According to Callum Hunt one of the great strengths of his MSc course at the University of Leeds is that it equips students for jobs or further study.

He said: “There’s a lot of coding, there’s a lot of data analysis. But I think the main benefit is that they’re teaching us skills that are directly applicable to future careers or PhDs.”

According to Callum some of his course colleagues are looking ahead to doctorates, others are finding opportunities in the NHS or industry.

Callum Hunt

Industry days and work placements are providing opportunities to develop links with leading businesses such as AstraZeneca.

The MSc in Precision Medicine: Genomics and Analytics has allowed Callum to work on projects of genuine significance to combatting the pandemic – for example genetic research into whether people with autoimmune conditions are more at risk of developing severe COVID-19.

He has also found that the course has been adapted very well to the needs of students having to study remotely.

While Callum has not decided on his next steps he is hoping for a future in human bioinformatics that involves addressing disease or disease genomics.

Find out more about the course