Work

I worked as a research assistant within a laboratory specializing in carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastics, learning the fundamentals of material science and the applications of carbon fibre in industry. I assisted PhD and master's students with their projects gaining hands-on experience completing a range of tasks such as conducting material mechanics tests and fabricating my own carbon fibre composite. The experience of working in such an innovative laboratory surrounded by highly-skilled individuals was an unforgettable one and presented me with opportunities that I would of never of had studying at my home university.

Experience

My university was incredibly supportive and organised events for international students enabling us to learn more about the Japanese culture and I also attended Japanese classes during my lunchtime. They provided me with shared accommodation approximately 30 minutes from the centre of Tokyo and I lived with Japanese residents as well as some other European students studying Japanese. The people of Japan were incredibly welcoming whenever I visited and the IAESTE committee were some of the kindest people I will ever meet. They organised events every weekend which ranged from learning Japanese calligraphy, climbing Mt. Fuji and cooking traditional Japanese dishes. It was honestly some of the best weeks of my life and I am glad to have met so many amazing people from across the world along the way.

Discover

The internship was my first experience of living away from home and taught me a lot about looking after myself in a country where I initially knew very little about. It opened my eyes to a different culture and way of living and I would love to return one day to experience it further.