Sample cover letter for Internship position at Novartis

It is with great excitement that I write this statement to support my application for this edition of the Novartis Next Generation Internship programme. An internship programme of this nature gives an opportunity to young ambitious researchers to learn science, management skills, interpersonal relationship skills e.t.c from established researcher using real life problems. I am a young faculty in the Department of Pharmaceutics, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria and currently a PhD student in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirao Preto, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. My current research interest focuses on the use of polymer derived from natural sources as topical nano and hydrogel delivery agents.

I applied for this internship position in 2013 because I love to have an experience of solid research in a world class research facility like Novartis. I am applying this year not only because of experiencing solid research in a world class facility but also due to experiences in the short period of my PhD programme (which I started early 2014), which has opened my eyes to exactly how things connects - biological basis of diseases and its direct link to development of versatile and effective drug delivery technologies.

I am particularly interested in the biological basis of diseases and rationales behind the type of delivery technique deployed in treating the disease. I am also interested in cancer therapy and non invasive delivery technologies for both dermal and systemic diseases. During my short period of PhD research, I have garnered experience in basic laboratory practices and also have basic understanding and use of some other techniques such as quality by design (QbD), nanoparticle formulation, high pressure liquid chromatocraphy, dynamic light scattering, widefield and confocal microscopy, cell culture techniques, non invasive delivery techniques (iontophoresis and sonophoresis) among others. These, I believe would place me in a better position to succeed during the internship programme if selected.

As a young African researcher, difficulties encountered during building a research career in terms of mentorship hampers the growth of young researchers; I believe this programme if selected would also link me up with established scientists who I could look up to as mentors, guide and discuss future research ideas, while giving an opportunity to mix with other young researchers. In addition, working with world class researchers in Novartis, working to find solutions to real life and challenging diseases would be of great benefit not only to my academic and research career; it will also give me an insight into the processes and steps involved in creating new delivery technologies. The programme will also give an opportunity to work with diverse state-of-the-art research equipments and definitely afford a real time experience with few known techniques.

If selected, the programme could create an opportunity of learning about pharmaceutical interventions of Novartis in Africa, with a view to future collaborations in Africa for the development of novel formulations (particularly from natural sources) or probably improve previous formulations in the treatment of known and new diseases in Africa.

I am an inquisitive young researcher who is always open to learn new things. I am team player with outstanding interpersonal communication skill. However, I do not shy away when asked to perform individual tasks; these I do with little or no supervision. I believe this internship position would be of immense benefit to my research and academic career.

Thank you for the opportunity to apply for this position once again.