I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Bergen and this autumn I had the opportunity to work as an intern for three months at AstraZeneca, Gothenburg. Here I share my experience regarding the internship.
My initial motivation to do an industry internship was to gain some experience and have insights into how things are different compared to academia. Also, in my research field pharmaceutical industries are the main players so, it was an obvious choice. The whole process after initial selection with DLN and onboarding from AstraZeneca was very smooth. The whole department was welcoming, and my colleagues were very nice and helpful.
There were people with different expertise and working on different projects using AI and machine learning. My project was also very interesting and well-defined. It provided new learning opportunities and challenges. I got to work with new open-source software and learn some new skills that would be very helpful for me going forward. I had a good experience with supervision as we discussed ideas and problems in biweekly meetings. Outside of work, I played volleyball (indoors) with my collogues and met people from other departments. There were always people going to lunch together. This was also a good networking opportunity with people outside of academia. Gothenburg is also a very beautiful city in the fall but, colder, and windier than Bergen.
All in all, it was a wonderful experience during my PhD, and I would like to thank DLN for this great opportunity. I would highly recommend it to my peers.