Samuel Wheeler (Department of Materials), MIT Summer 2015

I was fortunate enough to spend 8 weeks during the summer at MIT! Experience of working in a research group gave me an excellent understanding of the life of a PhD student and whether that’s what I would like to go on to after graduating.

On a day to day basis my time was split between reading literature, building my experimental setup in the lab, conducting experiments and analysing data. I was given a remarkable amount of responsibility for my research and worked alongside the other researchers and post doc’s in the group.

MIT itself is a very special place and anyone who has the chance to study or work there really should take it! There is so much opportunity and so much going on there will be something for everyone. Whether that’s clubs and societies or the frequent events and talks that are put on. MIT is rich in scientific history and the alumni list is very impressive. The current research that is being undertaken is world leading and very exciting.

Spending a summer in Boston was an amazing experience! I love to travel and the opportunity to spend a summer abroad was very appealing to me. Boston is a lovely city with everything you could ask for. There was enough time to explore the city during the evenings and weekends. Together with other students from Imperial we went to tourist attractions, ate at local restaurants and saw the Boston nightlife. We also went on a few trips further afield including New York, Cape Cod and Maine. These trips were unforgettable and I have many great memories.

As I am a home student this was the first time I was moving far way away from my family and friends. Although I was slightly apprehensivebeforehand, all of my worries were taken away when I got to MIT. We stayed in university halls and were well looked after.

I would recommend other students to come to MIT and for students to take up opportunities to work or study abroad in general.

"MIT is rich in scientific history and the alumni list is very impressive. The current research that is being undertaken is world leading and very exciting"