Dual benefit for young researchers and companies
During the internship period of three months the candidates will join in the daily activities and work routines of the companies and are given a defined project that is relevant for their development as PhD students and for the company. The companies gain a highly motivated and skilled worker, a potential recruitment, as well as contact with academia.
Extending career development beyond academia
Career development for young researchers is one of the pillars of Centre for Digital Life Norway, and the centre has run a successful research school since 2016. The Digital Life internship initiative is an extension of the academic training in the centre. The purpose of this program is to strengthen PhD students' awareness of their own skills and knowledge beyond their curriculum. This year's six industry interns are alle DLN Research School members.
Interesting and diverse projects
The projects are varied. The candidates will work on pre-clinical antibody development, reinforcement learning for synthesis-driven design, industrial separation techniques for recombinant proteins in microbial cell lysates, water quality in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems, recombinant protein expression in E. coli, and on bringing ideas to life and research to market.
Clearly a need for this sort of internship
The industry internship has been a very successful part of Digital Life Norway. So far, 33 PhD candidates have done internships, and there is clearly a need for this sort of experience outside of academia for biotechnology scholars. This internship is a possibility for learning and inspiration, and also an important part of PhD training.
For more information about the internship and to read more about interns' past experiences in their own words