Testimonials from the Summer Interns
"My time at the IoA this summer was a valuable opportunity to have a taste of what a research career is truly like, while getting to know better the department in which I am currently pursuing my PhD. It was also great to connect with students from other universities, with whom I've shared insightful conversations and who helped create a collaborative and welcoming atmosphere."
Giulia Ortame, Summer Intern'24
'I am really grateful for my summer internship, and I really enjoyed my time at the IoA. My supervisors and the research group were incredibly supportive, and I learned a lot about the field and doing research in general. We also had the chance to join a lot of informative and insightful talks and sharing, as well as the IoA 50 Conference in the summer!'
Wei Qiang, Summer Intern'24
'I thoroughly enjoyed the programme and found it to be an incredibly valuable experience that gave me a lot of confidence in my research abilities. The project I worked on over the 8 weeks further sparked my interest in an area of astronomy I am now considering for my PhD studies. I found it to be a lot more social than what I was expecting, which was an aspect I really enjoyed. Living in accommodation with the other interns and working in an office together provided a great source of support and motivation for the project work, and I definitely feel like we became good friends by the end of the summer. The institute-wide daily coffee breaks, weekly research group meetings, and various other events (I was fortunate to be able to attend the IoA50 conference as it was taking place during my time there) provided a great opportunity as well to speak with academics at the IoA and hear about the fascinating research taking place there. The programme was well-organised, with a variety of talks, tours, and other events arranged over the course of the summer and it was overall a fantastic experience.'
Robin Trigg, Summer Intern'24
'The IoA Summer Intern Programme was a transformative experience that will remain a cornerstone of my academic journey. It exceeded my expectations, offering not only the chance to work on cutting-edge astrophysics projects but also the opportunity to collaborate with a diverse and international team of world-leading researchers. While I came for the science, I left with invaluable connections and friendships that enriched the experience beyond the academic realm, and continue to do so currently. The IoA itself, with its stunning architecture, nature, and historical significance, provided an inspiring backdrop for both work and learning. The programme’s structure created an incredibly conducive environment for learning. Seminars and talks, as well as trips significantly broadened my perspective, while the collaborative atmosphere allowed for the free exchange of ideas. Discussions with other summer students were particularly impactful, helping refine research methods and deepening my understanding of the field. This experience solidified further my passion for astronomy. I strongly believe that I left this programme a significantly better astronomer who is more equipped than ever before to tackle the open questions in astronomy. I hope to see this programme continue to grow in the future so more students can gain this unforgettable experience.'
Aleksandra “Saša” Isajeva, Summer Intern'24
'During my internship, I gained insights into the incredible current research conducted at the Institute of Astronomy. I was able to greatly enhance my knowledge in both my project area and other prominent fields in astrophysics through valuable talks from numerous academics working within the Institute. I thoroughly enjoyed working with my supervisors on my project, in addition to attending numerous research meetings to gain a broader understanding of the current investigations. The engaging talks and events organised by the Institute provided a very welcoming environment. This was additionally aided by the freedom to attend public talks hosted by the Institute across the summer period, and the opportunities to gain experience with telescopes through access to the Institute’s observing facilities. I would highly recommend pursuing an internship position at the Institute of Astronomy as this opportunity will greatly enhance your research skills, expand your knowledge of cutting edge research, and enable you to enjoy your summer in a very friendly environment.'
Meg Georgina Blackburn, Summer Intern’24
'As a research intern at the IoA, I had an incredibly enriching and smooth experience. Everyone is friendly and helpful, and everything is well-organised. Problems or concerns are usually quickly responded and resolved. One of the highlights was participating in the summer intern talks and the IoA50 conference, which provided a plethora of learning opportunities and exposure to cutting-edge research. These events were invaluable for networking and gaining insights into the latest astronomical discoveries and methodologies. Overall, my time at IoA was highly productive and enjoyable!'
Zhihan Guo, Summer Intern’24
‘The IoA presented by far the best internship community that I've experienced so far. The daily Institute-wide coffee breaks and shared intern offices provided friendly company for discussing projects and helping each other when stuck. The committee also organised talks (donuts sometimes included) by various members of the Institute. Combined with group meetings and journal clubs in our respective groups these provided an introduction to both a variety of fields and what it's like to be part of a research group. The flexibility in choosing the path of the research project also helped contribute to this experience as after reading papers on the field I got an opportunity to veer the project into a direction I personally found fascinating. The interns also represented a nice split between internationals and Cambridge students, such that people still felt the need to make new connections, but we also had access to local spaces like college bars and meeting spots. This made it easier to organise our own events like movie nights and punting.’
