Settling In
By: Helen Lortie, SEAS ’24
A photo of the sunset in Germany sent to Helen by her exchange “buddy.”
RWTH Aachen University – Germany
When I first learned about the GRIP Program in the fall of 2020 I was immediately drawn to it. One of my main goals for my time at Penn has been to take advantage of the many Global Opportunities offered. The specific program I ended up choosing fit perfectly with my interests. I am majoring in Mechanical Engineering and am specifically interested in energy, my research through GRIP focuses on reducing the friction on the bearings in wind turbines using thermal spraying technology. I do this research through RWTH Aachen, a university in Germany, which is perfect as I have been studying German at Penn and would like to focus on that region and practice my language skills.
I will be honest, the program going virtual did cause me to reconsider if it was worth it, but I decided to stick with it and I am glad I did. I knew I wanted to spend the summer after my freshmen year doing research as I had never done it before, and I wanted a bit of actual industry experience to help guide my choices for the future. The university I am doing it with has a well-established program for North American college students to do research with their faculty, and as such, I have found a very good support system. There are 29 students from all over North America in my program, and every week we have calls and do things like “virtual excursions” or cultural training. The program managers have been trying their hardest to give us at least a semblance of a normal, non-virtual experience, and I am very grateful for that. I have learned a lot about German culture as a whole, as well as specifically the city of Aachen where the university is. I have been paired up with a “buddy”, who is a local German university student. We call about once a week, talk about our lives and my research, and he helps me practice my German. All the time people mention “when you finally get to come” and have made it very clear that once the pandemic is over I will be welcome to come to Aachen and see the school and the lab, which makes me excited for the future.
In terms of my actual research and faculty advisors, they have been nothing but supportive and helpful, responding to my many confused emails and questions with patience. I have barely even started but I have already learned so much about a topic I find very interesting.
The Global Research and Internship Program (GRIP) provides outstanding undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to intern or conduct research abroad for 8 to 12 weeks over the summer. Participants gain career-enhancing experience and global exposure that is essential in a global workforce. Placements and funding awards are available.