My name is Déjanire Barnier, I am 22 years old and currently doing my internship at CEW. I am originally from Montpellier in France where I study Chemical Engineering at the National Graduate School of Chemistry of Montpellier. I chose Environmental Chemistry as my major. I was looking for an internship in the northern part of Europe, like Germany, the Netherlands or England, and I like to work in the water remediation. So CEW seemed like a great place for my internship!
I am currently working on a project about nutrient management in greenhouses. For this project I am working on a measuring instrument: a capillary electrophoresis to analyse ions that are in the supplying water. These ions are nutrients for the plants and the plants need a certain amount of nutrients, depending on their age. The instrument is being created in order to find a quick and easy way to analyse the ions. Eventually greenhouse owners can use the analysis to supply nutrients for plants more effectively.
When I moved to the Netherlands, my first impression was that it is a very peaceful place. Everyone is very friendly and I often get greeted in the streets. After I finish my internship at CEW I will continue the second year of my master and then I will hopefully start working shortly after. Then I would like to be in charge of projects while still working with chemistry and water treatment.
It of course depends on what your interests are, but I would definitely recommend an internship at CEW if you want to do an interesting research. It is a nice learning environment with lots of people from different cultures.
