How to make a research year at DRCMR

With a research year you get hands-on experience with research before finishing the studies. It is a chance to try out a field you are interested in and see if working in research is something for you and find out if you want a Ph.D. later on.
Optimally, you start planning in good time ahead of a stay: you should contact the department, find a relevant supervisor, and define your project together. Also consider that you are likely to be applying for grants to fund the project and your salary so the sooner you start planning your stay the better.
When you start here at DRCMR you get to work with state-of-the-art equipment and skilled and nice colleagues from all over Europe and overseas. The atmosphere is very friendly.
To be a researcher at DRCMR it takes that you are capable of working independently while also being straightforward and use your supervisor and fellow colleagues for advice when you need it. Some of the work is by nature fairly technical but don’t worry, you will be given all relevant courses to introduce you to the statistics, neuro-research and MATLAB (the software foundation most of the researchers use).

My Experience

Peter Jagd Sørensen, 29, is a medical master student from University of Copenhagen (KU) who is doing an internship for one year and writing his master thesis at DRCMR.

I have always been fascinated by the brain, the tremendous network it is, and the incredibly versatile work it accomplishes. Yet we know so little of how it works. At the DRCMR I am working with MRI, computer simulation, and investigating non-invasive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). Despite its promising capabilities, TMS has evaded stable clinical usage as it is difficult to know exactly where, what and how the brain is stimulated. My project addresses some of these difficulties.

Apart from my studies in medicine I hold a BSc in Electrical Engineering. I did my engineering bachelor thesis here at the DRCMR, and I knew it would be a nice place to go to if I wanted to do a “research year” internship in medicine. Hence having decided on it, last summer I wrote my supervisor from then, described my interests, and asked if he could help me find a relevant supervisor at DRCMR for a research year.
Besides getting hands-on experience through my own project, many colleagues from different professions and guest lecturers give presentations at the department. In this way you get introduced to many other subjects in neuro-research and ways to think and engage in scientific problem solving. Finally, but important to mention is that the people around you at DRCMR are really nice and friendly!