Research internship abroad

What is a research internship abroad?

A research internship abroad means that you do an internship at a research institution abroad for a period of time (usually several weeks to several months). The research institution may be affiliated with a university, for example. In most cases, a group of researchers works on a project in a research institution. As an intern, you will get an insight into the research that is being done by the group within the framework of the project and you can support them. The aim of the internship (as is usual for an internship) is that the intern learns new things and can apply what they have already learned. To this end, he/she will be closely supervised by a researcher in the group. To illustrate how different internships can be, one can imagine an internship with a bricklayer and a carpenter. Both internships would be in a craft enterprise, but the respective contents would be very different. And it’s the same with a research internship: there is no one research internship. What exactly you learn and what tasks you take on depends on what is being researched in the institution. Ideally, you should look for an institution or group that studies a topic you find interesting and in which the researchers are experts, so that you can learn a lot. Most researchers are always very busy and enjoy having someone who is interested in learning from them and supporting them. The special thing about a research placement abroad is that you don’t just gain professional experience, but also new experiences with the country, the people and the culture. You learn not only professional things, but also what it is like to live in another country, to speak another language and to work and live with people from different cultures. So a research internship abroad offers not only valuable work experience, but also personal experience that can be challenging and also very enriching!