(fourthie-2016-17)
Finally writing an internship blog which I had been reading since my first year. ☺
Pre-internship Phase:
So without wasting much time I will get to the point how I landed up in Canada for an internship.
I was very clear that I would go either for good chemical core companies or a university internship (I now realise if I would not have got this, I might have been sitting at my home :p . Don’t be that choosy for at least your internships until and unless you are very sure about your career choice in the long run)
I always had a dream of going to a foreign country for internship and hence I started applying in the universities /programs coming to our college through placement cell. I applied for at least 8-10 foreign universities program (all of them from PT Cell) and finally got this mail in November from my professor here in University of British Columbia stating that she liked my application but it totally depends on the MITACS (the program which is funding me) if they would select and pair us up.
Finally got the confirmation in February after a three months anxious phase between appreciation and confirmation.
Internship begins: Day 0: Mumbai Airport: This was my first visit to Mumbai’s International Airport. I guess my friends seemed more excited than me. The feeling of so many people coming to see you off cannot be put into words. ^_^
Day 1: Vancouver It is obvious that the beauty of this city can leave anyone awestruck. So was I. Being a part of a program like MITACS ease up a lot of things for initial days as they allot a mentor to each and every student. My mentor came to pick me up at the airport and then we proceeded to my accommodation in the university campus housing. The roads, aura everything was perfect. The accommodation was great as per the expectations.
Day 2: Work Introduction/Department/University Tour I met my professor in the morning and was very much impressed by the simplicity and respect professors have here for their students. I met my M.A.Sc. guide and he took me for a tour of the labs in the department. The department building is amazing in terms of infrastructure facilities, layout, security and safety plans. I was introduced to my project regarding working procedure, timings, schedule, safety courses etc. Project and Work Culture:
I am working on the catalytic partial oxidation of pyrolysis oil to produce acetic acid from biomass. The work includes experimental and analysis by varying different parameters to find the best way to produce the product. Dealing with very expensive machines requires a bit of precaution. Working hours in the lab are generally quite chill and varies from project to project but the average is around 6-7 hours daily for almost all the interns.
City:
The city of Vancouver has something for everyone. Full of beaches, mountains, hiking trails which are extremely amazing, provincial parks, extreme sports, landmarks, nightlife and what not. We are a group of 8-10 students and weekends give us enough opportunities to explore all above. The city has a very good internal transport system having buses, skytrain (metro) and seabus. Travelling and moving around the city is very convenient.
Food:
The city has enough places to eat around having a varied number of cuisines like Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Indian etc. If you are non-vegetarian, you are going to love this place. Unexpectedly this place also has enough for vegetarians (I being an eggetarian :P ). You can find an ample number of Indian restaurants serving our great Indian food to the level of samosas and chaat. Even then we all friends prefer cooking dinner altogether at least on weekdays. The feeling of cooking together, sharing a common table and eating our own Ghar ka khana is amazing. Since Canada being another home of Punjabis, you can get literally get all you can think of in India as far as food is concerned.
People & Culture:
The people are very friendly. There is no wonder that recently Canada was ranked friendliest country in the world. But yeah since the west is supposed to be more individualistic than us, you will hardly find anyone interfering in your matters. It might take some time in adjusting if you are a bit introvert and needs company at the same time. Go out, talk to people, initiate conversations and make friends.
Expenses:
The best part of being a MITACS Intern is that you will never be short of funds, unlike other university interns. In fact, you will be able to save quite a few amount depending on the expenses you incur on food and travelling around. Cooking by yourself will save you a lot of bucks.
Conclusion:
I would like to give very much credit to my second year summer project which opened the door for this. (Try to apply for projects which have something in relation to the work you have done so as to show your credentials).
Looking back over the past two months, I cannot believe the pace with which this memorable time flew. Apart from learning experience in terms of work is concerned, which you will learn in any internship, if one thing which I believe a foreign intern teaches you is to become independent, improving your ability to adapt and adjust in a totally new environment. It prepares you to not only survive in alien conditions but also makes you adaptable enough to enjoy that. ☺
P.S. I did not know I can do wonders in cooking before this. :D