After spending most of my career in academia, I wanted to step outside my comfort zone and experience the industrial side of biotechnology. My three-month internship at Vectron Biosolutions in Trondheim, Norway, offered by Digital Life Norway (DLN), provided the perfect opportunity to do just that.
Vectron specializes in developing tailor-made expression vectors, offering unique solutions for complex protein production challenges. During my time there, I worked hands-on with cloning, bacterial cultures, bioreactors, gel electrophoresis, and Western blot analysis, bringing me back to techniques I hadn’t worked with since my early molecular biology days. Coming from a chemical engineering PhD background where I focus on nanoparticle synthesis and characterization, this shift from nanoscale materials to working with living organisms was both challenging and exciting. Instead of using an electron microscope for nanoparticle imaging, I was capturing nucleic acid and protein gels on a Bio-Rad Gel Doc!
The work environment at Vectron was quite different from my PhD experience. In academia, work is flexible but always on your mind, whereas industry has a structured 8:00–15:30 schedule, and once you’re done for the day, you can truly disconnect. The team at Vectron was incredibly supportive, making the transition smooth and enjoyable.
One of the biggest lessons I learned was resilience. In cloning, so many things can go wrong, failed transformations, inefficient ligations, and contaminated enzymes. However, each failure taught me to restart and refine the process without hesitation, a mindset that applies to many aspects of life.
This internship has reshaped my career perspective. While my passion for research remains strong, I now see myself gravitating more toward industry-based research roles. I highly recommend industry internships to other PhD students, it’s an eye-opening experience that helps you identify what aspects of your work you truly enjoy and provides invaluable skills that can help in your next career step.
A heartfelt thank you to Digital Life Norway and the incredible team at Vectron Biosolutions for their mentorship and support during this transformative experience!