Aberystwyth students win prestigious international research internships

Cordelia Bryant (left) and Alice Walker who will be working in Canada over the summer after securing on the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship programme.

Two Aberystwyth University undergraduate students will be spending the summer working in Canada after being awarded prestigious research internships.

Cordelia Bryant and Alice Walker will work for twelve weeks in Toronto and Vancouver respectively between June and the end of August after securing places on the sought-after Mitacs Globalink Research Internship programme.

Mathematics student Cordelia, who is originally from Austin, Texas, will be based at Toronto Metropolitan University where she will be working on improving the accuracy of MRI scans used to detect cancers.

Alice, from the Isle of Wight, is studying Space Science and Robotics and will be working at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver on the interface between liquids and gases.

Cordelia said: “This is a competitive programme and I am really pleased to have secured my place for this summer. It’s an opportunity for me to develop my interest in how statistics interacts with the natural world; this is why I applied to work on MRI scans. In the longer term, I hope to have a career in research and this internship will give me an opportunity to experience what this might be like. I have always been keen to experience options that force me to grow the most, and I very much hope my time in Toronto will do just that.”

Alice said: “I’ve always wanted to go to Canada and this internship offers me an opportunity to live and work there for three months, and at the same time gain valuable hands-on research experience. Eventually I hope to work in space science and it’s great to be studying at a department that is working on the European Space Agency’s ExoMars mission, but in the meantime, I’m really looking forward to working in a field of research that is totally new to me.”

Congratulating Cordelia and Alice on their success, Professor Tim Woods, Vice-Chancellor for Learning, Teaching and Student Experience at Aberystwyth University said: “The Mitacs Globalink Research Internship programme attracts top-ranked applicants and Cordelia’s and Alice’s success is testament to their dedication and to the quality of students we have here at Aberystwyth University. We take great pride in the experience we offer and encourage our students to broaden their horizons through our travel and study abroad programmes and I’m delighted that Cordelia and Alice have taken full advantage of the support our Global Opportunities team offers in securing these internships and wish them every success during their time in Canada.”

The Mitacs Globalink Research Internship is a competitive initiative for international undergraduates from Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Taiwan, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States.

From May to October of each year, applicants participate in a 12-week research internship under the supervision of Canadian academic institutions in a variety of academic disciplines, from science, engineering, and mathematics to the humanities and social sciences.

The programme is one of a range of travel and study abroad programmes offered or facilitated by the Global Opportunities team at Aberystwyth University.

Programmes range from opportunities to spend a semester or year abroad at a partner university, a year working in industry abroad, short programmes including summer schools and funding for supporting time abroad as part of the International Learning Exchange programme Taith, which is funded by the Welsh Government, and the UK Government’s Turing Scheme.

Cordelia is currently studying on the four year Integrated Masters in Mathematics (MMath) at the Department of Mathematics.

Alice is studying on the four-year Integrated Masters in Space Science and Robotics (MPhys) at the Department of Physics.

Share