Internship in Germany

Laura Mataitė​

This year I had an opportunity to have an international experience by having an internship abroad. Four months I was working in the southern Germany at the university of Freiburg. My internship was held in the Microbiology department in the laboratory which is investigating microbial degradation of aromatics and steroids.
Firstly, I would like to mention that the city is marvelous! Before coming to Freiburg I did not know a lot about it. I have to admit that I was impressed of the nature that I found here. The city is surrounded by the lovely mountains overgrown with huge trees. Black forest, which is famous of beautiful places, was wonderful place to have a walk after long working day. I am lucky that I had a chance to admire magnificent cathedral every day during my travel to the university. The city is also famous of its university and prestigious medicine studies, so students in the streets and the new library close to the city center is creating terrific working atmosphere.
The laboratory was well equipped so I am fortunate that I had an opportunity to see and learn something new. All people in laboratory were Germans hence it was the best way to see and feel real life in Germany and clearly notice cultural differences. My working topic was related with enzyme called phenylphosphate carboxylase. This enzyme is involved in anaerobic phenol degradation pathway. My work was to perform heterologous expression of phenylphosphate carboxylase in E. coli bacteria and reconstitute it to an active form. I am glad that I learnt some molecular biology methods, get more knowledge about chromatography, anaerobic bacteria, mass spectrometry and finally learnt how to work in anaerobic chamber. The work carried out during this internship and all results that I get will be involved in my Bachelor’s thesis.
To summarize, this internship was a significant event in my life. I had a chance not only to get more experience related to my speciality, but also discover rich German culture and remarkable places in this country.