how this came about

Well …

I have just finished my Master’s degree in chemistry at the TU Dresden (actually 9 hours ago) and going to start my PhD this year at the IFW Dresden. A few weeks after I came back to Germany from my study abroad year at the UOW in Australia (07/2012 – 07/2013), I felt like going abroad again - not for so long yet, a few months maybe, but not just travelling. It is so great to really experience a new place and not just to see it. Coming closer to the end of my degree, I realized, that even though I had done a lot of things, there was still much more to do and it won’t become easier once I finish my studies … 

Then, I found out about the blind applying campaign coming up on my fb news stream because I had liked career pages of some German chemical companies. The program offered international internships at well-known companies from the chemistry sector (among others) as well as a scholarship for travel and housing costs. All you needed to do was to register at the entrypark website and to upload a CV. I thought the chance to get one of the internships is really low as there will be many applicants and chemical manufacturers will probably use the campaign to get some “blind” applicants for their “non-chemistry departments” who would usually not think of them as potential employer. But because it is not a lot of effort to write a CV, I still wanted to try. 

(Of course, at the end, it took me ages to prepare my CV :D – thinking of every single keyword – and if it is the most suitable one, if it is a real English expression and not just to English translated German – and finding my solution to the problem if English CV means a German CV in English (as it is for German companies) or a British CV with all the funny sentences where you explain the HR staff, what they should conclude from the points with actual content ^^ - I mixed it.) 

So I blind-applied.

In early December, I got an email saying Evonik wants to interview me for an internship at their research and development department for light and electronics in Taiwan. The telephone interview was quite interesting not only because I got some more information about my possible internship but also because I got an impression about how a R&D department of a big company is structured and how they try to get new materials ready for the market.

I was keen to live in a country, where I had never been before, and to get some insights into industry research. During my chemistry studies, I have worked on a few research projects (mainly concerning electrochemistry related topics, e. g. materials for electrochemical pseudocapacitors and solar cells) which, of course, intended to contribute to applications (one day ^^) but were more of fundamental character. This makes research very exciting as you have the chance to investigate what is really happening in your material and to start understanding things. On the other hand, it is sometimes a bit frustrating as you do not get an(y) outcome for longer periods of time. At uni, lecturers always tell us industry research is pretty boring, mainly using the method of trial and error, but better paid. Furthermore, permanent positions for scientific staff at universities and research institutes are reduced more and more in Germany. So, let’s get my own impression about industrial research hopefully making the decision between academics and industry, I have to make some when after my PhD, easier! There will be no better chance to work for a short period of time for a renowned company abroad.

Buuuut anyway, there are some negative aspects about an internship abroad as well. First problem: financing. Luckily, accommodation in Hsinchu is provided by Evonik and there is also a remuneration for the internship (but certainly less than I would get if I started the work for my PhD already not to talk of a real job ^^). A scholarship for a part of the flight costs will be paid by Entrypark in June. Still, there is a not insignificant amount of money which has to be (pre)paid (e. g. flights (ca. 800 €), visa (ca. 100 €), immunization (ca. 200 €), …), you should think about. When you go so far away from home, you leave a lot of important people in your life behind and you cannot know, how many things will have changed when you come back. Moreover, I cannot speak any word Chinese neither Mandarin nor, least of all, Taiwanese which will make it quite hard to live there and to connect to local people. And I hate all kinds of fish and seafood. I cannot even swallow most of it, which is usually a problem when staying on an island ^^.

When I got the acceptance for the internship, the decision was finally made in the very first second after: Of course, I will do it.

So from the 14^th of April on, I will be doing an internship at Evonik’s department in Taiwan. I hope to learn a lot about applied materials research in industry, about the field of inorganic nanoparticle coatings and about the country and its people. I am worried about being lonely in a foreign culture, about becoming a bored lab rat and about being hungry ^^.

I will see and let you know.