I am thrilled to have such a wonderful opportunity to participate in a five-month Erasmus+ internship, working with a research group at the Department for Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacy, University of Bern. As a doctoral student, I value learning from and collaborating with individuals from other research groups. My home group focuses on traditional computer-aided drug design (CADD), while the group I worked with during my internship focused more on advanced cheminformatics techniques. This opportunity allowed me to extend the main project of my PhD study and facilitated future collaboration between groups.
Throughout my internship, I worked closely with my supervisor and colleagues. In the beginning, we shared insights from our original research groups. I also gave a presentation at the group meeting to introduce my project and what I hope to do during my internship. The supervisor was quite supportive and approached the room where the PhD students work every day, so I also got chances to talk to him daily whenever I had questions or had something to share. I was also very happy to share a common research interest with one PhD student in that group. We talked with each other daily and have set a collaboration to proceed with the project together. I acquired new skills in cheminformatics, including the implementation of deep learning models and the visualisation of large chemical spaces.
It is very pleasant to live and study in Bern. Bern is a beautiful city with both historical and natural Swiss scenery. I lived in a flat located in the old town of Bern, belted by a super clean and blue river. With a classic vibe, there are many fancy stores as well as sophisticated local stores worth exploring. Out of the cityscape, Bern is surrounded by hills. Going hiking there on the weekend is quite pleasant. It’s also possible to reach the top by cable car. I visited Gurten Mountain one night by cable car and was able to see the breathtaking sunsets and incomparable starry skies, which would definitely be one of the most beautiful memories in my life.
Besides having fun in Bern, because of the well-developed transportation network in Switzerland, it is quite convenient to go to other cities and mountains for hiking.
Tips for other Interns
Preparation
Get the confirmation from the host university first and then start to prepare the application files for Erasmus+ funding
Visa Appplication
As a non-European citizen, it is not required to apply for a Switzerland visa because I have a European visa when I live in Germany.
Search for an Apartment
Starting from what I wanted to learn to address the research obstacles during my PhD study, I contacted the professor in my major whom I got to know once when I participated in an international academic conference. Before I contacted the Professor, I carefully navigated the website of this research group and read their publications to ensure I could get help if I got to visit this research group.
Search for an Apartment
Firstly, I tried some commercial websites like Flatfox but found no suitable accommodations. Then, I contacted the secretary of the hosting group and got a link provided by Universität Bern. On this webpage, it lists plentiful sources I could explore. For the sake of sharing, I put the link here for those who would like to go to Bern in Switzerland for training. https://www.unibe.ch/university/campus_and_infrastructure/living_in_bern/accommodation livi ng/index_eng.html
Insurance
I bought DAAD group insurance https://www.daad.de/en/the-daad/what-we-do/insurance/ to cover my stay in Switzerland. However, after I arrived in Switzerland, I was required to apply for an exemption from compulsory health insurance in Switzerland. Therefore, for convenience, I would recommend having insurance provided by a Swiss insurance company.
Formalities on Site
Telefon-/Internet
I bought the SIM card provided by Salt. The network connection is stable in most places. However, I heard from some locals that some other small companies are available to provide telephone service at relatively lower prices, but the network connection could be not that stable in some places.
Bank/Accountopening
I didn’t open a new bank account with any Swiss bank. Instead, I kept using my Commerzbank (German bank) card and applied for a Wise account for currency transfer. It’s easy to open a Wise account and use it in most daily shopping scenarios.
Other
In terms of public transportation, I would highly recommend getting the half-fare card provided by SBB for those who plan to stay in Switzerland for a long time, like half a year, or who plan to take the train quite often for travelling during the stay. The half-fare card provides a great deal in those cases.
Everyday/Leisure
Going-out Activities
Bern is a small city where you can explore almost of the main sights in one day. However, public transportation is highly developed and makes it very convenient to go to other Swiss cities and do natural sightseeing for at most around four to five hours. Therefore, it could be quite nice to take the train to go to nearby mountains for hiking.