Category Archives: Biosciences

Cognitive Abilities of Grey Squirrels Intern – University of Exeter

What were your main roles and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

Coding videos and preparing the different nuts for the experiment and placing the cameras and replenishing the nuts in the apparatus.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

I learned a lot in terms of analysis of data collected from animals and in particular using a Behaviour Observation software which has made me more confident in my ability to analyse different types of data in different circumstances.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I managed to help with creating a buffer of chopped nuts so that more time could be spent for marking the squirrels and analysing the information, I completed a third of the video analysis of the project which alleviated the workload of the other team members by leaving them to do only two thirds of the analysis.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Teamwork and collaboration, ability to work under pressure, IT

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Confidence, initiative, motivation

Student Engagement and Employability – University of Exeter CLES

What were your main roles and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

Completing tasks delegated by my line manager, assisting in activities regarding student engagement and employability within CLES. This included updating displays, compiling a database of placement opportunities and creating a mock-up of a website to showcase success stories of societies and groups associated with CLES.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

I developed skills in efficient research techniques, as well as contacting an array of different people for informational purposes. I feel more confident in contacting businesses and organisations, alongside using the people around me to gain knowledge from their advice and experiences.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I was able to complete tasks that have been otherwise neglected throughout the year, giving my full time and attention where this may not have otherwise been the case.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Problem solving, organisation, focus on goals and outcomes

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Commercial awareness, creative thinking, independence

Student Intern – University of Exeter CLES

What were your main roles and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

Looking through historical sea fisheries data and extract statistics surrounding Cornwall. These documents included annual reports dating back to 1886. I catalogued these statistics into several spreadsheets according to their category (e.g. fish landings). I was also responsible for taking notes and being involved with a 3 day workshop about historic marine ecosystem services. This workshop was arranged for several academics in interdisciplinary fields of research to brainstorm ideas for starting a paper about the historical and cultural use of marine ecosystem services.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

I made new professional relationships while at the workshop. The workshop also gave me an insight into how to brainstorm relevant ideas for your research topic.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I managed to catalogue data between the years 1886 and 1946, which hopefully will relieve some of the workload from other interns and my line manager.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Time and workload management, IT, marine biology – conservation management

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Commercial awareness, confidence, logical thinking

Research Assistant – University of Exeter CEMPS

What were your main roles and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

I assisted my professor in putting together a presentation for a research consortium. This involved researching the area of injury biomechanics for the built environment and age friendly cities, an exciting area that I wish to pursue further. I made visual diagrams to help non-experts understand the subject, reviewed literature and identified possible research areas for grants. I then attended the research consortium where I met academics involved in the subject from a range of universities and made some good contacts. I was also involved in the design and manufacture of a headform drop tester. I made models and drawings on Solidworks and then used the mechanical workshop to make my design.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

I learnt the process of putting together research proposals for grants, and how to create a presentation for a research consortium.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I helped my professor structure research ideas into a presentation to apply for grants. I started work on an ongoing project for the design of a headform drop tester, providing an initial prototype and engineering drawings to be developed further. I also identified relevant literature for the project.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Teamwork and collaboration, research, networking

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Cultural awareness, logical thinking, creative thinking

 

Research Assistant – University of Exeter

What were your main roles and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

My main role was to process and analyse research data using statistical software with the aim of developing research questions relating to dementia and hearing loss. I worked with research team members to develop a study proposal which I will develop into a paper over the summer. In order to complete the tasks that my supervisor and I set, I was required to learn the basics of SPSS, and the statistical methods that are required as part of the analytical approach.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

I have not yet had the opportunity to develop a research project of my own, and have no experience in using statistical software to analyse large sets of data. During the course of my internship, I learned how challenging this process can be and with the help of the team discovered solutions to the many issues that were found. As a result of this internship, I have been able to set the foundation for my career in medical research.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I hope that I have been able to reveal some additional insight into their data so far. Over the next few months, I will also submit a paper to research journals for consideration.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Statistics, problem solving, enterprise

