Chemical Education Today
Research Internships Abroad: Something Your Professor Can't Teach You! by Emily S. Bartlett College of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720 by Martin Bro. ring Institut fu. r Anorganische und Analytische Chemie, Technische Universita. t Braunschweig, Braunschweig 38106 Germany by Robin A. Kru. ger* Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N1N4 Canada *
[email protected] The opportunity to study abroad during the undergraduate years is appealing to students in many fields. Typically, the main motivation is the chance to gain insight into new cultures and ways of life; studying abroad can also provide an opportunity to learn or improve a foreign language. But if no program is in place to provide such an experience, studying abroad can be expensive and nearly impossible to organize. The RISE Program To meet this need, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) started a program called RISE (Research Internships in Science and Engineering) in 2004 (1). RISE offers undergraduates from the United States, Canada, and the U.K. the chance to conduct summer research internships at German research institutions and universities (2) in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, and engineering. The appeal of RISE is that the undergraduate student need not secure living accommodations or raise funds. Instead, a hosting graduate student organizes the housing and RISE awards scholarships to cover the cost of living. The Application and Selection Process The RISE application process begins when graduate students in Germany submit research projects to DAAD. Upon successful review, these projects are put into the internship database, which is accessible to registered undergraduates in the United States, Canada, and the U.K. Undergraduate and graduate students correspond to ask questions or address concerns. Undergraduates can apply for up to three projects by sending their curriculum vitae, transcripts, a cover letter, and a letter of reference. DAAD forwards each application package to the graduate students, who then rank all the undergraduates interested in their project. Once DAAD has made the final decision, the graduate and undergraduate students discuss arrangements, such as the date of arrival and the duration of the stay. The Mission of the RISE Program RISE is designed to bring together undergraduate and graduate students. This has benefits for both parties. The undergraduate
_
student gets to carry out lightly supervised research in a graduate setting. The graduate student must plan a research project for a relatively inexperienced scientist and then supervise and mentor the student. However, the inspiration of the RISE program is not just restricted to scientific training of the participants; it is also intended to develop a longstanding intercultural network between the participating countries. The undergraduate student gains firsthand experience of German culture and the German academic system, knowledge that may influence their future academic or career plans. Conversely, the German graduate student learns about the U.S., Canadian, or British school systems, which might lead to the pursuit of a postdoctoral position or more in one of those respective countries. The RISE program is relatively new, so extensive statistics are not available (Table 1). The representative data1 presented in Figure 1 gives a sense of the distribution of the participants. Herein, the authors would like to present personal accounts of their participation in the RISE program in 2007 as an undergraduate student (E.S.B.), a graduate student (R.A.K.), and the hosting group leader (M.B.). The RISE Experience from the Perspective of an Undergraduate Student As an undergraduate chemistry major, I (one of the authors, E.S.B.) wanted to travel abroad and experience a country and culture outside the United States. There is a stereotype, however, that studying abroad while completing a science degree can be difficult. Fortunately, in my search for programs that would let me pursue my academic interests while traveling, I learned that the DAAD offered a summer research internship for undergraduate science and engineering students from North America. RISE was one of a small number of programs that offered such an opportunity to science students, so I jumped at the chance. To my delight, I was accepted, and I spent the summer working with Martin Bro. ring and Robin Kru. ger at Philipps Universita. t in the idyllic town of Marburg. RISE benefited me in many ways. I did interesting research with excellent scientists, traveled around the country, and learned the language. When I arrived in Germany I knew very little German, despite my efforts to pick up as much as possible before leaving the United States. But while in Germany, I had the
_
r 2010 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc. pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc Vol. 87 No. 11 November 2010 10.1021/ed100709n Published on Web 09/09/2010
_
Journal of Chemical Education
1125
Chemical Education Today Table 1. Basic Data about the RISE Program Program Elements Duration
Logistical Details 6 to 12 weeks between mid May and August
Scholarship
650 Euro per month including health insurance as well as accident and personal liability insurance
Eligible students
Full-time students in the United States, Canada, or the U.K. in the field of biology, chemistry, physics, earth sciences, or engineering (or a closely related field) who have completed at least two years of a degree program
Figure 1. Distribution of RISE scholars in 2010 by discipline (left) and home country (right). A total of 304 scholarships were awarded to undergraduates from 159 different universities in 2010. The bottom chart shows the overall trend of offered projects versus applications and total amount of awarded scholarships between 2005 and 2010.1
opportunity to take language classes and enjoyed the process of improving my communication skills. From this program, I have been able to carry away not just formal learning but also intangible factors that may ultimately mean more. Although many elements of scientific practice should be universal, I was surprised at the differences between the German and U.S. educational systems: for example, how their degree programs and educational institutions are structured. On a personal level, I learned what it means to be immersed in a culture in which everything from the language to the food to the culture is unfamiliar, and how difficult and exciting such experiences can be. Not least, from my time in Germany, I have made lasting friendships and professional contacts that extend far beyond a letter of recommendation or line on a CV. The people I worked with in Marburg were my mentors, my hosts, and my friends. They have been incredibly influential in my development as a scientist and as a person. To anyone considering going abroad or hosting an international student, I would unreservedly encourage them to do so. The RISE Experience from the Perspective of a Graduate Student I (one of the authors, R.A.K.) was in the middle of my graduate studies in Germany when I heard of the RISE program 1126
Journal of Chemical Education
_
Vol. 87 No. 11 November 2010
_
