My internship at UNIS and bioCEED has come to an end. The last semester has been different from what I’m used to. And if I didn’t do a course alongside the internship, it would have felt like I was done studying and a working man. I think doing an internship at the end of a bachelor is something to recommend, as at this time you must evaluate where you want to go after you’ve completed the bachelor. The main thing I, and I think the rest of the interns, have seen is that the field of biology is flexible and can be applied to a lot of things. Everyone who have an education within biology, are not all professors. And I think it’s comforting knowing that you don’t have to do this one specific thing.
Since I’ve been helping on this online learning platform that’s being developed here at UNIS, I’ve been able to use past biological knowledge, gain new knowledge and use past skills that I’ve had. As well as pick up other skills. It has been challenging in the sense that I have not done anything like this before, but for me that’s just good as it means I will gain more from it in the end. My work has also involved a lot of independence. I did to some degree pick my hours, pick my tasks and how to do then. This freedom is not something you find in every job, but it is a freedom I and probably many others, would really like to have in a job. This freedom does not come without consequences. One is that you need to be self-disciplined. There’s no nagging boss whipping you around. They’re too busy here for that. So, people have some trust in you. And that trust also helps motivating you, as you don’t want to disappoint. I think doing all this solo, would have been much harder, as then it’s just yourself that you disappoint if don’t do something properly. So being part of a small team is always beneficial. And overall, I feel I’ve gotten more self-disciplined and better at doing work on my own.
Personally, I would have liked to do more. But even with the hours that come with the internship, you don’t get the time to do everything. Then again, the internship course is more about learning and getting experience. Then reflecting upon this and gaining something valuable in the end that you can take into the future. And studying biology, and my year here on Svalbard, has been life changing. A few years back, I did not know what to do or where to go. Now, three years in, with this internship, I feel I’m on a better path, and very certain that I chose correctly. It’s a nice feeling. Thank you bioCEED, UNIS and the people I’ve been involved with so far. Hopefully we meet again.
Goodbye.
