Ireland is very beautiful and positive country. People there are very nice and everything is lovely for them even though it is raining too often ;)

Although the Northern Ireland is a part of UK, the Irish culture with Irish pub style and its music is dominating.

Belfat is very nice and historical city. However, there were many problems in the past (The Troubles in the last century), right now it is one of the safest places in the world. Everything is close, you can walk through the city without need to use a bus. And it has many beautiful buildings.

Belfast is also known for the Titanic story - the ship was built there, by company Harland & Wolff. There is a big museum now telling the whole story with local background.

Ireland is quite small country and has plenty of places to visit. You can go to Dublin by bus, that takes 2 hours. I would also recommend Giant´s Causeway, that is very nice coastal place. Northern Ireland has recently became turisticaly popular due to the Game of Thrones broadcasting that takes place in several places in their beautiful nature. There are many companies organising trips to these places, so just choose one and go ;)

All the scientists at the School of Pharmacy were very proffesional and helpful. I met Professor Donnelly the first day I came, then I became a part of the research group. I have got a supervisor to take care of me and I was never bored, learning new things and doing a lot of experiments.

Although I am a chemical engineer, I had an opportunity to became part of a pharmacy group. I was working with proteins and did some analysis (ELISA, BCA analysis etc.). I hadn´t known much about it before, but they taught me everything, and I learned a lot.

The salary wasn´t too high but it was enough to live, travel and sometimes go to Primark ;)

English! ;) Irish English is a wee specific (wee= Irish "bit") and you can have difficulties to understand at the start of your stay. Some iIish people don´t really understand that they have to slow down because they don´t speak to a native speaker. But on the other hand, they are other international people withEenglish that is not perfect, so I wouldn´t be afraid ;) Take it as a challenge.

Firstly, I lived at the Guthrie House, that is part of the student accommodation. But it wasn´t possible to stay there in September, when the university starts and students come back to their rooms. Then I was looking for another possibility and there is plenty of them in the city. You can check websites as https://www.propertypeopleni.com/ or spareroom.co.uk.

LC member contacted me few days prior to my arrival and we arranged the pick-up. He told me how to get to the city from the airport and picked me up at the bus station. Then he took me to the office for accommodation and showed me my room.

As for the events, every week there was a meeting with other trainees in some bar and there were weekend trips organised for us. We were in touch all the time, during my stay.

All the trainees lived in one place - at the university accommodation. Therefore we were meeting each other almost every day. Although every trainee was working in another place, we spent a lot of time together during evenings. There were students from Germany, France, Rusia, Austria, Spain etc.

There was not much time for any sport except for running. On the other hand, we enjoyed the local culture much more. There is very typical Irish pub culture. You can go to the pub or the bar any day of the week, and you will get the pint of beer (Guiness) or Irish cider. Very often you can listen to the Irish music from band playing inside the pub.

Another nice thing is 9x10 - story telling. 9 stories, each for 10 minutes with topic given. This takes place in one bar in the city centre and is worth visiting, fun included.

If you stay in Belfast also in September, don´t forget to go to the city during the Culture night. At that time, the city is alive, with many performances and special events during the day and night. Ask at the visitor centre for more information.

There is not much food typical only for Ireland. They have the same fish & chips as in Great Britain. Also, they have special local caramel called fudge. But besides that, they eat a lot of foreign cuisine (mexican, asian etc.)

Without any problem. The time difference is only 1 hour and with no roaming (even in Northern Ireland), the possibilities are the same as at home ;)

Don´t forget umbrella and shoes suitable for rainy weather. Be ready for cool climate - even during the summer the weather is like czech autumn - around 15 degrees with lot of rain.

For working in the lab, you need to have your lab coat (you can get some in there but it is better to have yours). You don´ t need to take a lab book - you´ll get one there, but this one will have to stay at the university (so that they can go through your notes after you leave).

Better understanding of native spoken English. The first time it was a bit shocking but you get used to that.
Getting new knowledge about the research in pharmacy.
Enjoying the free time there.

Without any problem - the LC president was always available and ready to help with anything. We also met other LC members who were also helpful and very nice. Moreover, there is a girl in charge of the organisational stuff that is also very helpful.