practical lab-based studies for data evaluation
A working knowledge of word processing, spreadsheets and/or database software
Experience of collecting and analysing data
A supportive and effective team player and helpful to colleagues
Has effective communication skills, both written and verbal
Be able to prioritise own workload and manage own time effectively
Experience of report writing (desirable)

Internship Period

From June 10 to September 1, 2024 (adjustable at the discretion of the organisation)

Others

Salaries (stipends) will not be provided.
Benefits will be provided.
The position is located in London
The position is and must be subsidized by 「教育部學海築夢」 scholarship, so non-Taiwanese students are not eligible to apply.