Sebastian Ljung, Summer Intern’23
'My experience as an intern at the Institute of Astronomy was very positive and enjoyable. Everyone was very friendly and it was exciting to be in an environment with so many other astrophysics enthusiasts, with the highlight being a talk on space travel by the Astronomer Royal, Lord Martin Rees, which was very inspiring. There were several opportunities to hear talks from other scientists and get advice from doctoral students and academics regarding PhD applications, which many interns including myself appreciated. The presentations at the end of the project were very helpful in improving my public speaking experience and it has given me the confidence to do more outreach work with my university in the new term. From the presentations, I learnt from my fellow interns about other areas of astrophysics in areas such as white dwarf stars, exoplanet atmospheres and black holes. Liaising with staff and other interns over lunch and coffee breaks was an interesting opportunity to hear about other types of astrophysics such as computation and instrumentation, and different career journeys as well as getting an idea of a future in academia.
My supervisors were helpful in giving me clear, achievable tasks to complete and aiding me with coding if I got stuck for a long time and couldn’t resolve the issue myself. I read some papers on supernovae and was introduced to new cosmology that I had not yet studied in my degree, which was fascinating and pleasant as I was learning about astrophysics outside of an exam setting and free to explore my interests in the topic independently. I improved my programming in Python, practised my data analysis and honed my public speaking/communication skills, something I found very helpful as I believe this is an important part of being a scientist.
I made use of my time at the historic site by exploring astronomy magazines from the library and visiting the 16-inch telescope as well as learning how to operate it. It was inspiring to be immersed in an environment with world-leading astrophysics research, past and present, which could be seen from multiple posters and old photographs of pioneers such as Stephen Hawking and Dame Jocelyn Bell as well as current researchers.'
Almudena Visser Velez, Summer Intern’23
'I had an amazing time on the internship, getting to know people across a very wide range of astronomical disciplines and forming a lovely little community with the other interns. It was a great way to get some extra scientific experience and my first-ever scientific paper on the work I did there has just been published. I highly recommend this internship for anyone wanting to get a better idea of what professional astronomy is all about.'
Xander Byrne, Summer Intern’23
'I spent my internship working on a gravitational waves-based project with Dr Isobel Romero-Shaw and Dr Suhail Dhawan. This helped me refine my ideas of what I wanted to do for a PhD, get experience with some of the tools and theoretical approaches used within the field, and give me a broader view of some of the current frontiers currently being explored in gravitational wave astronomy. This has greatly helped to strengthen my PhD applications. Whilst working at the IoA, I was also able to interact with academics and students working in other areas, which in turn gave me a broader view of the current research landscape in modern astrophysics. The experience was extremely beneficial for my career, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.'
Joshua Sharkey, Summer Intern’23
'I had a really amazing time on the programme. Everybody was super friendly and welcoming, fellow students and senior academics alike, and that made the exciting research I did there even more enjoyable.'
James Henderson, Summer Intern’23
'The internship at the Institute of Astronomy stands out from other local and international programmes both for encouraging interns to take the initiative on innovative research projects and for their commitment to their students. We received excellent supervision from astronomy experts in research lines of our choice, besides being able to actively engage in professional talks delivered by researchers from many fields. The organisers planned a multitude of academic and social activities, where we could share our work and get to delve in more depth into others’ findings and motivation.
The programme had an exceptional community of interns. During my stay, I was part of a close group of students of diverse backgrounds with whom I shared many superb experiences. I would highly encourage anyone sharing our passion for astronomy to apply for this programme, as it is an excellent opportunity to grow professionally and gain perspective in academia whilst making the most out of the student life in Cambridge.'
Fernando Hidalgo Pineda, Summer Intern’23
'I really enjoyed my stay at the Institute of Astronomy. I worked in a friendly environment and learned new techniques in research valuables for my further studies/career. I felt really supported by my supervisor and other interns and it felt like those 8 weeks went too quickly. I liked the programme's seminars that introduced current research topics in astronomy. After only 8 weeks, I was lucky to have an opportunity to present my work at a conference.'