When I saw the opportunity to do a 3-month internship with DLN I knew I had to apply. I wanted to find out how the air smells outside of academia and if it is as corporate, bureaucratic, uptight as I thought it would be. The choice in favour for the BII was a hard one - several of the offered projects sounded interesting and in a way that I could learn a lot from it. However, I decided to take a pause from the lab, and try something new. So, I signed myself up to do a landscape analysis in this vibrant, exciting place in this very flat country.
The three months flew by - it became spring (look at the gorgeous cherry blossom!) I was digging myself more and more into the topic of liquid biopsy, in which I managed to create an extensive overview of the technologies on the market, the big players and the up-and-coming startups. It was super interesting to approach a field which I haven't even heard of before, to eventually arrive at being able to discuss with key opinion leaders in the field. This experience taught me that I can read myself into new topics, learn new approaches and handle new software quite quickly. It showed me that I enjoy working systematically, creating my own way to categorize and analyse data. Also, I realised that it's not so far away from what I was doing for data analysis during my PhD.
Another important learning for me was to realise that I can very much survive outside the lab as well. My favourite hours during my studies and PhD were when I was seeing solutions changing colours in front of my eyes! But joining the BII internal fermentation club very much made up for it. And I must say I really enjoyed cooking even more than before. There were several things that made the whole BII community come together, but my favourite was Friday breakfast: the whole floor gathered around a big table and enjoyed a good chat and delicious bread rolls, croissants and kardemommeboller.
Someone that made my time at the BII very special and rewarding was Friederike. She was a fellow at the BII - like me - is German - like me - and is doing her PhD at NTNU - like me. So, we had a lot in common to start with and it felt so good to have a partner in crime. Having a lovely human being to exchange thoughts with about all the new and exciting topics, tasks, and responsibilities is invaluable. And of course, someone to share the excellent fastelavnsboller!
Eventually, I figured that industry really is about money (is there a market for a specific product, how big will the returns be, will people want to use a product?) - but it doesn't need to be uptight or boring at all. In the case of the BII, it is exciting with loads of opportunities to learn, to marvel at the great ideas that people have and to nerd a decent amount! I am very happy to leave my prejudices behind me and go with an open mind into my job search for after the PhD!
If you’re wondering about applying for the program – I can recommend everyone to give it a try. It’s super helpful to think about what you want to gain as experience, and you’ll come back with so much more than you might think in the beginning.
Cheers,