Ashwin Kumar, student of our IMSc programme has been spending two months at the University of Alberta. He is, however, one of a growing number of undergraduates who use the summer months to get a taste of research. And, incidentally to see the world…
Prof. K P N Murthy has been one of the biggest champions of the cause. He has nurtured the Junior Science Club of the UoH, and has also personally mentored a large number of students each summer (OK, so the suddenly in the post title is misleading). Later this year, when the semester begins, he plans to have a two-day meeting of all the students who did summer internships when they will present the work they through talks and/or posters. The event will be at the CIS where he is also the present Director. He writes that a large number of of students in IMSc and MSc have gone to various places on summer internship. Also many of our own students have done their summer internship in our university itself. For example I had some four students from IMSc and one student from M Sc as summer fellows.
He is not alone. We had a very large number of students from other institutions come here under the Inter-Academy Summer Fellowships- the largest number after those who chose to go to the IISc, as a matter of fact. Many many thanks to the many faculty members who mentored them!
Meanwhile, the news from the University of Alberta where a classroom was set abuzz with inquisitive conversation and questions this week at the first-ever University of Alberta Research Internship Poster Symposium.
“It’s an awesome experience,” said Ashwin Kumar, an undergraduate chemistry student from India’s University of Hyderabad who is working in a UAlberta research lab analyzing protein interactions with BRCA1—the Breast Cancer Type 1 susceptibility gene—to better understand the make-up of breast and ovarian cancer cells. “This is the first time I’ve been abroad and it’s my first research experience ever. It’s really exciting.”
Harshavardhan Reddy Pinninty, a student in the IMSc Physics programme was at Lindau, Germany at the annual meeting of Nobel laureates, where he has been having a great time. His FB status says it all: A lifetime opportunity :).
There are many others- some that I heard of (via Kedar Kulkarni) are Raghu Pradeep Narayanan who was at Purdue, Abhay Jith at MIT. And its not just the Science students- a number of our students in the social sciences have also spent their summer usefully. Achyut Kulkarni was at IIT, Milan George Jacob at CDS Trivandrum, Syed Mohib Ali at the Centre for Civil Society, Aabha Sharma at IIT-Madras, Sai Madhurika at RBI Chennai and Kedar Kulkarni was also at the University of Alberta. I am sure this list is way incomplete!
In any case it will be good to hear what all these students have been up to this summer. The experience promises to be- if anything- humbling.
Kedar Kulkarni, just finished his third year; integrated masters in Economics went to University of Alberta too! He did a research paper on Indian Agriculture.
Indian Agriculture? Isn’t the whole world doing that?
I doubt that makes his attempt any less sincere 🙂
This summer, I went to IISc, did my project in Inorganic and Physical Chemistry department, and every time I told I am from University of Hyderabad, they all remarked-“ooohhh!chemistry department of HCU?thats a very nice place”..I really felt proud 🙂
About 40 MA Communication students go out into the media and IT industry as well as to NGOs every summer for 6-week internships. I am sure they have exciting experiences as well. Twice in the recent past the Department of Communication has hosted student interns who come through UNICEF’s global internship programme and are mentored by our colleagues.
No doubt that the list is incomplete! While Harshavardhan Reddy Pinninty got a special mention Sowmya, who also went to Lindau this year, got left out.