Summer Scholarship for High School Students

Hanna Kunatowska, Tycho Braheskolan in Helsingborg

“I heard about the summer scholarship at NanoLund through a former scholarship holder who gave a presentation about her experience. After getting an idea of what it meant, I thought it seemed fun and educational, especially for those who are thinking about a future in research, which I am. Before coming to NanoLund, I didn’t know much about what nanoscience was, other than that it was about very small things. 

The first thing I noticed when I started my internship was how international the workplace is. People from all over the world come to NanoLund to do research and collaborate, which I personally thought was cool to see. The most fun has probably been to go into the labs and see how research works in practice, especially when it comes to things that you can’t even see with the naked eye. The strangest thing I’ve experienced is when we had to go into the clean room and wear protective clothing, you almost felt like a surgeon. (A clean room is a lab where the air has lower levels of small particles than usual.)

After high school, I’m thinking about studying science or engineering, but my ultimate dream is to work as a science journalist. 

My time at NanoLund has definitely influenced how I look at my future plans. First of all, I realised that a lot of science is done between different disciplines, such as physics and chemistry or physics and biology. There are many interesting interdisciplinary subjects that you don’t hear about in high school that I now find fascinating. Secondly, I have realised that it is very useful to know English if you want to do research in the future, not least because you will probably need to speak English with your colleagues, but also because many scientific papers are written in English. 

Here we are cutting “silicon wafers” that we have produced ourselves.

Here we control an electron microscope called SEM, we have been able to look at hairs, a bee, and aluminum particles that we created ourselves.

Olivia Söderberg from S:t Petri skola, Malmö

“Before the summer, my teacher told me that this summer scholarship existed and then I became curious and looked up what areas you could work in. When I saw that there was an opportunity to follow several different PhD students doing research in nanophysics at Lund University, I was immediately interested. I have always had thoughts of doing research, mainly in physics and I thought that this gave me the opportunity to see the reality of what it is like to do research in a professional workplace as I have only previously conducted labs at school.” 

How did you find out about becoming a summer fellow through the Research Network?

“I learnt about it from my mentor, who told me that there was an opportunity to apply for the Research Network Summer Scholarship before the applications were due.”

What did you know about nanoscience before you came here?

”I had some knowledge of physics, but not so much of nanotechnology. I only knew the basics, such as that nanoscience research is conducted at the nanoscale. 

The first thing I noticed here was how big the nano research centre at Lund University was. There were an incredible number of different devices that were all being used to conduct different types of research, which was very interesting.

What has been the most fun was working practically in the labs. Before we worked practically, we always had interesting theory sessions where we learned about the purpose of each PhD student’s research and how to apply that research to solve different problems. By then getting to work practically, you get an insight into how it feels to be able to apply your theories and then come up with innovative solutions that hopefully support these theories. It was then that I really got an insight into what it feels like to conduct research in a workplace and it was then that I felt that I want to focus on a career in the future where I get the opportunity to be able to do research and working in a laboratory was really something for me.”

What has been most peculiar about being here?

“The most unusual thing was that we got to go and look around inside the clean rooms. In these rooms, it is very important that not too many particles enter, so you have to put on special suits and make sure that you wipe and disinfect all the objects that you bring into the cleanrooms.” 

What are you planning to do after high school?

“After high school, I plan to attend a science programme at university where I can then conduct research in my chosen field. I will probably start by choosing a bachelor’s degree in physics.”

How has your stay at NanoLund affected your future plans?

“Yes, it has given me an insight into what it is really like to be a researcher and what it means to be a PhD student. This insight has drastically increased my interest in research as I now feel more and more confident that the research industry is for me.”

Clara Eneroth, Filbornaskolan, Helsingborg

“We found out about the summer scholarship through our school, where they presented it well. I thought it was an interesting concept to learn about nanotechnology, follow different researchers in their work, and to get a scholarship for this. It felt like a good insight into physics and possible future science studies for us. ”

How did you hear about becoming a summer fellow through Research Network?

“The school advertised it, and my older friend was a fellow at another institution last summer, and she recommended it.” 

What did you know about nanoscience before you came here?

“Absolutely nothing! I knew that nanoparticles were very small, as I associated them with the unit nanometre. I knew it was some kind of research in the field of physics that can be applied in many different technological industries, but that’s all I knew. 

The first thing I noticed at NanoLund was probably how there were so many different research groups with completely different specialisations working together, in the same department, and partly in the same lab. That the research carried out at the nano labs can be used for everything from engineering and electronics to medicine and biology, and that the different researchers take help from and are very interested in each other’s studies, even if they are so different from their own.” 

What has been the most fun?

“The fact that we have been able to follow so many different scientists who are doing research in completely different areas, even though they are working on basically the same thing, in the same institution. Everything from pure theoretical physics, to experimental physics, to biology and technology.” 

What has been the strangest thing?

“I would spontaneously say that the most remarkable thing has been to see how much the PhD students get to experiment themselves in the labs they work in. Almost everyone has been allowed to build their own fairly advanced equipment and most of them have the freedom to take various self-selected sidetracks and study what interests them at the time. The fact that they use ordinary tape and clips when building their own lab equipment, and that they are allowed to be so creative, was very surprising to see. The use of a simple microwave oven to pump different gases and generate plasma in a clean room was also surprising. All this makes their very advanced work seem more mundane and free, and it was fun and almost relieving to see.” 

What are your plans after high school?

“I’ve always felt that I wanted to continue studying right after high school. Since I spent my high school years mainly studying the natural sciences, and I've been more interested in biology and physics than maths and chemistry, I've been determined that I want to continue studying science, but I haven’t really known whether I wanted to focus on biology or physics. 

My stay at NanoLund has influenced my future plans to the extent that I have become more interested in continuing to study physics after high school. The researchers we have accompanied these weeks have broadened my horizons and made me realise that the subject of physics, even the specification of nanotechnology, is much broader and applicable to society than one might first think. Discussing education and future plans with the PhD students we have met has made us realise that there is a wide range of career opportunities to pursue after studying nanotechnology. Moreover, the technology could change the world in the future in a number of different categories, from healthcare to electronics.”