What our scholars say

Szilárd Farkas, 2025

Babeș-Bolyai University

I still remember the day when I was getting dressed for a carnival, and I dropped my phone in shock as I saw the acceptance email. Since then, I had the most incredible summer of my life. Being surrounded with inspiring, talented and amazing people in such a welcoming environment has certainly altered my brain chemistry.

It also gave me lots of fuel to work on my project, which was about creating an automated end-to-end workflow for Single Molecule Tracking tasks; a project where I could expand my knowledge in computer vision, physics and biology. The brilliant supervision of my PI made me love every second spent in the lab. I had numerous opportunities to explore my scientific interests and to confirm that science is truly my calling. Living in a world of cutting-edge research has greatly broadened my perspective.

Outside the lab, I’ve spent my time with my fellow scholars. I still long for having breakfast with them, to see their eyes light up as they talk about their project, to go out for drinks by the river after work, to have deep conversations in the kitchen, to hear about their lives and to see them smile. I firmly believe the friendships we made will last until the end of time.

The Cambridge Symposium showcased the strength of the Amgen Community. It was thrilling to hear from academic and industry experts, as well as to share and discuss our own findings. It stands as a testament to the programme’s mission to create value and to inspire the next generation of scientists.

Professor Alex Webb’s kind words of affirmation and encouragement have a special place in my heart; I’ve become braver, happier and more confident in my purpose. I hope to pass on this encouragement to future applicants and wish them the very best of luck. 

Konrad Fuchs, 2025 

Maastricht University

The 2025 Cambridge Amgen Scholars Programme was a truly enlightening experience, both professionally and personally. Through the support of the Amgen foundation, I had the chance to be imbedded in a rigorous academic setting and gain first-hand experience about the scientific process. 

My project at the Eric Miska Laboratory encompassed a novel approach for subcellular analysis of RNA structures. The project included initial steps such as molecular cloning and cell-line generation and moved further with setting up and troubleshooting experimental processes for validating the approach. Throughout the project I learnt much about basic wet-lab procedures, design of experiments, data analysis and communication in a collaborative environment. Working day-to-day in the lab permanently and not just few hours a week as it is common for term-time research required resilience but was invaluable to genuinely learn how research is actually done. 

Aside from the lab-work, the extracurricular programme of the ASP is what truly elevated the experience from a “normal” internship. It made it possible to engage in personal discussion with ambitious peers as well as experienced leaders in academia and industry. It gave me perspectives about how to approach science and future career paths that will shape many of my decisions as an undergraduate student. Especially the symposium made it possible to make meaningful connections with experts and fellow students from around Europe and beyond while communicating the research that was done over summer.