Written by Emily Sacchi
This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to conduct research in Canada through the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship. I applied in early September the year before for fun, never imagining I would get selected, but once I was invited for interview, I realised how real this opportunity was.
My interviewer was a lovely young professor from Queen’s University in Kingston, who was looking for an engineering student to help design a water tunnel for her research. Little did I know, 6 months later I would be joining her in Kingston, in her fluid dynamics lab!
On my first day in the lab, I was introduced to the eight other students in the lab, all working on related projects for different professors. The atmosphere in the lab was friendly, and it was fascinating to hear about the variety of research going on around me. Since many of us used the same software, we often helped each other troubleshoot and share tips.
The research itself was super interesting. I learned to use Autodesk Fusion, a new CAD program for me, and also learnt ANSYS Workbench – a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. I was particularly excited about the CFD work as I would not have the chance to do this until the final year in my course, and it was something I was really interested in.
I was also really happy that I had plenty of chances for further training and development during my placement. Mitacs hosted project management workshops, my lab offered additional CFD training sessions, and Queen’s University ran certified courses in both research skills and academic writing.
Of course, the highlight of my summer wasn’t just the research, it was also the people! The other Mitacs interns in Kingston were an amazing group, and we were organising multiple fun meet-ups a week. Kingston is known for having the most restaurants per capita in Canada, so you can be sure we tried as many as we could! We tried all sorts of cuisines, made the most of the reclining couches in all the local cinemas, and spent many afternoons by the pier sunbathing and swimming.
Kingston is in a very good location, a few hours from Toronto, Niagara Falls, Montreal, and Ottawa, with coaches direct to each – perfect for many weekend trips! I managed to visit most of these, but the highlight of my travels was a road trip through the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. Exploring Banff, with its stunning mountain views and bright blue lakes, was the perfect way to end my time in Canada.
There were a couple of downsides during my stay in Canada, but not enough to outweigh the fun I had! Prices in Canada were higher than I expected — especially with the added tax and tipping culture, which took some getting used to. One thing I would definitely recommend to someone else planning on staying in Canada over the summer, is look for a house with air conditioning. Don’t underestimate the Canadian heat! The humidity can be intense, with most days in Kingston reaching over 28°C.
Overall, my summer in Canada was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had, and if I could relive it all again I would. I returned home with new skills, new friends, and a renewed excitement for engineering and research. I am so grateful to Mitacs for fully funding this opportunity, and to everyone I met along my journey that made it so special!
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