Through IAESTE, I was able to undertake an internship at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway. Trondheim is city that revolves around the university. While the semester is running, the city is full and during the holidays, it is a ghost town. It was a truly amazing place to conduct an internship. When I arrived at the airport in Trondheim I was picked up by a Norwegian IAESTE committee member. He organised my accommodation and took me on a tour around the city the next day. He even took me to work on my first day. The entire process of getting set up was extremely easy thanks to IAESTE.

My internship lasted for 5 and a half months and it snowed for more than half of that time. The snow and ice were fun for a while until it got so dangerous, I had to take the bus to work every day. My work at NTNU involved lithium-ion battery recycling research. I really enjoyed working in the lab but didn’t enjoy the theory work as much. However, it was a great experience and allowed me to understand that I don’t want to work in research in the future.

Throughout my internship, IAESTE organised so many amazing events. Every week we met up for a Norwegian tradition, cake and beer. During this time, I was able to catch up with the other interns in Trondheim and the IAESTE committee members. The most amazing event organised by IAESTE was an artic trip to Svalbard. Whilst there we stayed in Longyearbyen, the northernmost town in the world. It was blistering cold, but my trusty Kathmandu jacket kept me warm. Svalbard is unlike anywhere else in the world and I would recommend anyone to go there. Funnily enough that was where I met the only other Australian on my entire trip, working as a husky trainer.

During my internship I made so many friends from many different countries. I had the opportunity to visit them in their hometowns in Spain, Italy and Germany after I completed my internship. It was really great to visit these places with locals, I got to see so many things and eat so many foods that tourists miss out on. My IAESTE internship was an experience that I will never forget and one of the greatest decisions of my life.