How I Ended Up Doing My Summer Internship at RIKEN AIP
Looking back, doing an internship abroad is something my past self three years ago could never have imagined. As an undergraduate, I already knew RIKEN was one of Japan's most prominent research institutes, and I thought it would be incredibly cool to one day work there as a research scientist, especially after seeing a presentation by an Indonesian researcher who was part of RIKEN.
Long story short, I continued my master’s degree at MBZUAI, where both MSc and PhD students are required to complete at least one summer internship. Like many others, I started applying in my first semester, sending out emails to labs and professors because I knew I wanted a research internship rather than an industry one. After all, my goal is to become a scientist. As expected, the process was a mix of rejections, unavailable positions, and even some acceptances without funding.
Then, during a 1-on-1 meeting with my supervisor, Prof. Kentaro Inui, he asked me, “Why not go to Tohoku?” I was thrilled at the idea and immediately said yes. As the process moved forward, I received even better news: I might be able to join with funding support from RIKEN AIP through its OSC 2.0 program. What a wonderful surprise! Thank you so much, RIKEN! 😄
Arriving at Sendai
Working at Tohoku NLP Lab
Enjoying Japan
Go back to Abu Dhabi