Our student intern Iryna reports on her time with RI

Once in a while, we not only host university student interns but also welcome school kids to join us. One such student was Iryna Kovtun, a 17-year-old Ukranian school student from France, who spent two weeks with us in October. We had the opportunity to chat with her and ask her about the unique experiences she gained during her time here. It was fascinating to hear about the perspective of a school student engaging in our work.

Iryna, how did you discover RI?
My father is a physicist, and he has raised me with a passionate love for science. Last summer I wanted to go to the summer school in Göttingen, which wasn’t so easy to fund for my family. I had to find someone to support my idea to go to the summer school financially, and several RI employees have sponsored my stay in Göttingen. But I didn't want to stop at this, after some research I discovered that RI would be an interesting option for an internship. And in the end, I wasn't wrong.

What did you do at RI?
At first, the RI team gave me a brief introduction to the work and structure of the company. In my two weeks there, they did a great job balancing my work between different projects. I had the chance to work at the EUV lab, the radio frequency lab, and the cavity tuning facility, and I got to look at almost every part of the company. I was able to not only look how everything works, but to be helpful with some tasks in the lab. I learned how to check the radio frequency of cavities, how to tune them, how to detect leaks in vacuum systems, and some other things. Almost half of my work experience I spent on learning how to work with Molflow, a software I used to create a simulation of the waveguide of the ITER upper launcher. This task was both hard and fun to do, since I had to master a completely new software for me and understand the work of the waveguide with zero experience in this kind of thing. It has induced me to do a lot of research and ask a lot of questions. The process has taught me to overcome some challenges and find solutions for problems, which is a priceless skill.

Was it a useful experience?
The internship at RI has opened my eyes to applications of physics in the real world, which was a great discovery for me, since you don't see most of those things in every-day life. I was introduced to the high-tech industry and have gained a clear understanding of challenges and problems the industry meets while developing this kind of devices. One of the best things during this experience was the fact that I was able to actively participate in work. In my personal opinion, using your knowledge in practice is one of the best things in science, so it was rather enjoyable. During those two weeks I've met a lot of challenges, but I have gained a lot of knowledge and practical skills that may be useful in my future as a scientist.