through an advertisement by the DAAD at my university. Apart from the basic English classes offered in high school, I had little English training. I was excited about the opportunity to participate in RISE because I aspired to study abroad after graduation. The program was a great opportunity for me to improve my English skills in a scientific environment already familiar to me. Later, when I started my postdoctoral position at a Canadian university, I had to deal with conditions that were new and sometimes overwhelming. But the experience I gained in both discussing my work and supervising an undergraduate in English helped me overcome what could have been a large language barrier in a new country. Moreover, I am convinced that my participation in RISE made it easier for me to adapt to a new work environment in a foreign country. Improving my English skills was not the only benefit of this experience. Supervising a student who had a different background, ideas, and experiences from my own also yielded great dividends. Prior to my participation in RISE, I had substantial experience in designing and supervising undergraduate projects. (Internal internships are mandatory in the chemical training at my university.) Nevertheless, mentoring a student from abroad was a completely different experience for me. Because the guest student had not passed through the same lecture and lab courses as I had, I was unsure as to what theoretical knowledge and lab techniques the student knew. This, then, made the mentoring aspect more challenging, yet ultimately more rewarding. The key to becoming a good research supervisor is finding the balance between knowing when to lead a student and when to let the student learn on his or her own. The balance is much easier to find when a student is educated in the same system and school as the supervisor. But because different educational systems stress different areas, this balance can be quite difficult to find. It requires more sensitive observation of the student's comfort level with certain tasks, which is a skill that needs to be practiced in order to develop further. Having the opportunity to work with a student with a different educational background from me let me further develop this skill, which could not have been accomplished without this exchange. Another major theme arising from this exchange is the insight that comes from having new students with new perspectives in your work environment. For example, having different viewpoints or methods to tackle scientific questions is invaluable to any research program. So, while gaining practical help for my Ph.D. thesis, I was also able to approach my own research from a different angle, address problems differently, and reconsider experiments with this new perspective. Looking back on my participation in RISE, it is clear that I gained practical experience, but I also gained the unique chance to learn firsthand about the North American educational system. Working closely with a student from the United States of America let me observe and appreciate the differences in both
pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
_
r 2010 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Chemical Education Today
our systems and our cultures. I believe that this, coupled with issues discussed above, strengthened my desire to pursue postdoctoral work in North America. The RISE Experience from the Perspective of a Hosting Group Leader I (one of the authors, M.B.) learned about DAAD's RISE program from my former co-worker Robin Kru. ger. In late 2006, he came to me with the idea of contributing to a small research project. My group had good experiences before with the European Union exchange programs SOKRATES and ERASMUS, as well as with another bilateral student exchange program of the DAAD. In all cases, young and interested international chemists came into contact with my group and with the science we did. Such contact left both a cultural and a scientific impact. Furthermore, and even more important, the chemistry departments I worked in all had and have longstanding strategies to submit large numbers of their undergraduate students for studies abroad, and they all accept most results of the courses taken at the host institutions as part of their own studying program. These programs add much to the attractiveness and variety of scientific topics for a particular location, and participation in such a program yields intercultural experiences and competence for the student. A large maturation in personality is often seen in the participating students, in combination with more autonomy in science and confidence in their own skills and development. All these aspects sum up to a markedly better performance of the education of scientists and yield additional qualifications that give the student an advantage on the job market. Most improvements are in soft skills such as mobility, internationality, and organization, but the development of hard skills such as lab security or theoretical knowledge can also result from a stay abroad. Such opportunities are invaluable for scientific education. No single department can accomplish such a complexity in their higher education programs on its own. The advantages I saw from RISE were mainly for the host and the guest. The host has considerable independence when applying for the program and organizing the guest's research program. The host's responsibility in preparing the guest's stay is an intense exercise. In particular, personal engagement is required, and being proactive, open-minded, and supportive in a complex environment is the key to success. With respect to the guest student, it was easy to foresee that a research internship in a foreign-language environment would result in a rare and intense bilateral educational and cultural exchange, especially if sufficient time and opportunity were provided to travel through the country and experience the rich and old European culture and history. My group has participated in RISE for four years. Scientific research, while important, is largely a mediating topic; the
r 2010 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
_
cultural and personal aspects clearly dominate the program. But the investment of time and resources has paid off, and the RISE program has become a valuable educational platform for me. Every year, the outcome of the guest's stay has been as different as the participants who spent time together in this program. So far, no two internships were comparable, yet each internship has been rewarding in every case. Another intriguing aspect of the program relates to the small amount of bureaucratic effort required. RISE's application, selection, and realization processes are appealingly simple, especially for the group leader. This is because DAAD is solely responsible for the organization, a fact that diverts the program from an often slow and complicated university administration. An informal letter of acceptance is all that is required from the group leader to participate in the RISE program. This highly attractive and welcome way of supporting international contacts and internships makes RISE a useful and successful tool for higher education. The ever-increasing number of participants in RISE clearly shows that there should be more programs like this. As a university professor, I congratulate DAAD for this excellent program idea. I hope that RISE will survive the current economic situation in its present form: a straightforward and unbureaucratic experience that provides considerable intercultural returns to all participants. Acknowledgment The authors want to thank the DAAD for the opportunity to participate in the RISE program. E.S.B. would like to thank the ACS International Research Experiences for Undergraduates (IREU) program for financial support of her stay in Germany through award number CHE-0755206 from the U.S. National Science Foundation. R.A.K. thanks Jordan Wilson for proofreading parts of the manuscript. Note 1. These data were obtained through an e-mail request from M. Gottschling, a program coordinator of the RISE program.
Literature Cited 1. English-language home page of the Research Internships in Science and Engineering Program. http://www.daad.de/rise/en/ (accessed Aug 2010). 2. For recently graduated students and graduate students similar programs were established. More information can be found on the DAAD English-language homepage. http://www.daad.de/en/index. html (accessed Aug 2010).
pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
_
Vol. 87 No. 11 November 2010
_
Journal of Chemical Education
1127
