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[16.04.25]
Reach out when you can
Getting back from a 10-week summer internship at the Institute of Molecular Biosciences, the University of Queensland, Australia, I would like to share my personal internship experience with you guys. Please note that my experience is limited to university research programs only, thus this post is dedicated to those who yearn for a research experience in academic institutes :). I really hope that IUPE students can reach out earlier than our generation could.
You may all know that our Japanese academic schedule does not match with other countries. We have lectures from October to February, then April to August, and vacations are shortly from February to April and August to September. Meanwhile, most of internship programs are organized during May- July (school vacation time in most countries), so finding internships which match with our timetable is not easy at all.
However, beside domestic programs, chances are still available out there if you want to reach out. Again, these programs are held during our school time, from November to February (specific commencing and concluding dates may vary when you negotiate with project investigators (PI)). As I am in my final year now and Chemistry students do not have to take any courses, I only need to ask my supervising professor and current research PI for permission before application. Lucky for me that my professor said the experience would be valuable for my future career and he allowed me to apply for the programs. I myself also thought that this would be a chance for me to see how laboratories in other countries work, how foreign universities are like, if the research environment is the same everywhere. By the way, what I was trying to say is that: Do not hesitate to ask for your supervisors’ approvals for such research internship programs even during semester time if you think you can arrange your schedule.
Applying for research internships:
Regarding the application of these two programs, what I did to achieve the acceptance include: reading thoroughly through their websites to see which research projects they offer, contacting with PIs of projects of interest via email and applying online after receiving PI’s informal acceptance. Based on my personal experience, contacting PIs to receive their informal acceptance is the key factor to receive final formal acceptance from the program. Thus be sure to get in touch with the PI of your project of interest before you start your application, but be concise and dedicated in your emails. Show them what you have done (where, under the supervision of whom) so far, how your experience is related to their research projects, thus why you are interested in these work. Remember to attach your CV in the email for their reference.
P/S: Sometimes contacting work is arduous, you need to be patient, and may need to resend your email one more time if you do not hear from PIs after one week. Approach them but not annoy them because they often receive hundreds emails a day.
Life of research interns in Australia:
You are asked to propose the work you want to do (a.k.a. research proposal), then you have only 10 weeks to do your proposed work wherein some additional workloads may interfere. People in Australia go work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m and rarely work overtime. Basically, you learn to adapt with a new working custom. You also learn that academic opportunities are mostly shared within the network when you receive many recruitment emails everyday through the institute group. You might find the differences between two working environment, and realize which one is more ideal for you.
Regarding Australian living condition, shopping malls mainly open at the same period as your office hour, and only extend their opening hour one day a week, so you seldom can go shopping at night. However, supermarkets, restaurants and many community activities still welcome you during night time :).
For your reference, Australia is developed, but still a “newly borned” country. The oldest building in Brisbane City that I knew was only ~ 200 years old. I think Australia is an ideal destination for those who love kangaroos, koalas, beaches, coastal walks, classical architecture; but might be not really impressive in terms of foods and cultural enthusiasts. Anyway, please come and verify my observation by your own experience ;).
By Minh Nguyen (Applied Chemistry, 4th year)
You may all know that our Japanese academic schedule does not match with other countries. We have lectures from October to February, then April to August, and vacations are shortly from February to April and August to September. Meanwhile, most of internship programs are organized during May- July (school vacation time in most countries), so finding internships which match with our timetable is not easy at all.
However, beside domestic programs, chances are still available out there if you want to reach out. Again, these programs are held during our school time, from November to February (specific commencing and concluding dates may vary when you negotiate with project investigators (PI)). As I am in my final year now and Chemistry students do not have to take any courses, I only need to ask my supervising professor and current research PI for permission before application. Lucky for me that my professor said the experience would be valuable for my future career and he allowed me to apply for the programs. I myself also thought that this would be a chance for me to see how laboratories in other countries work, how foreign universities are like, if the research environment is the same everywhere. By the way, what I was trying to say is that: Do not hesitate to ask for your supervisors’ approvals for such research internship programs even during semester time if you think you can arrange your schedule.
Applying for research internships:
Regarding the application of these two programs, what I did to achieve the acceptance include: reading thoroughly through their websites to see which research projects they offer, contacting with PIs of projects of interest via email and applying online after receiving PI’s informal acceptance. Based on my personal experience, contacting PIs to receive their informal acceptance is the key factor to receive final formal acceptance from the program. Thus be sure to get in touch with the PI of your project of interest before you start your application, but be concise and dedicated in your emails. Show them what you have done (where, under the supervision of whom) so far, how your experience is related to their research projects, thus why you are interested in these work. Remember to attach your CV in the email for their reference.
P/S: Sometimes contacting work is arduous, you need to be patient, and may need to resend your email one more time if you do not hear from PIs after one week. Approach them but not annoy them because they often receive hundreds emails a day.
Life of research interns in Australia:
You are asked to propose the work you want to do (a.k.a. research proposal), then you have only 10 weeks to do your proposed work wherein some additional workloads may interfere. People in Australia go work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m and rarely work overtime. Basically, you learn to adapt with a new working custom. You also learn that academic opportunities are mostly shared within the network when you receive many recruitment emails everyday through the institute group. You might find the differences between two working environment, and realize which one is more ideal for you.
Regarding Australian living condition, shopping malls mainly open at the same period as your office hour, and only extend their opening hour one day a week, so you seldom can go shopping at night. However, supermarkets, restaurants and many community activities still welcome you during night time :).
For your reference, Australia is developed, but still a “newly borned” country. The oldest building in Brisbane City that I knew was only ~ 200 years old. I think Australia is an ideal destination for those who love kangaroos, koalas, beaches, coastal walks, classical architecture; but might be not really impressive in terms of foods and cultural enthusiasts. Anyway, please come and verify my observation by your own experience ;).
By Minh Nguyen (Applied Chemistry, 4th year)
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