Visiting Internship Insights – Marina Salel
BRT offers internship opportunities for visiting students and early-career professionals who wish to expand their scientific networks, gain international and cultural experience, and contribute to a collaborative research environment. These internships support professional growth, encourage the exchange of ideas, and help build meaningful connections across disciplines and backgrounds.
Recently, we hosted Marina Salel, a student from the United States. Read her introductory blog HERE.
Enjoy reading about her experience with BRT!
This summer, I had the opportunity to join the BioResources and Technology Division (BRT) at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague for a research internship. Coming from a biology background, I was excited to explore a different area of research and learn more about applied work related to plants, agriculture, and new technologies.
During my internship, I worked mainly on plant-based testing of treated water. I helped with both germination experiments and pot experiments, comparing untreated water with water exposed to different treatment devices and prototypes. My work involved preparing the experiments, organizing the different treatment groups, planting seeds, watering, and monitoring early plant development.
One of the most useful parts of the experience was seeing how research works in practice. Not every experiment gives perfectly clean results, and our first trials had some variability in germination and plant establishment. Rather than seeing this only as a setback, it was interesting to see how these observations can help improve the next experimental design and guide future testing.
The internship also gave me a better appreciation for the importance of controls, standardization, and reproducibility. Even small differences in seed quality or plant establishment can have a major impact on the outcome of an experiment.
Beyond the lab work, I really enjoyed being part of the BRT team and meeting researchers and students with different scientific backgrounds. It was a great opportunity to experience an international research environment and learn about areas of science outside of my previous work.
I am very grateful to Dr. Chubur, AbdulAzeez, Vivian, and the whole BRT team for welcoming me and supporting me throughout my internship. I also feel very lucky to have spent part of the summer in Prague, which made the experience even more memorable.
As I now move on to begin my Master’s in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Sorbonne University in Paris, I’m grateful to take with me new research experience and a better understanding of the experimental process.
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