In this blogpost, Samiksha Paudel shares her internship experience at RLP AgroScience. Students of the Environmental Pollution Management (Ecotoxicology) Program complete an 8-week internship each year, 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.
“My name is Samiksha Paudel. I did my internship in the Applications of Digitalization (AnDi) department of RLP AgroScience in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Germany for two months under the guidance of Mr. Aditya Narang, where I had the opportunity to work on an ongoing project “EIP Agri VitiMikroKlim”.
On the first day I got an overview of the project for which I had to understand the data in hand and get an idea on different ways to clean-up the data and analyse them using R and QGIS. I had the freedom to start from the fundamentals of R before progressing to the next stage of learning at my own comfortable pace which I appreciated the most. During my time there, I had the opportunity to analyse raw microclimate data collected from sensors installed in different vineyards around Rhineland-Palatinate state using R programming language and various other software suites. Along with the guidance from my supervisor and colleague, I also had abundant access to resources essential for self-study, aiding me in comprehending data and its analysis.
Prior to starting my internship, I had limited experience on data analysis and R programming language. Over the course of two months, I not only learned about data analysis using R but also fundamentals of QGIS, interactive R shiny app, Rmd, and drone imagery. Furthermore, I was very excited to be able to visualize my analysis in the form of an interactive app. I had fun working with data and analysing them to see interesting results in different forms including an app, a report, and maps.
I appreciated the flexibility in working hours, but to be consistent I mostly worked from 9 am to 5 pm. I also had the option to work from home on certain days especially when I had other important appointments. I primarily conducted my work while seated at my office desk, using a desktop computer. However, I also had opportunities to join my colleagues to the field and gain insights by observing the sensors and getting a grasp of the fundamentals of flying drones in open fields.
The surrounding area of the office is filled with greenery, including trees, flowers and vineyards providing a pleasant and beautiful sight, especially during the summer. Also nearby is a winery that offers AgroScience employees a discount on local and high-quality wines. There is also a greenhouse inside the office premises where we can buy flowers, fresh organic fruits, and vegetables.
This internship was an incredibly enriching and satisfying journey for me. It helped me appreciate the importance of self-driven learning and dive into the realm of data analysis, something I may not have explored otherwise. Furthermore, I was fortunate to be surrounded by incredibly warm, friendly, and understanding colleagues who made my experience even more enjoyable. I would recommend this internship to anyone who is curious about data handling and analysis and want to learn more about it.”
Link to the project: https://digitalisierung.agroscience.de/index.php/de/projekte/projekte/vitimikroklim
Here are some beautiful glimpses from Samiksha’s AMEO:-
