Job:Europe: Non-Paid Bioinformatics Internships/Training

Question

[']

I am almost halfway through my Master's studies and before getting into the process of writing my thesis, I wish to work in the field a bit to gain hands-on experience, I wouldn't really mind if the position will not be paid. But what I really and absolutely need is some practical work and leveraging what I have learned.

I have been searching a lot, for many weeks and months, but it seems that finding positions online (in Europe, and specifically central Europe) is quite impossible.. Are there any specific channels I should aim for? Or is it because that the positions are not published online?

Any feedback will be highly appreciated.

[5heikki]

Your chances of going abroad for an internship are slim to none. Who have you contacted in Finland? Doing thesis work in industry is rather common practice. For example VTT does lots of bioinfo stuff..

[']

To people reading this thread in the future, don't take the guy above seriously.

Answer 1

[Chirag Nepal]

You should first decide on what topics do you want to do your research internship. I mean, do you want to learn about next generation sequencing (RNA-seq, Chip-seq and so on), phylogeny/evolutionary biology (sequence based comparative genetics), genetics (DNA sequencing of patients), structure predictions and so on ........ Once you know what you want to work on, search labs that do similar research and write to the group leader (PI). As you said, you are not looking for paid internship, i believe you might get an offer. Master internships are generally not advertised on the web, so it may be difficult to find online.

In short, find the labs that you are interested in and write an email to the PI, you are likely to hear back from some of them.

Answer 2

[Benn]

I sometimes get an email from students that look for an internship, without posting/publishing any vacant position here for. I guess they find me on the internet (or linkedIn), and like the institute or subject I am working on.

So my advice, look for a institute or subject of your interest, find a bioinformatician working there (or on it), and ask him/her for an intern position.

[John]

You didn't mention if you ever take any of those interns that e-mail you - but i presume you do? :)

My wet-lab lab also gets these direct "can i do an internship?" mails and we regularly take 4 or 5 a year. However we never get mail for bioinformaticians -- and man, we would love that. Everyone in the lab has some sort of bioinformatic problem going on. We did have a girl recently who knew a bit of R, and she did nothing but analyse data and make plots for 2-3 months. Was very rewarding for the lab... not so sure how enjoyable it was for her, but she never complained, and she got one hell of a good reference :)

tl;dr: Apply apply apply - if they don't respond to your first e-mail write a second to say "you're just following up because you're really motivated" after about a week. Make sure the mail is personalized else its going straight in the trash. etc. As they say, you make your own luck in this world.

[ivivek_ngs]

Very important what John mentioned, neat personalized mail with follow up is a must. Most labs would love to get a masters intern if it is non-paid if you have a motivation that sets your interest. You have to choose a topic as Chirag mentioned. It is important for your knowledge base to have an idea of it so that your application mail is a bit targeted for the lab you are applying. It reminds me of my Master days for pre-apps. You have to keep on applying. Even companies provide such internships and training. Have you checked the CRG internship or here (lists both EU and US paid positions) or even EMBL. I usually prefer paid one since you might have to extend the internship beyond 3 months if its a proper work that your contribute to depending upon skill sets you have or you might acquire. As for non paid am sure if you search you will be able to get something. But as highlighted by others it is important to have an idea of what you want to work and search for labs accordingly and then make pre-apps to the PI or to the Bioinformatics researcher in those lab who might need an intern if they have large number of projects.

[Benn]

Yes we usually take bioinformatics interns via this route, of course if their background is suitable enough. And we give a small financial compensation at our institute (and that's btw for all interns, so not only bioinformatics).

[Sinji]

Wish I would have known about something like this earlier. I would have been interested in applying. I could do with more experience. Need to get rid of bad habits i've undoubtedly developed as the only computational biologist in our lab.

[roma]

We did have a girl recently who knew a bit of R, and she did nothing but analyse data and make plots for 2-3 months. Was very rewarding for the lab... not so sure how enjoyable it was for her, but she never complained, and she got one hell of a good reference :)

This sounds like a sweet deal to me, John. I couldn't figure out how to send you a private message or uncover your email. Could you reply at [e-mail]?

[John]

You seem way over-qualified for a summer internship Roma o_o Besides, I don't make these decisions, by boss does... and a recommendation from me would mean very little to him. If anything it would hurt your chances. You should perhaps try talking to your local University to see if they'll help you out in finding you a place on a summer program.

[dicochea]

Hello John, my name is Nephtali Dicochea. I am a MSc. Bioinformatics student. I am about to conclude my studies this summer. Actually I am looking for a training, internship or job position related with the Biotechnology field where my experience in Bioinformatics and Computer Science may be valuable. I consider myself a very enthusiastic person when it comes to learning and commitment. I would like to ask for experience about this, What would be a good place to apply? If someone is interested or knows something, please you can contact me here or to my email: [e-mail]

I leave this open application and my CV for further information if any future interest, thanks in advance. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5u85HD5zG7OVU55LS1kelV1SVE

Answer 3

[Chris]

You might have a look at the French Bioinformatics Society website: http://www.sfbi.fr/recherche_emplois?field_emploi_type_value[]=155&field_emploi_ville_value=