For how long did you stay abroad?
2.5 months and 2 months
Why did you choose to learn abroad?
I’ve always wanted to travel and I thought combining research experience with abroad experience was an excellent opportunity to try both.
Professionally, I’ve refined my communication skills and technical skills within the lab.
What are the specific skills that you learned or developed?
I’ve become a lot more culturally open and understanding of others. I’ve learned to communicate with people from all walks of life. Additionally, I’ve learned the basic lab skills during my time in research while abroad.
What benefits did you get from the experience?
It was an incredible experience to explore new cities and learn more about different cultures. I’ve also gained valuable friendships with the people I’ve met abroad. Professionally, I’ve refined my communication skills and technical skills within the lab.
Please, name 2 challenges that you faced and how you overcame them in your experience.
While in Singapore, I became very homesick. To resolve this, my friend and I decided to explore Singapore and find new exciting things to love about the culture and the city. We both ended up falling in love with Singapore and it helped with the homesickness!
While in New Delhi, I felt very unsafe while travelling at night. Since I was working in the lab full-time, my free time during weekdays were only in the evenings. Once I expressed my concerns with my lab supervisor, we arranged a slightly different schedule which allowed me to run errands during my lunch break and work longer into the evenings.
Would you recommend learning abroad to a friend? Why?
Yes, definitely! I think going and learning abroad helps you grow personally and professionally. Living, studying and working in a brand new environment is exciting and pushed me past my comfort zone. Due to my experience abroad, I feel more confident and capable of myself to navigate new challenges that I may come across.
Due to my experience abroad, I feel more confident and capable of myself to navigate new challenges that I may come across.
