RISE conference

I’m doing a summer internship in Heidelberg right now. Simultaneously, there are about 300 other American, British, and Canadian students doing similar internships all across Germany. What connects us all is a program called RISE (Research In Science and Engineering) that is the brainchild of DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), an independent organization that receives 411 million Euros of funding from the German government every year to support international exchange of students and scholars. It’s a good example of the things government has money for when it operates on a balanced budget.

Politics aside though, this past weekend, DAAD organized this big 3-day conference right here in Heidelberg to give all of us student interns a chance to meet each other, learn about each other’s projects, and get recruited by German companies/post-graduate programs. It took me a whopping 20 minutes to get to the youth hostel on my bike where we all stayed for the duration of the meeting. After checking in and getting a bag full of goodies from DAAD (German dictionary anyone?), we were treated to lunch at the hostel, which for a hostel, was actually a quite good meal. Then, the organizers bussed us all to the Alte Aula (old assembly hall) for the opening ceremony. I was a little bummed out, since I was missing a talk by a Nobel laureate happening back on campus, but when I saw the ornately decorated room that looked much too fancy for a bunch of twenty-somethings in T-shirts and shorts, I convinced myself that there will be more Nobel talks in the future. The ceremony itself was all right. It basically went back and forth between short welcome addresses and music from a Brazilian music trio with a saxophonist that is a DAAD alumni. The highlight for me was the keynote address from Dr. Robert Rosenberg from Transylvania University. He gave us some interesting ideas to think about, including “if you’re having fun at your internship and not becoming frustrated, impatient, or losing sleep, then what you’re doing probably isn’t real research.” At the conclusion of the ceremony, we were again ushered out of the auditorium and sent on our way to the Kulturbrauerei, a brewery five minutes by foot from my fraternity and one of the few places in town that can accommodate a party of 200. The banquet was the last item on the schedule for the day, so we were all free to do whatever afterward. Ilyas, Ahmad, and Andrey (intern in Aachen) made our way  back following the Neckar, taking silly pictures along the way. With another student, we played the boardgame Carcassonne back at the hostel. None of us had ever played it before and the instructions were in German. So while we got the main idea of the game, I don’t think we did the scoring correctly. Once Ahmad became the first to surpass 25 points we decided to call it a night.

Friday morning was interesting, since we got the chance to be courted by different companies and graduate programs from across Germany. Although at this point, there is a better chance of me dying my hair pink than doing a graduate program in Germany, it was still really interesting to learn about the vast array of opportunities that are available to American college graduates in Germany. Most don’t even require any knowledge of German. For me, the most compelling presentation was done by the Max Planck Institute for Biological Sciences in Tübingen. Their PhD programs are fully-funded so all you have to worry about is your research project. The one argument I really didn’t buy, however, was that a PhD from Germany is of the same value as a PhD from the US. At the moment, I think you should get your degree from the country you plan on working in. I am sure I would do just fine with a PhD from Tübingen, but that would likely mean a long term commitment to my pal Deutschland, which I just can’t do at this point in my life. I’ll never forget the Egyptian graduate student I met in Mainz that was really confused as to why  I, an American, was studying in Germany. He told me he’d do anything to study in the US, but the University of Mainz was the best offer he could get, so that’s why he’s there.

After another satisfying lunch at the hostel, I embarked with the rest of the interns on our free guided tour of Heidelberg. You’re probably wondering what Jonathan is doing on a guided tour of Heidelberg when he’s been living in the Altstadt (Old Town) for the past 8 weeks. The answer is that although I knew all the sights, I really didn’t know the stories behind any of the sights or their significance. For that reason, I had a great time just absorbing all that the tour guide had to tell us and realizing how lucky I am to be able to spend three months here.

My apologizes, it looks like this is going to be one of my longer posts. But I can’t stop now, there was another Sommerfest! (Summer Festival). On Friday night, Ahmad, Lorenzo, Shivalik, and I were able to go to the hospital-sponsored Carribean night at Schwimmbad Club (Swimming pool club) where there had been public viewings of the soccer games in previous weeks. I thought the first Sommerfest was amazing, but the scale of this one was just mindboggling. Around 5000 tickets were given out to hospital employees and the security was so tight they didn’t even let some woman’s husband in (although employees’ children were admitted for free). There really wasn’t room for anyone extra though in the plaza with an artificial sandy beach on one side and a sea of tables on the other. A great German cover band was hired that played a mix of American and German pop/rock hits and of course, there was an open bar and buffet line. I don’t even want to know what it all cost, but if all the employees are now refreshed and ready to work another year until next year’s Sommerfest (apparently there is a pretty good party right before Christmas too), then I’d dare to say that it was a good use of the hospital’s money. After all, doctors and nurses are people too.  

Needless to say, I needed a cup of coffee on Saturday morning to stay awake for the student presentations on Saturday morning. We split into groups based on subject and got a chance to learn about what some of our fellow interns across Germany are working on. I am happy to report that there is some pretty cool stuff going on in biology. For example, one student is driving around his region in a van painted like a tiger measuring species density for different crops. Another is studying the human immune response following a stroke. My favorite presentation was definitely from this Brit, however, who opened by explaining that the only reason he has a job is because no one does research on neuron cells in the gut. It’s “dark, damp, dreary”. In one word, very “unsexy” he told us. (The thick British accent was key in keeping us all engaged, but the work itself seemed pretty cool too.)

We took a group picture outside after the presentations were over, but you won’t find me in the picture. I was behind a mass of other students, as they pretty much just had us stand in this blob, snapped a quick shot, then told us that lunch was waiting back inside. I can’t complain about lunch though. It was pretty much a finger food buffet, the kind of stuff that will put some pounds on you if you eat it every day, but it was delicious! It was sad saying good-bye to the other RISE students after lunch, but the good thing is that it’s easier than ever before to stay in touch with people through FB, e-mail, etc. I’m sure I’ll run into many of them again in the most random circumstances as life goes on, but hopefully not in prison. Prison is never a good place to be in :)

Okay, no real good way to transition after that last comment. I’ll just end with a short reflection. One thing I think I did really well over the three days of the conference was “living in the moment”. I think for a lot of students my age, it’s tough to balance both enjoying what you have right now and making preparations for what lies ahead in the future. About a year ago, I got wicked excited when I found out about RISE for the first time while surfing online. I dreamed of shaping my own study abroad experience, taking the best of what Midd had to offer and then finding an excuse to stay in this awesome place for the next five months. Now, I’m living the dream! I’m in Heidelberg and I actually pinch myself once in a while to confirm that I’m not dreaming. At the same time, however, I have to plan for the future. There are evenings in which I will hide from the world and read posts on Student Doctor Network or get a head start on learning material for my classes in the fall. It’s this constant back and forth between work and play, being alone and being with others, planning and living. Will I ever strike a perfect balance? Probably not, but that’s okay! It’s definitely a bit corny, but it’s sort of like the “pursuit of happiness” idea in the Declaration of Independence. As long as I’m striving to balance everything that’s going on in my life, that in itself is a sort of balance and something that I think everyone is capable of. Some people can combine their work and play into one passion and continue that passion well after their official retirement without ever burning out. That’s wonderful for them, but I don’t think that’s for me. There’s something about the good vibes I get just being around family/friends after a long day at work or being at work after a long night with friends/family. It’s this vicious, wonderful cycle called life. In one word, it’s anything but “unsexy.” It’s awesome.     

On a less philosophical note, I am leaving the country this weekend to visit a family that lives two houses away from me in Melrose. Only I won’t be going to Melrose. How is that possible? Find out next week! Danke für Lesen und bis nächstes Mal!