Michou Weimar
I did my internship at the University of Copenhagen under the supervision of Laura Tensen. Laura specialises in the genetics of large predators, a subject I was keen to learn more about. My project was therefore about the genetics of African wild dogs in southern Africa.
Genetics as key to conservation
Having been almost extinct here, there is now an extensive re-introduction and translocation programme to expand the population of wild dogs. There were some concerns about mixing the populations if they were too evolutionarily different. This is something I investigated. I was able to allay the concerns: the advantage of mixing the populations actually makes them genetically stronger and prevents loss of genetic diversity.
Two studies, one goal
This internship was a great convergence of my double major in animal science and bioinformatics. My goal is to apply data science and genomics to better protect animals in the future. This internship taught me a lot about this. In addition, we want to publish the research and I will be presenting it in South Africa to policymakers, researchers, and conservationists. In addition, it also showed me the academic world at another university and in another country.
A learning and independent experience
I received positive feedback from Laura about my independence, ability to teach myself new skills and become familiar with new software, presentation and report. Advice for the future was to show more initiative by bringing in new ideas, but there was understanding and admiration for how much I got done within a relatively short time.
Personal growth and work-life balance
For me personally, this internship taught me how resilient I am and how quickly I adapt. Despite personal circumstances and a move towards the end of my internship due to the expiry of the lease, I adapted quickly and learnt my way around Copenhagen. I built friendships here and enjoyed interacting at university with fellow students and colleagues. Giving a guest lecture and a good presentation on my research gives me confidence that I have overcome my fear of presenting. Public speaking remains exciting, but I now enjoy doing it. Finally, I have learnt more about work-life balance. Where before I might have worked late into the evenings and weekends, I learned that enjoying life and socialising are also very important.
