Cet été, découvrez chaque semaine le portrait de nos étudiant.e.s de M1 qui sont actuellement en mobilité internationale.

Aujourd’hui c’est Ethan, étudiant dans le parcours High Frequency Electronics & Photonics qui fait sa mobilité au Biophotonics Engineering Laboratory, Séoul (Corée du sud) et qui répond en anglais.

1. What is your background ?

My name is Ethan, I have a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics, Automation and Information Processing from Evry Paris-Saclay and I am now doing a Master in High Frequency Electronics and Photonics in Limoges University.

2. Mobility abroad is compulsory in M1 EUR, were you apprehensive about this mobility?

I was really looking forward to this internship abroad, being given the opportunity to travel to a new country and study there as well as to discover that country is really exciting.

3. How did the internship search go and how did you choose your internship location?

I wanted my internship to be in the field of photonics, Therefore I was advised to use the student chapter of Optica in Limoges to establish a contact with the student chapter in South Korea. They were very friendly and welcoming, and after a couple emails I asked them if I could do an internship in their lab, to which they said yes.

I wanted this internship to be in an Asian country as I was hoping to discover this culture that is very different from ours in France, whether we talk about living, studying or working and Japan and South Korea were the two countries I was looking for the most, seeing a lot of my fellow classmates in EUR wanting to go to Japan, I picked South Korea so that I could experience this on my own and develop on the personal plan.

4. What is your internship topic?

My internship subject is theoretical and experimental basics of plasmonic biosensing.

5. What are your internship missions like?

The internship was going pretty slow in the beginning, as I was simply reading research papers and doing a bit of programming for 1 and a half month, but lately I have been able to work in the lab on some experiments which is what I was hoping for. The team was very welcoming with me from the start, they showed me around the university a lot and we eat lunch together often.

I usually arrive at the lab at around 10.30am, before no one is here, and I would work either on programming simulations for the upcoming experiment of the lab or read research papers on the experiments that we are trying to recreate to understand what is happening. On some days I would also go to the laboratory to gather data or build an experimental setup.

6. Do have a travel story to share? Any cultural shock there?

I have so many to be honest but one thing really chocking is that stores stay open all day and night, clothing malls would close at around 10~11pm, and Seoul particularly is as lively at night as it is during the day.

7. What advice would you give to future students who are going to do their mobility?

I think choosing the right country is the most important part, the internship subject may not be the best one but it does not matter if you enjoy living and discovering the country for the few months you get to spend there.