Internship Feedback

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Bc. Anna Hubatová-Vacková, UCT Prague,

ročník 4

About the country

Location of the place

Sharjah close to the University city. Our apartment was nice, close to the University, but otherwise a bit in the middle of nowhere. It was a bit hard to get around without a car, but not impossible.

City

I really liked Sharjah, actually more than the fancy and polished Dubai. It's very safe, so you can walk around anywhere even after it gets dark, people are friendly.

Surroundings (possible trips, ...)

Dubai, desert and some mountains for hikes, Abu Dhabi is not very far either. I liked our trip to the Hatta kayak place. There's always a lot of stuff to do in Sharjah or Dubai, there are also plenty of sports or arts events going on.

Employer

I liked the university, mainly our Med/Pharma campus, that was much more chilled out and friendly than the main one. It was mixed unlike the main campus that had Women's and Men's part separated.

Work description

I worked on polymeric nanoparticles for extended drug release. Mainly labwork + plus some theoretical research paperwork. The project was really interesting and both of my supervisors were really fun and friendly people.

Salary (sufficient for local conditions?)

The salary itself is quite sufficient, the only problem is that you have to pay for the accommodation for the whole stay plus visa once you arrive and you only get your first salary at the beginning of the following month. You need to bring a lot of money, to begin with, but luckily you also leave with a decent amount when you get home.

Language requirements

Everyone speaks pretty good English and you should, too! All the students at uni have their studies in English, so professors and pretty much everyone is used to people speaking well.

Accommodation (price, who provided it)

25 AED per day / around 750 AED a month. Provided by uni, good quality accommodation. The only downside is it's not easy to get around on weekends and we were staying in a different place then guys.

Social life

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

There was an airport pickup provided by uni, which was really nice. I did not attend many events organized by IAESTE, because sadly I was the last intern to arrive that year and most of the things took place before my arrival (real thumbs down for that, IAESTE UAE). The LC people were really friendly and we were hanging out every now and then in the evenings and on weekends.

Meeting other foreign students

I shared the apartment with other girls and some others lived just next door. It was really nice to spend time with them but it was a bit complicated to meet up with the guys since they were forbidden to enter our accommodation and vice versa.

Sport and culture

There's a nice sports complex to use for free at uni. You can also go for a run if you don't mind some people looking at you like you went crazy. I did it fairly often. If you manage to get your way there, running by Kite Beach is bomb. You can swim in the sea, go, dive, go hike... :)
I also went to a lot of galleries and museums, Dubai Fashion Week and Design Week, there's a lot to attend!

Food, local specialties

Food is YUM. It's easy to find any kind, there's great Arabic food, as well as Indian or any other Asian. Usually got along with falafel n hummus or some Indian. Yum again.

Other information

Possibilites to communicate with the Czech Republic

Fairly hard since the mobile phone providers are blocking internet calls. Etisalat blocked skype during my stay there, the only place where it worked since then was the Uni and a bunch of cafes. Messaging and emails work normally. Did not try the post.