Work

I worked with the bipolar member electrodialysis, the recovery of acid and base for wastewater at the Technical University of Vienna in the area of wastewater management. I learned a lot about the recovery of waste minerals (acid and base) using a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly approach. Industries in the world pay a lot of money for the treatment of their wastewater before it is released to the environment or recycled. It is a complex process. The internship opportunity made me understood the danger and side effects of waste management and the effect it has on the environment if not properly managed. This internship opportunity also taught me how to think outside the box, how to work effectively, and it changed my mentality towards problem solving. My thinking capacity increased and data acquisition skill from experiments improved. I am now a better scientist, I believe. 

Experience

Every day was interesting, because I enjoyed what I was working on in the lab. It took about 40 minutes to get to my workplace. During the last fifteen days, I found out there was a shortcut, and it only took about 17 minutes. The sub-train station was so cool and fast, so I never used the bus. I got lost on my first outing (just me), as my google was confusing. I was supposed to get to a place in 30 minutes, however I spent 4 hours (it was wonderful - I got to see the whole of Vienna in one day). My hostel (ÖJAB-Haus Niederösterreich 2) accommodation was cool. I had a nice floormate, we ate dinners together mostly on Sundays. I went to other cities (Leoben and Graz ) on Saturday and Sunday to see my uncle and my friend. Austrian food doesn't have a lot of spicy and salty options. I was so surprised and kept on laughing, as I always requested for salt. My first friend in Austria was my roommate (Hamit from Afghanistan), and he was so happy to have me as his roommate. He loved to cook, and yes, he cooked so well, just like my mommy. Then I met Cammi, Mikail, Victor, Katarina (my supervisor ) and my Nigeria friend Miracle - my floormates were so good to me.

Discover

I think now as a global citizen. I respect people and their culture. I no longer read books with the mentality 'I just want to pass my exam' but to use my knowledge to solve world's environmental problems (I am studying industrial chemistry, analytical and environmental chemistry). I would like to help solve the world's environmental problems in any way I can and save our universe from global warming. For example, at my university (team enactus), we used plastic to make interlocking bricks (it takes 15 plastic bottles to make one brick), and we also made use of biogas to generate ecofriendly power supply eliminating the release of methen to the atmosphere.