Of course it is not just ‘sunshine and roses’. It takes a lot of time, stress, money and effort to arrange such an internship. I started in March to look for internships abroad, only heard of this option in June and only got confirmation in July. Then I still had to rush to get a permit. I got very lucky at the border patrol because they finished my permit application immediately. Not everyone will be so lucky, so my advice: start on time, especially if your study says you have plenty of time to wait!

My internship is at McMaster University at the “McMaster Automotive Resource Centre”, in Hamilton, Canada. This facility was built in 2013 with state-of-the-art lab equipment for automotive research. Compared to the labs at TU/e, this is of a much larger scale. The campus of McMaster University is also very large, because they have around 32 thousand student, although it doesn’t seem more busy than Eindhoven. There is not really a nightlife here, but instead there is tens of clubs that organize weekly events. Very different, but can also be very fun!

Everywhere in the region there are beautiful trails and loads of waterfalls to see. The Autumn colors are stunning with the forests and landscapes here. Of course, I also went to Niagara, although I waited a few weeks for good weather. The Niagara Falls are truly a sight to behold, although I found the green rapids they produce downstream almost just as beautiful.

Now halfway throuhg my internship I have learnt a lot about life here in Canada. If I’m being honest, Canada is exactly how I imagined the United States to be: the infrastructure, the traffic, stores, etc. Everything here in North-America is of a much larger scale than in Europe. Normally you’d think that the store at the end of the street would be a few minute walk, but here that can easily become over an hour. Luckily public transportation is very good here and much cheaper than NS. Canada in generally a very expensive country, I pay about 4x as much rent here then I do for my room in Eindhoven (even though I have a floor to myself here). For a beer you’ll already be paying close to 10$.

If you get the option to do a fun project abroad for you studies I’d recommend you to do it, you don’t get such an opportunity often!

Will you also be abroad this fall and want to share your story? Please send an e-mail to Cursor.