United States
This is an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project of Leiden University’s Faculty of Medicine with The Wistar Institute in the United States.
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Interview
In her project, Jolanda van der Zee, Programme Director of the Master Biomedical Sciences, focuses on the exchange of Leiden University students. With the ICM grant, research master students are able to do an internship at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia.
Internship in Biomedical Sciences
What is the goal of the exchange programme with the Wistar Institute?
'We want to give master students in Biomedical Sciences the opportunity to broaden their horizons and do research at in internationally leading research institute. Not only will they be able to gain important experience in doing research, but also will they get to know other working methods and cultural contexts that are different from what they are used to. This provides them with the unique opportunity to further develop themselves both as researchers and young professionals.'
Which activities do you wish to carry out with the awarded ICM grant?
'As part of the two-year programme of the research master Biomedical Sciences, students have to do a long research internship during their second year. Yearly, the ICM grant will provide two students with financial support to do their internships at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia. Since studying in the United States is very expensive, the ICM grant is important to enable internships at Wistar.'
Why is international cooperation so important within your field of expertise?
'Research in the Life Sciences is done all over the world. We are observing that important developments in this field of expertise are arise through international collaboration. The Leiden BioScience Park is a good example of this, as there are major international players looking for cooperation with Leiden University.
For many students, their second research internship is an important step towards a PhD. Sending our students to the Wistar Institute, we also aim to foster cooperation between researchers from the LUMC and Wistar. We will then be able to work on the development of a joint PhD programme.
Apart from that, we will try to intensify our cooperation with the education programmes by giving lectures and (online) workshops. By doing so, not only the ICM students going to the United States will benefit from the cooperation, but also many other master students.'
Read this interview and two interviews with other ICM project coordinators on the university website.