31 Mar My internship experience at Solmeglas

In the summer of 2020, I graduated with a degree in Biomedical Science from a UK university. I took a variety of modules, from environmental biology to molecular endocrinology, and loved every aspect of it. I even loved labs (which, at least in my uni, was something no biomed student said out loud).

With interests so wide, I struggled to answer the question every soon-to-be graduate gets asked; what do you want to do next?

That question was further complicated by the fact that all my work experience until that point had been traditional, in line with the very traditional life sciences industry in place in my home country – Uganda.

My reality was that unless I could explicitly explain what I wanted to do next, I was likely going to spend my entire science career tethered to a hospital in some way. I wasn’t sure that was what I wanted…

So I applied for an international internship, wanting to know what options I had outside of the hospital and lab.

Early stages of my internship at Solmeglas

I only had a few months’ work experience by the time I applied, and none of it was abroad, so in the early application stages it was all quite daunting. That was until I read about the experience of previous interns at Solmeglas, who sang praise of the patient learning environment the office promised. And that promise held true.

In interviews with Solmeglas’s CEO – Moisés Ruiz – the tasks I’d work on were made clear. I’d work on search engine optimization, articles for the company blog, and post on the company’s social media pages, among other things. A lot of the tasks described were completely new to me! To do these tasks, I’d have to be trained on how to use different platforms and software.

In truth I was stressed before I even started, aware of how far out of my comfort zone this role would take me, but I really shouldn’t have been. The way that tasks were explained to me, and the time intervals at which they were introduced to me, really made working through each challenge genuinely enjoyable!

I had the most pleasant working experience I’ve had to date. Solmeglas is a great company, with great employees and a great boss! If you’re willing to learn, it’s a space filled with great teachers!

Final thoughts…

My internship overlapped with the start of the coronavirus pandemic, so some elements of my experience weren’t possible. I didn’t get to witness a ZetaView® demonstration or attend any conferences. However I did get to witness how a company should properly respond in times of crisis.

I had to leave Madrid abruptly as flights home threatened to become less frequent and the likelihood of my home country closing its borders increased. Through it all there was clear communication between the CEO and the employees, as well as understanding and support from the whole team.

I could not have asked for a better boss, or a better company to work at. I’m really proud to have contributed to the work of Solmeglas. I leave this experience very grateful for everything I’ve learnt and wishing I could have stayed longer.

Written by Deirdre Kanjogera, intern at Solmeglas from January to March 2020