Research Intern Review

A large focus was placed on independent work for my Physics UROP at Cavendish Laboratory, with my supervisor allowing a large variety of things to be investigated. So, the freedom made this project very enjoyable, unlike many other internships where you are more of a cog in an already pre-routed machine.

My opinion and knowledge were very much listened to and taken into account regarding both the direction of this project and discussions in determining how to overcome certain problems. A lot of emphasis was put on determining the project outcomes by myself, although I never felt unsupported in achieving it.

Support for my project was high initially, when it was needed. However, my supervisor slowly enabled me to do my work basically independently for the later stages. That said, he was always available to help resolve problems or discuss possible solutions should I request it. The degree of support provided was just right.

My workload was self-set and so varied between important tasks and those that were necessary but not very demanding. I always had something to do, and did not ever feel like I wasn't being given enough direction. Standard working hours (9-5) applied, although I chose to stay later on some days for the last few weeks to be able to get my project done.

My project in itself was a side-study and not directly related to the work my supervisor or any of those in the research group were investigating. That said, I was basically entirely responsible for my project, and any help my supervisor provided were treated as suggestions. I did choose to listen to a lot of these, however, so I was not held fully responsible for the project outcomes.

I found this internship extremely useful in developing engineering and research skills. I learned a great deal more about using Python, as well as applying microcontroller such as the Arduino and inexpensive hardware such as the Raspberry Pi to automated research applications. Furthermore, I developed knowledge of open-source CAD and 3D printing, which are both very useful technologies to be able to use.

The general office atmosphere was cordial, although everyone was very invested in their own work and so did not seem to talk to each other very much, apart from those that were friends outside the office. Given that much of my work involved direct hardware manipulation, I spent most of my time in a small lab, and did not manage to interact with most of the research group. That said, I did get to know the technicians that used the lab reasonably well, and got on well with them.

The University-organised UROP scheme under which this placement fell under was well funded and set up. I knew about the preliminary paperwork that I had to fill in, the induction and lab safety talks, the level of interaction with supervisors and basically everything I needed to do. There was rather a lot of initial paperwork that had to be done, however.

A lot of time initially was spent in getting me up to speed with the hardware and software involved in the project. My supervisor later encouraged me to present some of what I knew to company contractors for a Hackathon that built upon my work. Thus, a lot of time was spent in enabling me to better understand a lot of the technology behind the project, as well as soft skills to be able to explain it.

While the work was interesting and I learnt a lot, I found the work atmosphere generally quite antisocial. All the PhDs and post-docs were very focused on their own work and so social interaction via teamwork - something that is very important to me personally in the workplace - was sorely lacking. This is a very personal choice, however, and work within this research group definitely offers numerous opportunities that may sway others.

Other research interns did not interact with each other very much due to the individualised nature of the projects and very different work schedules.

I stayed on in my college at the University outside of term, and this enabled me to qualify for the subsidised rent available to students. Other friends also stayed, enabling social events to be organised relatively quickly and cheaply.

Outside of the academic term, Cambridge town does not have a very busy nightlife.

Although my workplace did not offer very many opportunities, the town of Cambridge had quite a lot of summer events on, and I was able to participate in a lot of these with the friends I was staying in college with. I also took the opportunity to volunteer on weekends, and managed to organise meetups with friends as time progressed. This was all completely independent from my work at the Cavendish, however.