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Mgr. Kateřina Garguláková, Masaryk University, ročník 5

Faculty Faculty of Science
Field of study Experimental Biology
Field of internship Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Specialization of InternshipMolecular Biology
Internship period (from - to) 4.7.2016 - 26.8.2016
Internship duration (weeks) 8
Transport (means, price) plane (price is hard to say - I traveled both on my way there and back)
Insurance/Insurance company Union (1900 Kč) - against illness, liability, accidents
Visa/Work permit (yes/no) no
Price of Visa -
City of Internship Zobrazit místo na mapě  United Kingdom, Cardiff
Internship reference number UK-2016-201-04

About the country

Location of the place

Cardiff is the capital of Wales, located on the very south of the country.

City

There are app 350 000 inhabitants in the city, it is quite a compact city - I didn´t use public transport at all

Surroundings (possible trips, ...)

Welsh countryside is charming, definitely worth to explore - sheep, horses, cliffs, beaches, castles, highlands...
Possible trips:
- Dunraven Bay
- Tintern Abbey
- Castle Coch
- Brecon Beacons - national park of Wales
- Tenby
- Barry Island
- Bristol (England)
- London (cheap coaches)
- Rhossili Beach - one of the most beautiful beaches in UK
- Gower - rural peninsula, wild horses, cows, sheep, castles, beaches, ...

Employer

Employer

Cardiff University - European Cancer Stem Cells Research Institute

Work description

Immunofluorescence - staining and microscopy
Light microscopy - staining for mast cells
Organoid culture and drug treatment (cisplatin)
DNA damage
RT - qPCR - expression analyses

Salary (sufficient for local conditions?)

536 pounds/ 2 weeks - enough for living and trips

Language requirements

excellent english

Accommodation (price, who provided it)

It is always possible to stay at the residences which are quite expensive (400 pounds per month) but you can find cheaper accommodation in a shared flat. Good location to stay is Cathays - walking distance both to the uni and the city centre.
I had a double bed room in a shared flat for 310 pounds/month. I shared the kitchen and bathroom with one flatmate.
Found it here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1601939006762459/
You can also check out spareroom.co.uk, gumtree.com

Social life

Meeting IAESTE members (pick-up at the airport, organized events...)

There is no LC in Wales, no organized trips, no meetings, no pick-up, no back-up...
Anyways the people in charge of the IAESTE-British Council cooperation got us in touch with other trainees who stayed in Cardiff. We managed to go for trips every weekend and meetup for drinks, picnic, frisbee etc.
Other local committees in the UK (especially Scotland) do prepare summer events and always invite people from all over and help them to find their way and a place to stay.

Meeting other foreign students

as mentioned above

Sport and culture

Sport
Rugby is a big topic here - the season nevertheless starts in September. Football fans are around. Kayaking would be an activity to do here, surfing at some beaches, too. Big city parks (Bute and Roath) suitable for running and cycling. There are several swimming pools in the city, gyms, yoga classes.

Culture
There is a theatre and a cinema in the city. Also there are places with live music, clubs, traditional pubs, food festivals during summer,...

Food, local specialties

Shortbread if you like treats, welshcakes is traditional
Greggs is a good place to buy your snacks - fresh and cheap, good coffee
For grocery shopping go to Lidl, I assume it´s the cheapest and good food
Poundland - everything for 1 pound - good to buy SOME staff

Other information

Possibilites to communicate with the Czech Republic

Skype, Facebook, Whatsapp
You can also get a good SIM deal with free international minutes (including data)

Recommendations for students who will go to the same place

Get data asap - it´s easy to get lost so google maps might be a good thing to have
Go to the countryside - leave the city, go explore
Going by train, weekends are the off-peak hours so the tickets are cheaper, also the price goes down when you travel in a group (possibility to buy group ticket only in the station) or/ and round
The bigger the traveling distance, the train ticket prices go higher - go by bus then. Megabus has some incredibly cheap rides, especially if you take a night bus

What not to forget with you

plug adapter, type Europe to UK - you can eventually buy one here for app. 3 pounds (or for 1 pound in Poundland but that one is only 1 A - good for a charger etc. but not for a laptop)

Benefits of the internship

I have learnt a lot in the lab, I have worked independently and became confident, learnt a lot of new techniques, got a great picture how research laboratories work, met a lot of people from almost everywhere :-)

Cooperation with IAESTE in the foreign country

I got in touch with IAESTE Glasgow via fb and asked for advice - since there´s none in Wales. They were very helpful.

Overall experience with IAESTE

very good :-)

Student's website

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Employer's webiste

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/cancer-stem-cell

Other useful links

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Other comments

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