https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2025-2026/XM_0045The aim is to obtain experience in scientific research including the design and execution of experiments and to critically interpret and reflect on the experimental results. The project will be conducted within the field of environmental bioanalytical chemistry in one of the following settings:University or Academic hospital Research institute Company The internship can be performed either within the Netherlands or abroad.An environmental bioanalysis research project will deal with theoretical and practical understanding of issues involved in the design, execution, analysis and interpretation of complex bioanalytical experiments in the context of environmental toxicology and chemistry (e.g. detection and quantification of drugs/toxins/metabolites in environmental and human matrices such as surface and drinking water, blood, breast milk, amniotic fluid, etc ). The specific content of the project depends on the associated supervisor(s), available projects on location and the timing of the internship. Attention will be paid to setting up new research/experiments, using state-of-the-art experimental techniques, analyzing experimental results and keeping adequate documentation. In all, the student will get exposed to doing research as well as to contemporary bioanalytical techniques.Literature review, formulating a research question, conducting experiments, keeping adequate documentation (e.g. labjournal), analyzing data, reporting on results in progress/group meetings, in a written thesis and final presentation within the research group.The internship needs to be registered in the online internship management system, where progress and assessment is recorded. The following components are assessed and a minimum passing grade (5.5 or higher) must be obtained for each component: Academic attitude (15%), execution (35%), oral presentation (15%) and written thesis (35%).Starting literature will be provided by the supervisor. The first 1-2 weeks of the traineeship will be spent on literature reading and preparation for the project.Research variant of all tracks within the master DDSThe number of internal (VU) internship positions is limited and there may be a selection procedure. Contact potential VU supervisors from the group for more information about internship opportunities. You can consult the canvas community “Master Drug Discovery Sciences” for more information about potential VU supervisors and the application procedure. Be aware that a selection procedure applies for most external internship positions as well. Before the start of an external project, the UNL internship agreement has to be signed by all involved parties and the project proposal has to be approved by the VU supervisor via the online internship management system. Sometimes an additional Non Disclosure agreement (NDA) needs to be signed as well. This process can be time-consuming and should, therefore, be started several months in advance. Consult the “Master Drug Discovery Sciences Internship manual” on Canvas for more information on the rules and regulations regarding internships. If, after reading the manual, you still have questions regarding the process related to internships, admission, approval, etc., please contact the internship coordinator via
[email protected].The length of a minor internship ranges from 18 to 36 EC (3-6 months) and can be (partly) incorporated within the optional part of the master program, although for traineeships abroad and in companies a length of at least 30 EC is recommended. Consult the master coordinator of your track well in advance to discuss your personal education plan. See the “Master Drug Discovery Sciences Internship manual” for more information (rules, regulations, tips, etc.) on the internship process. This manual can be found on the canvas community “Master Drug Discovery Sciences”.Entry requirements with respect to attained courses and number of credits apply. See the Education and Examination regulations and the internship manual Drug Discovery Sciences. In the case of questions, consult the internship coordinator well in advance (
[email protected]).