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Initiative, motivation, creative thinking

Research Assistant – University of Exeter RILD

What were your main roles and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

I had to constantly be reading and analysing new research papers on type I diabetes and glucose variation as well as P2Y receptors. I also completed a small research project where I came up with a research question, planned an experiment to analyse the data (this was a western blot) and then came to a conclusion. I also helped other scientists with changing media on cells in tissue culture where I learnt important aseptic techniques. I calculated protein concentrations and made serial dilutions from this to assist with other experiments.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

At the end of the internship I had to present to a room full of expert scientists about the project I had been working including some background, methods, results and conclusions which helped me work through my dislike of presenting.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I completed a project that one of the PHD scientists did not have time to do but really needed the results.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Research, strategic planning, lab techniques

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Confidence, professionalism, perseverance

Summer Research Intern – University of Exeter CEMPS

What were your main roles and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

Over the course of the four weeks, I carried out lab work, looking into the effects of different enzymes on DNA damage and repair. In addition, I did a lot of tissue culture, an essential skill for any biologist, and learnt how to use a flow cytometer which I used almost daily. I made up batches of media for people to use to grow cells in for their experiments. I helped with other lab procedures that the PhD students were doing, such as western blots and midipreps.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

Carrying out independent work in the lab and becoming a lot more confident in my skills.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I completed a project, looking at the effect of the PARP1 inhibitor, PJ-34, on class switching in CH12 cells, where I got some interesting results that will hopefully be used in the future.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Ability to work under pressure, IT, decision making

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Logical thinking, independence, work ethic

Employability and Work Placements Support Officer – University of Exeter College of Life and Environmental Sciences

What were your main roles and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

I was planning, organising and arranging employability events which included inviting speakers, arranging logistics, promoting to students and hosting events. Aside from this, I was processing work placement paperwork for employability modules, writing the college student newsletter, meeting with academic colleagues to review and plan college employability provision, and training other team members on the work placement processes.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

I gained confidence in event management, administration, and the office environment.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

The CLES employability team only consisted of myself and my line manager. I played a key role in organising events and processing work placements. Without my role, the team would have struggled to function.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Negotiation, ability to work under pressure, networking

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Commercial awareness, logical thinking, professionalism

Research Assistant – University of Exeter College of Life and Environmental Sciences

What were your main roles and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

Facilitate biomechanical recording of our participants, manage data stores and exportation for analysis, work with an engineer to write a MATLAB script to analyse the raw data produced, and create a list of gait parameters that could be investigated.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

When creating a MATLAB script alongside the engineer, I have never written any code before and having a project with a set goal in mind allowed me to be goal orientated and state what I wanted the script to do. This allowed targeting the specific parameters relatively easy.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

I worked independently with another student to Facilitate data collection, and created a package for analysis, both of which meant that she had more time to focus on the tasks that were of her level of technical ability

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Time and workload management, assessing and managing risk, decision making

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Personal awareness, cultural awareness, independence

Research Support Intern – University of Exeter, Penryn

What were your main roles and responsibilities during the course of your internship?

Maintaining incipient termite’s colonies by adding wood to feed them, and water and moist cloth to keep the colonies from drying out. I monitored them as they grew, changing their containers when needed.

What would you say was your biggest achievement over the course of your internship?

Until recently, I had never had to independently maintain a study species in the lab before outside of my own degree. I had a lot of responsibility on my shoulders, and I did not take this lightly, taking steps to plan in advance when I was away or as colonies developed to make sure they were stable.

What benefits did your internship bring to your employer?

They now have stable lab kept termite colonies for use in their research, which may not have been possible without me due to their commitments over this summer.

What skills were you able to develop through the internship?

Assessing and managing risk, decision making, degree specific skills

What attributes were you able to develop through the internship?

Perseverance, independence, work ethic