Work

During the course of my internship, I worked as a research intern at the Molecular Neurochemistry lab alongside ongoing research of finding treatments for congenital intrauterine infection syndrome. I understood a lot of new trends and advances in the field of Biotechnology, learned various techniques and also got the hands-on working experience on cancer and neural cell cultures. I was also lucky to work with a new, improved and highly sensitive protein gel stain which was introduced at the World Biotechnology Congress and brought by my research supervisor, Dr. Zylinska to our lab. Her kind gesture of bringing me delicious “jagodzianki” almost every day is something I’ll cherish for my lifetime. The working environment was very supportive and quite lighthearted, unlike in India. I loved the fact that the lab members would often engage in small talks establishing a good work relationship with each other and culminating in recommendations for the best food and travel destinations to try over the weekend.

Experience

Although being regarded as one of the most rundown and boring cities in Poland (sometimes even by its own residents), I found distinct charm in those grey skies and underrated architecture of Lodz. The whole city is very much walkable and has an extensive tram network which can take you to literally anywhere in the city. The most obvious trait that comes through when being in Lodz is that it’s a cradle of creativity and artistic expression. The star of the creativity has to be the awestruck street art along with murals and palaces which dot almost every nook and corner of the city. Apart from this, being a city hosting 3 IAESTE LCs ensures a constant influx of students and interns, maintaining a constant upbeat environment. I was living a dorm life with people of diverse cultures around me. The best aspect of this: I had some awe-inspiring experiences with the other interns (a lot of which were firsts) and I made some really close friends for a lifetime. The Poles are very much amiable and welcoming people, because of which I was able to meet many people outside of my work and create memories with them. The innumerous potlucks full of love and warmth, the chilly outdoor cinema sessions, the Karaoke nights, the "Kraków Getaway" and those adventurous IAESTE weekends are just a few to mention among them. Not to forget about the delicious Polish homemade food at those "Milkbars" dotting the Polish old towns. I also happened to visit several other cities in Europe, exploring new cultures and meeting new people. I can't be more grateful for such a spellbound experience.

Discover

There is so much I've learned about myself through this experience. I have grown to be more resilient to the problems which life throws at me and significantly more independent. To lay stronger emphasis on things like socializing, learning through others' perspective and boosting self morale are definitely the most notable traits, I have acquired at the end of this internship. Looking back, I can say that there's so much more to learn in life other than just academics, which would make you question about the limits of your horizon and trust me, that's when you have actually started pondering on your life. To sum up, "This experience wasn't just 7 weeks in my life, it was life in 7 weeks." 😊