I only got to go on an internship during my doctoral studies. Until then, I could not go out for personal and financial reasons. So it was an Erasmus+ practical internship in Ghent, Belgium. By the way, I already looked after the first internship 2 years earlier (Asia and Austria), and I had an internship arranged in Austria. However, due to the pandemic, I did not go.
I planned the internship with an emphasis on the intersection of the research topics of the organization and my dissertation. CTSE in Ghent under UGent is working on textile thermocouples, and my topic is textile temperature sensors, one type of which is thermocouples. The intersection of the work sphere was, therefore, perfect. In addition, my Belgian mentor and I collaborated on a project last year.
The choice of the workplace, mainly from a practical reason, had the disadvantage that the resulting location was not the closest choice to my heart in terms of the lack of mountains. However, BeNeLux makes up for this disadvantage with an ideal cycling environment and many historic cities. Although my weak point is language education, I was unafraid and hoped to improve.
Of course, planning a trip requires bureaucratic steps; in my case, there were more. Due to the high prices in Belgium, I have secured additional financial resources, including a contribution from the incentive system and a foundation contribution. I was also significantly supported by the home department, which directly supports trips with a contribution, etc. The bureaucratic steps are easily manageable, and the pleasant lady from the rectorate helped me with any snags.
I booked the accommodation several months in advance through Airbnb in a shared house, and I have no objections. I chose this accommodation because the dormitory was at a similar price, i.e., overpriced by our standards. And that brings me to the already mentioned issue: Belgium and prices. Due to the accommodation prices, I could not finance the internship in Belgium with the Erasmus+ contribution alone. Food prices are affordable. Restaurants with reasonable prices can be found here, and specifically, in the university city of Ghent, student discounts also work. Beer is more expensive in Belgium than here, as in most of Europe. By the way, according to the beer menu, Belgium is obviously one of the beer superpowers... I was also in a pub with 300 types of beer, of which approx. 25 types were on tap.
The trip was beneficial for work and travel as well. On the weekend, I always went on a day trip around Belgium and the border (weekend return train ticket is half price). I experienced an exceptionally sunny autumn there, so I also rode a bike a lot. I flew to Barcelona for 3 days on a low-cost basis, which was one of my dreams.
I recommend the experience of a study or work internship to everyone. I myself hope to go somewhere else. I think an internship will help a person become bolder, give him a higher perspective and improve communication. Seeing the lifestyle and system of another culture can significantly enrich a person. I would like to wish everyone only good experiences when traveling, many pleasant meetings, and peace and well-being.
