Each year, several students of the Environmental Pollution Management (Ecotoxicology) Program complete an 8-week internship, the so-called “AMEO”. The AMEO is performed either at an external university, governmental or industrial research institute where students learn to apply the competences achieved during their study. Students also use this opportunity to travel and explore Germany. In this blogpost, Erika Juliana Perez Manosalva shares her AMEO experience in Bayer AG Crop Science, Frankfurt am Main.
“Hi! I am Erika Juliana Pérez and in this semester, I completed my internship at the Bayer AG Crop Science in Frankfurt am Main. I worked in Terrestrial Ecotoxicology lab where testing for side effects of plant protection products (PPPs) on non-target arthropods and plants took place. The laboratory is headed by Dr. Daniela Jans who was guiding my work in the lab along with the technician, David Rodriguez. I worked 37,5 hours/ week, which was served flexibly. During this time, I participated in aged residue and extended tests with sensitive arthropods species such as Aphidius rhopalosiphi and Coccinella septempunctata. Furthermore, I also had the opportunity to conduct vegetative vigor and seedling emergence tests for non-target plants. Additionally, I had the opportunity to participate in the development of new testing methods. Overall, I had the pleasure to closely work with the wild species team for plants and the oral exposure team for arthropods. Unfortunately, the other labs of Ecotoxicology team were in another city. It was difficult to have closer contact with them, however, I have had the chance to visit the facilities in Monheim am Rhein and get in touch with the colleagues working with bees, aquatic organisms and soil testing.
The work was mainly in the lab with the plants and insects; nevertheless, I had some meetings with the experts from plants, bees and arthropods, who introduced me to the aspects of risk assessments. I experienced Bayer as an open company that also takes care of its employees, hence I felt welcome during my stay. So, it does not matter if you are in the Ecotoxicology team or any other team, they are going to share their experiences as they are always open to contribute knowledge.
On the other hand, Frankfurt is a big city which offers you a lot of plans (see the attached pictures). You can go to the museum, cinema, shops, opera. It it also surrounded by beautiful middle- sized cities. Also, it is an international place, home to Germany’s largest airport. You can find restaurants with food from all over the world and mostly people can talk to you in English. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Frankfurt, both regarding the flexible and diverse work at Bayer but also during my free time. Below you can find some impressions capturing my 8-week stay in Frankfurt.”
