Student Experiences
2019 Fall interns (AS-VN)
Dang Truc Quynh
Mentor: Dr. Pei-Wen Hsiao
A BEAUTIFUL MILESTONE OF MINE
I was lucky to be an intern of AS-VN 2019 Internship Program for two wonderful weeks at Academia Sinica, one of the most cutting-edge academic institutes in the world. This internship has given me numerous opportunities to experience modern scientific biotechnologies, to see how science bring the people from all over the world together.
Being a clinical physician who works directly with patients, everything at ABRC, Academia Sinica seemed so overwhelmed to me when I first arrived. I was fully supported by my advisor, Professor Pei-Wen Hsiao and all lab members, especially Yu-Chih Yang, the lab manager. Yu-Chih, as well as Yi-Chun, Chih-Yu, Ming-Jane, Shih-Chuan and Gyaltsen were so kind and supportive that they instructed me through many lab experiments and answered all my questions. I soon felt like at home and I am grateful for that.
At Academia Sinica, I also had chances to attend the seminars, to experience the 2019 Open House and to see how well the collaborations between different institutes were made. All of these have brightened my knowledge, inspired me to research and urged me to spread this precious opportunity to my students.
Besides working, Taipei has treated me with remarkable weather, cuisine, traveling and friendly people. I have been through many sunny days with light breeze, sometimes there was the rain which seemed to be endless and some were windy and bitingly cold – all of these reminded me of my hometown, Vietnam. I tasted and enjoyed many signature dishes of Taiwan like xiaolongbao, beef noodles, stinky tofu, pineapple cake and I could not help mentioning pearl milk tea. I was really impressed by the convenient transportation system of Taiwan, which I have tried traveling by bus, metro, local train and HRT to many famous sightseeing places. It was so fascinating that it took only more than 2 hours to get to Kaohsiung from Taipei.
Lastly, I want to say thank you to Ms Liangmeng Ouyang at TIGP office and Ms Connie Chuang at TIGP Dormitory, who have settled everything for all Vietnamese interns. Thanks to TIGP that organized such an wonderful program like this. Without you, we could not have our successful internships.
Kha Doan Le Uyen
Mentor: Dr. Allen Chen
To begin with, I still remember the moment when I was accepted to become an intern in Academia Sinica. I was a little bit confused because the project conducted in Sinica was totally new and different to my research field. Commonly, everybody would feel nervous in that case, and I was not an exception. However, the trip turned out to be the most wonderful opportunity I had ever gone through since then. Sinica offers scientists an international environment with eye-opening experiences, which not only improved my research skills but also taught me how to adjust myself quickly to new situations.
In terms of research, Sinica education system focusing on training students to think independently and creatively, which appeals to young researchers who are on the edge of starting a career and shaping their life freely. Taipei is a captivating city that nurtures students with a wealth of cultural, artistic and natural scenes. Having a chance to learn and practice in Sinica was a fantastic experience, especially in one of the prestigious institute in Taiwan.
In addition, two months are considered a short period, but the knowledge that I gained after completing this internship program was far more tremendous. I want to express my affectionate and sincere gratitude to professors Chaolun Allen Chen, Dr. Yayi Huang and my friend, Tony, for their valuable suggestions, advice, comments, corrections and supports not only at that time when I was in Sinica but also when I came back to Vietnam. Besides doing lab-work, they even offered me field trips and international conferences. They were so patient when helping and watching me improve myself day-by-day. Furthermore, I would also like to acknowledge all members of the Molecular Ecology Lab, who provided me professional guidance about both scientific research and life in general. I vividly remember my instructors said that all they wanted was to educate and inspire young students to pursue their career as a scientist. They did it! This two-month internship was a favorable milestone for me to pursue my higher education as I am eager to learn and research more in-depth into what I conducted in Sinica.
Nguyen Ngoc Tuyet Anh
Mentor: Dr. Ing-Shouh Hwang
To become a part of Vietnamese interns is one of the best things that happened in my life.
To become a part of Vietnamese interns is one of the best things that happened in my life, especially for a recent graduate. Working and gaining useful experiences at AS inspired me a lot, and I realized how real science is. Three months is not much, but enough for me to change my point of view, to crave for conquering the world, not only in academic knowledge but also the enjoyable moments, culture, people, nature and so on.
About my studies, the first approaches to world-class machines made me excited. In AS, they usually open colloquium or seminar sections from Nobel laureates or professors. To be an honor to meet and interact with them help me to be eye-opened, enrich my knowledge and obtain many ideas when I was there. Besides, events in AS make me absorbed many cultures from international friends over the world. I am grateful for that. Outbound AS, I have some time on weekends to discover the city. I was in most of the tourist attractions in Taipei. Taiwan is a beautiful country, which has a rich history and friendly people so that I had enjoyable moments in there.
