I am a PhD student in the medicine faculty at the University of Oslo. The story all started when I was in the 9th month of my Ph.D. studies in Sep 2022. My supervisor sent me an invitation to a seminar held by Digital Life Norway (DLN) about controlling stress during your Ph.D, which was held in Stavanger. After that, I became a member of their website and discovered their fascinating programs for Ph.D. students, including the concept of an industry internship. Although I was interested, I kind of forgot about it at the time.
Fast forward to my 1st year and 4th month of my Ph.D. in May 2023, I was attending intro2 course in the medicine faculty. During one of the sessions organized by Digital Life Norway, a guest speaker talked about the internship opportunity, reminding me of what I had previously seen on the DLN website. She mentioned that the deadline was around March, and I was so interested that I immediately made a calendar event for March 1st, 2024, to apply for it.
Meanwhile, I applied to visit the US. As the deadline approached, I checked for the position and discovered that they had changed the deadline to February 1st. I applied for it, writing a cover letter straight from my heart and sending my resume. I really wanted this opportunity!
Around the first week of March, which coincided with my birthday, I received an email informing me that my application had been accepted. It was the best birthday gift I could have asked for that year, and I told them so without exaggeration.
When they released the names of the companies and projects, I was thrilled to see many good companies on the list. One project that caught my eye was drug discovery at AstraZeneca. At the time, I was interested in the drug discovery area and had even attended some Nvidia sessions on the topic in mid-March. I also had the person in charge of the project in my LinkedIn connections.
After submitting my priorities, I got an interview with AstraZeneca. It was just when I had returned from the US and was battling jetlag. There were some challenges in finding a suitable time for the meeting, but Elisabeth helped me fix a good time. Around the first week of April, I received an email confirming that I had been approved for the position. I was over the moon, feeling that my long journey from dreaming about it at the intro course was finally coming true.
I talked with my supervisors at AstraZeneca, and it was decided that I would start in October and stay until January – the best months for staying in Gothenburg! The first month was challenging for me because I was tired from my previous trip and trying to finish writing my Ph.D. thesis before going to Sweden. While I was familiar with the AI part, the chemistry aspect was completely new to me. It took weeks to understand exactly what they wanted me to do, but once I adapted to the new project, I enjoyed working for them. My main supervisors, JP and Samuel, played a crucial role in helping me adapt to the project.
All the people I met at AstraZeneca were nice, from the PIs to the students, and everyone was supportive. It was a fantastic work environment, and they went above and beyond by organizing several thrilling out-of-work experiences. The aspect I enjoyed the most was the multicultural and international atmosphere at AstraZeneca. I only wish the internship had been longer than three months so that we could have had more time to work on the new project. I also had the opportunity to tour different parts of AstraZeneca, visit the cell culture lab, experience working on a project that does matter in a real industry environment, and experience life in Gothenburg.
I owe all of this to Digital Life Norway and want to express my special thanks to Elisabeth and Rosalie for their help and support throughout this time. They helped me experience something that was once just a vision.
And please, after reading this blog, don't ask me the typical question everyone asks: "What are the differences between Norway and Sweden?" :)