Mali Rhys Evans

During summer 2025 HEIW welcomed students for an 8-week internship, offering each of them the chance to gain valuable insights into working within the NHS in Wales. Here, Mali shares their experience with the Healthcare Science team at HEIW.

Name: Mali Rhys Evans
Studying: BSc Medical Sciences
University: University of Exeter
Internship with: Healthcare Science Team

My Overall Experience

Hello, I’m Mali a second year Medical Science student at the University of Exeter. My path to university wasn’t all plain sailing, as I had to go through clearing. I switched from Medicine to Medical Science, as I came to the realisation that the clinical aspect of medicine isn’t for me, but is still wanted to contribute to the amazing work of the NHS. Then, as if by fate, the opportunity to take part in this internship came at the perfect time. And it has really opened my eyes to how much goes on behind the scenes at the NHS and how many teams contribute to the health and wellbeing of the public.

So far, I have had an amazing time and looking forward to the next few weeks. Taking part in this internship has helped me solidify my decision of (hopefully) doing a master’s in public health after university and then making my way back to the NHS!

This opportunity has been an incredible experience, as someone that didn’t know much about HEIW before joining, it has opened my eyes to the many teams that work with in, and I look forward to working with as many as I can as part of my project. The Healthcare Science team have been so supportive and welcoming and have given me the encouragement to lead my own research, and I feel comfortable offering any ideas, good or bad!

To anyone considering applying for an internship at HEIW I would strongly urge you to do so as they are a great team to be a part of and filled with so many opportunities.

Project Summary

My project was with the Healthcare Science team, focused around the Research and Innovation Strategy Delivery Plan. This is a relatively new topic for HEIW, so I was tasked with researching any Research and Innovation resources or opportunities that are available for researchers in Wales. The goal is to create a support resource for anyone either looking to incorporate Research and Innovation into their career, or people who want to further the skills they already have. This could be things such as training or funding opportunities given by different institutes, or even by the NHS.

In the beginning

At the beginning of the project, it took me some time to wrap my head around all of the necessary documents I would need to know, there was a lot of reading! But it was all beneficial because it then meant that I had the background knowledge that I needed to inform my ideas and contributions. Once I started to understand everything, and the goals of the project, everything clicked into place and became much easier. I found myself asking less questions and needing less assistance already!

Next Steps

The next steps of the project are to build on what I’ve started doing as I still have quite a bit left to do, but I’m looking forward to working with the team and progress in my project. I’m also hoping to learn more skills and learn more about the workings of HEIW and all the teams within it.

Beyond Work and University

I’m a typical 20-year-old that enjoys going out with my friends and socialising. I also enjoy listening and playing a lot of music, reading and watching films.