The Sentinus Research Academy provides young people in their transition year with the opportunity to experience real online research projects provided by companies and universities.  Taking place from February, projects are carried out virtually and last six weeks.  The online nature of the programme provides flexibility for students to carry out the research.  Projects will be assessed by local universities and professional organisations.  Subject areas covered by placements include:

Trinity College Dublin

  • Neuroscience

Queen’s University Belfast

  • Biomedical science
  • Biochemistry
  • Chemistry

Ulster University

  • Psychology

QUB and UU

  • Data Science

Thales Group

  • Computer science/IT

As part of the programme your project provider will provide you with data and information about the research project you will be carrying out.  With support from Sentinus, you will be required to analyse the data and present your findings at the end of the programme, in the form of a project report and poster.  Students will have access to online tutorials on data analysis, report writing, project presentation and tutorials with their project supervisor.

On successful completion of your project you will receive a certificate of achievement, validated by your host organisation (Queen’s University Belfast, Ulster University, Trinity College Dublin) to recognise the effort you have invested during the process.  This will be an excellent addition to your Transition Year, available to only a small percentage of students applying third level education, thereby giving you a great competitive advantage.

Administration Cost

There is an administration fee of €250 for students who are successful in securing a place on the Sentinus Research Academy. School group discounts are available, check with your teacher before applying individually. Please see the Terms & Conditions for the Admin Fee here.

Testimonials from previous participants:

“I really enjoyed my experience with SRA as I enjoyed leading my team to research the risk factors associated with CVD. I developed my skills in data analysis and writing a literature review and also gained a better insight into heart diseases which will be useful as I apply for medicine this year. My supervisor and the rest of the SRA staff were very helpful in giving me advice to help me complete my project. I now look forward to attending my placement and displaying my research.”

Leticia, Antrim Grammar School

“The 2024 SRA research project on the risk factors of cardiovascular disease was an extremely beneficial experience which helps prepare you for third level education and is an amazing addition to your UCAS application.”

Alex, Dalriada Grammar School

Register now:

Section 1 - Student Details

This section is for monitoring purposes and will only be seen by project hosts and Sentinus. It is not used for selection. Please make sure you supply accurate contact information as we will need to contact you throughout the process. Sentinus is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under the Data Protection Act 1998 and complies with its principles and provisions. Applicants should understand it is necessary for us to store and process information sent by applicants and referees, so that we may assess applications. Data will be held securely and lawfully processed, and all those handling applications are aware of the confidential nature of the data. Records are retained for no longer than necessary. Data may be used to compile lists of award holders which are publicly available. By submitting an application form applicants and their institutions are deemed to have given consent for Sentinus to process data related to applications.
Please ensure you enter a valid email address which you check regularly.
Please supply a mobile phone number on which we can contact you, if necessary.

Section 2 - Educational Information

This section may be passed to a potential project host (university or company).
Please provide the name of the relevant subject teacher who will support your application and provide a reference.
Please ensure the teacher email address is correct as we will need to contact them for a reference.

Section 3 - Project Choice

Please tell us about your preferred project choices, referring to the list of subject areas shown in the webpage above. While Sentinus will make every effort to give you your first choice, it may be necessary to offer another option. Therefore, it is important to list all three choices. Places are allocated on a first come first, served basis and each subject area will close when capacity is reached.

Why do you want to undertake a project on the Sentinus Research Academy?

Explain below why you think you would benefit from a placement.

Section 4 - Administration Fee

There is an administration fee of €250 for students who are successful in securing a place on the Sentinus Research Academy. School group discounts available, check with your teacher before applying.

Section 5 - Student Declaration

Please complete the below questions.

Section 6 - Parental/Guardian Consent & Declaration

Please confirm that you have parent/guardian consent to apply for this programme. Sentinus will contact them directly to confirm that this is the case.