“Ten out of ten”
Interview with the 2025 fellows of the International Summer Internship
Ketura Gwei, Nathaniel Boateng, and Patience Niwamanya were our 2025 International Summer Internship fellows. They completed an internship at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology from August to October—fully funded and supplemented with a workshop curriculum. Ketura is studying biochemistry at the University of Buea, Cameroon, Nathan just finished his bachelor in biochemistry at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, and Patience is studying molecular biology at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. In the interview you can find out about the highlights of their stay in Berlin, how the internship shaped their view on science, and their advice for future interns.
You started your internship at the Institute three months ago, and now it's time for you to leave. So, how was your experience here?
Patience: For me, it was a ten out of ten. All of my expectations were met and even exceeded. I was well taken care of. Everything was straightforward, and I didn't have to figure out complicated things on my own because there was always assistance.
Nathan: It's been great so far. I met a lot of people, and I was given a lot of independence to conduct experiments on my own and push myself beyond my limits. I learned a lot!
Ketura: It was better than I expected. Starting with the support from the international office and everyone in the lab being really helpful, to the social activities like the institute retreat and the visit to Munich, it was all great.
Did you experience any culture shock?
Nathan: When we arrived in Berlin and exited the main train station, I saw many people riding bicycles, and I thought, "What?" In Ghana, you don't see people riding bicycles all the time. Of course, that's not the only difference, but learning about all the cultural differences was great.
Ketura: I wasn't shocked, because I had already visited Germany last year—back then I was very shocked, everything shocked me. It was interesting that even in Berlin, most things were only in German. Even tourist attractions, like the boat ride we went on, are often only announced in German.
Patience: I've never been to Germany. Of course, I knew things would be different here, so it wasn't shocking, but rather exciting. It was exciting to see how things are done differently here.
What was the highlight of your stay?
Patience: Visiting Munich and Potsdam. And the parliament visit! I enjoyed taking trips around the city, but Munich was the best. We visited institutes and biotech companies, so I learned a lot, and it was fun.
Ketura: My highlight was the institute retreat. Seeing how quickly people could think when we were discussing projects was amazing. While I was still thinking about connections, others were already coming up with ideas. I really enjoyed it. I also liked the many seminars at the Institute.
Nathan: It's hard to say. I'm a huge football fan, so probably visiting the Allianz Arena in Munich. But, career-wise, I came here trying to figure out if I wanted to pursue a PhD. One of my supervisors, Dominik, took me to PhD defenses and talked to me about doing a PhD a lot. I also attended many talks during the retreat and the Voices in Infection Biology seminar series. All of this was really helpful and motivated me to pursue a PhD.
How did the internship change your perspective on science?
Nathan: In Ghana, I didn't have the opportunity to do much lab work. Coming here and seeing all the equipment and how research is conducted gave me a different perspective on basic science, especially since I'm from a country where access to resources is very limited. As I mentioned, I discovered my desire to pursue a PhD here. The training we received in the workshops on how to do a PhD was also eye-opening.
Ketura: My perspective on pursuing a PhD changed during my stay. Before, I thought you needed to focus on specific skills to do a PhD. But, through the workshops and discussions with doctoral students, I became aware of all the other aspects involved: For example, how to choose a good supervisor and a good topic. It's not only about lab skills.
Patience: First of all, I appreciated how hardworking everyone is here. I usually see papers being published in high impact journals like Nature, and the internship got me to appreciate how much work goes into that. Earlier, I thought science was only about one scientist. But that's not true—here I've seen firsthand that science is a lot of collaboration.
On the other hand, I learned that, as a researcher, you have to be independent, and I would say that my ability to work independently in the lab has increased over the past three months. I also learned that you don't have to know everything from the beginning; rather, you must be committed to learning and asking people for help. I've seen that good scientists help each other and share knowledge. This whole internship has been about people sharing their knowledge with me, and I really appreciate it.
Did you feel welcome in your research groups?
Ketura: I was in the lab with two postdocs, Dhiren and Weijie, and two doctoral students, Sergio and Dora, who were always ready and happy to help. They always told me to come to them if I needed any help.
Nathan: I enjoyed it because I spent a week with everyone in the lab. I saw a lot of projects and had the chance to bond with everyone.
Patience: It was the same for me. Sometimes I felt like I was bothering my supervisor Michelle because she was working hard on her own projects, but she was always happy to help me, which was humbling. Everyone was really nice.
What did you work on in the labs?
Patience: Understanding the cellular programming behind the tuberculosis granuloma. The topic as a whole is, of course, really big, and you are only doing a tiny part of it, but it is leading you toward the question.
Nathan: I was involved in three broad projects: Plasmodium microtubule stabilization, understanding how cell density changes throughout different stages of cell division, and the third one was focused on imaging organoids.
Ketura: I was working on a neutrophil biology project where I linked molecular mechanisms to observed phenotypes during neutrophil extracellular trap formation.
Do you have any tips or recommendations for students considering applying for the internship program?
Ketura: Just go ahead and apply! Don't miss this wonderful opportunity.
Nathan: Even if you don't think you're the best fit, you should still apply. I'm still an undergraduate, and I didn't expect to be chosen over a master's student. I didn't have any practical skills, but I knew some things about the malaria parasite Plasmodium that were relevant to the project. I think project motivation really counts. You have to express your interest in the project.
Patience: I would say the same. If you have an idea and feel pushed to apply, then please do.
It has only been three months and Berlin is a very international city, but did you pick up any German phrases?
Ketura: "Ausstieg in Fahrtrichtung links" [Exit on the left in the direction of travel (in metro trains)].
Nathan: "Entschuldigung, sprechen Sie Englisch?" [excuse me, do you speak English] and maybe "mit Karte bitte" [by card please].
Patience: "Dankeschön" [thank you] was important and people here really often say "genau" [exactly] when they are talking.