At last, I want to say thank you to Prof. Hwang, who allowed me to come to Taiwan, and people in his lab supported me a lot during the internship. Thank you so much, Ms. Ouyang, you were enthusiastic about helping us prepare documents to apply for the visa and hold the AS-VN events. I hope you have good health and keep your great job. I long to visit all of you and apply for TIGP for PhD someday when I get enough solid knowledge and experience. I hope I can keep my studies until that time.
Phu Le Truong
Mentor: Dr. Yane-Shih Wang
Wonderful!
“Wonderful” is the most suitable word I would like to say when I think of the 3-month intern-trip in Academia Sinica held by TIGP. I have not only learned and broaden my horizons in my field but also charmed by the friendly citizen in Taipei. Thanks to Dr. Yane-Shih Wang, who is my mentor, he gave me a golden chance to corporate with all the members in his lab so that I could also contribute my work to his project. During this time, I was acquired tons of new knowledge in both the main field and modern machines in his lab. I am confident that this experience has sharpened my research skills.
Furthermore, my internship could not be so successful without all the lab members. They were kind and always tried to help me with the experiments and my social life; for instance, they showed me some great places I should visit in my spare time. When I had a poor research outcome, they encouraged me and cheered me up.
Thus, I feel confident and proud to say "Wonderful" when someone asks me how my three-month internship in Academia Sinica was. In fact, more than 100 friends asked me about my internship experience, and I guided them to apply for the next internship program in Academia Sinica. Once again, thanks to TIGP for organizing a wonderful program.
Phuong Huynh Uyen Nguyen
Mentor: Dr. Hsiung-Lin Tu
This internship program was a valuable experience for me. I have met so many lovely people in Taiwan, and I had a chance to work with my mentor, Dr. Hsiung-Lin Tu, the kindest and most supportive supervisor I have ever worked with.
Below are a few pages of slides to show you my experience at AS.
Phuong Huynh Uyen Nguyen's sharing.pdfTIGP PhD student
Linh-Nam Nguyen
(Nano program, studied from 2007-2013)
Study and Research in TIGP Program on "Nano Science and Technology", a memorable journey
It can be said that this is a really difficult and challenging period of my life but also full of experiences for myself. I could not forget the first impression when I arrived in Taipei with the warm welcome of faculty members at the TIGP program, the modernity of research equipment in labs and living conditions at the TIGP dormitory. I always remember many days of studying with my friends in the IoP library or TIGP dormitory and how much happiness we had when all of us passed the quality exam. I also can't forget the days when I worked with Prof. Chii-Dong Chen and my amazing colleagues at the Quantum physics laboratory. Feelings of difficulties in research and joy and happiness when having valuable research results are always deep in my memories so that whenever I look back, I take that as motivation for myself to overcome and fulfill other challenges in work and life. And of course, the last but not least, Taipei in particular and Taiwan in general are an excessive place for living with warm people and beautiful landscapes.
I want to take this opportunity to thank from bottom of my heart for all kindly help and support from a number of amazing people that I had the good fortune to associate with at Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica. For all the kind help throughout my PhD life and also TIGP-AS for giving me a great change to study in Taiwan.
Bokky, D.C. Nguyen
(Nano program, studied from 2009-2017)
First, TIGP and Academia Sinica offer you benefits of an international study environment in both your professional development and nurture as a human being.
Engaging in this multicultural environment might build up skills to deal with some possibly substantial obstacles and misconception at the first place. Gradually getting to understand the habits of other people, due to different backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs, can open you up to new and exciting experiences. You also have an opportunity to learn new languages, which is definitely advantageous for relationship building and, in future, your financial success in a globally economized world.
Second, TIGP is a platform for upgrading your research ability.
Besides organizing regular classes, seminars, and workshops, TIGP and Academia Sinica often conduct distinguished lectures and inspiring colloquiums by outstanding scientists, offering an invaluable chance for participants to interact with great scientists, especially, Nobel laureates. Travel grants for attending conferences/workshops abroad are also available. Idiosyncratically, the tireless support from advisors and the academic system here allows an apprentice like me to have a full commitment to the direction of research. Consequently, years of endeavor have changed me into a skillful individual with a humble start of my research career. I have successfully switched my major from biotechnology, as my earlier background, to engineering and physics at present, which I believe to be feasible only at TIGP.
Third, your PhD time at TIGP will undoubtedly be ample of unforgettable moments.
I immensely reminisce the PhD qualifying written exam. It was so arduous that passing it can be considered a proud triumph. It is deeply memorablehaving spent lengthy beam-time at National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center for characterizing specimens. At times when emotion control became in need, my advisor became a great guide to hold me persistent and ceaseless in moving forward with research. My younger brother then joined me in another TIGP program, the Molecular Science and Technology Program. It was blissful seeing him graduate earlier this month as well. Such memories will become parts of my history.