for you=1:length(Research_Internship_Program);

For you = 1 : length(Research_Internship_Program) neatly summarizes all that I have experienced this summer as part of the Internship Program at EPFL. This phrase (thank you Matlab) simply states that you iterate through all of the things that could possibly happen to you during your stay. I will comment on a few of these experiences 🙂

Place:

One aspect of the program is simply the setting. Situated right on the edge of Lac Leman, working and living near EPFL was never a sore site. Everything was easily accessible by public transport at (almost) all hours, and with a monthly metro pass, I didn’t even have to fumble for change every time I wanted to zip to another area. The metro is also directly connected to two main train stations, which became a frequent meeting point for the adventurous travellers in the program. From these stations, we embarked on what seemed like a trip to a different country every weekend. Thanks to Switzerland’s central location in the heart of Europe, it never took too long to visit a different place and gain another stamp on our passports. And if we didn’t have the time, coordination, or wish to go outside Swiss borders, we hiked, swam, and toured everywhere from tiny villages in the Alps to world-class metropolises like Zurich.

Work:

Wow what a privilege to work in a top lab in brain-computer interface! The professor and assistant could not have been more welcoming, and the Ph.D. students, post-docs, and senior scientists could not have been more helpful. By the end of my time working in the lab, I have gained so many technical skills (in recording EEG), coding skills (MATLAB, Python), critical thinking skills (experimental design, data analysis and interpretation, machine learning techniques), and professional skills (project presentation, problem solving). And of course all of the fun outings and events we had as a lab at the professor’s house, the lake, or in the city centre. I arrived at the lab with a strong interest in brain-computer interface and basic skills, and I feel I will be leaving with awe for the field and considerably more advanced skills. I have also formed professional relationships with the lab, which can only help me in the future. I will continue to build on my project and the skills I’ve learned in the past few months as I work on my honor’s thesis this coming Senior year.

People:

It really matters who you are with. Even if you are doing great research and travelling to a bunch of great places, what really makes the experience rich is the people you share them with. The interns in the program are fantastic! I’ve never been in a group of such inquisitive, curious, talented, dedicated, and adventurous people! It seemed like we were always discussing deep philosophical questions, and when we weren’t doing that, we were cracking jokes in our sort of “intern language.” You just want to know what these people are thinking, and what they are questioning, because we all come from different backgrounds and fields, and so everyone seems like an expert! The people in my lab were also fantastic. They cut me slack when I needed it, and pushed me when I needed it. Rather than just telling me how to do things, they let me figure it out, which although seems frustrating while you are figuring it out, in the end it makes you learn better and understand more about what you are doing. I could not have asked to work, lunch, travel, or hang out with better people-inside and outside of the lab. Shout out to CNBI (Char in Non-Invasive Brain-Computer Interface) and the interns in the program-my summer is that much better because of you!

Isabel Sible, UC Berkeley
Laboratory of the Defitech Foundation Chair in Non-Invasive Brain-Machine Interface (CNBI), EPFL