Swarali Ghodkhande-Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf, Germany

 Hallo Freunde!

 

I am Swarali Ghodkhande, a 3rd-year Chemical Engineering undergrad and this summers I have been interning at Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf, Germany. While I was still coping with the transition from mellow freshie year to a bit appealing Sophie year, I was lucky enough to get a university intern in the 3rd semester. Right from the start of the second year, I was a bit ambitious of a university intern. After listening to the fundaes of seniors, I started with the tedious process of databasing. By the time I was done with the database, PT cells opened the University of Dusseldorf IAF. University of Duesseldorf opens up for Chemical sophies and thirdies, Engineering Physics sophies and MSc Physics students. After resume shortlisting, the Professor preferred to have a short Skype interview which lasted 30 - 35 min for me. In the interview, the Professor was more interested in knowing if the student has any hands-on experience. I was asked to explain the projects I had on my resume, one of which was ITSP and the other one was my High School Project. So,being thorough with your resume points is most important.

As said, the best things in life happen at unexpected moments.On 28th October, I received the news of my selection and was probably the last one to know about it; there were tons of messages and calls but my phone battery was dead :( .

 

The Beginning

As it was my first time travelling outside India alone, many thoughts starting flooding into my head, feeding my anxiety and excitement at the same time. Though Schengen Visa does not take more than 10 days, I faced a bit of delay and when I finally received it, it was nothing less than a birthday present for me :‘). As my accommodation and travel requirements were already taken care of by the University, I did not have to worry about that.

 

The first few days in Düsseldorf were a little challenging. It took me few weeks to get accustomed with the German language everywhere, cooking my own meal every day no matter how tired I was, and most importantly not to use the mind calculator to convert the prices of things in INR. But all of these experiences helped me break out of my shell and expand my horizons.

 

Work Part:

Germans are known to be very passionate about their work, noticed this right from the very first day. I worked under Prof. Stefan Egelhaaf, who has contributed greatly to the field of colloidal particles. For the first few days, I was asked to do an extensive literature survey to get an impression of the work done. Having gone through all the related publications, I was entrusted a part of their project which was Force computation of colloidal particles in the non-affine motion. The goal was to use optical tweezers to trap particles undergoing non-affine motion. I worked on MATLAB to develop a code for the same and then experimentally implemented it using the SLM set up. Every Tuesday the whole team would gather around and discuss their work.

 

 

 

 

                                              Team Pic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EUROPE, you beauty  <3

Germans are as passionate about their weekend as they are about work. On Friday afternoons one can find the office deserted, everyone barbequing with friends and family, having fun and living a life away from the confines of the lab. I used to spend my weekend exploring the beautiful cities around.This was the best part of the internship, apart from the work. On every weekend trip, I used to start alone from my place and by the end of the weekend I would have at least 5 new contacts in my phone.Talking to strangers, getting to know their culture, and listening to their opinion of India is how I used to spend time during travelling, and trust me everyone has a new tale for you. Having travelled to 7 different countries and many cities, I can safely say that Paris and Prague are my personal favourites.

 

 

 

                           

There are so many things that I have learned during my intern. I found a good chef in me, enjoyed solo trips, got acquainted with a completely different culture and most importantly found a whole new me, more confident and stronger than before. Interning at the University of Duesseldorf this summer has been a blast. It has been the best thing that happened to me in insti life.