In 2012, internships were performed in Paris, France, and Seoul, South Korea.

Seoul:

In the South-Korean capital, the interns visited the Institute for the Early Universe (IEU, http://ieu.ewha.ac.kr/) at the Ewha Womans University.

Main topics:

• Cosmic Microwave Background and GRB detection instruments.
• The UFFO mission laboratories at IEU.
• X-ray data analysis, background control and signal identification.

Some of our lectures were Prof. George F. Smoot, Nobel laureate in Physics 2006, Dr. Bruce Grossan (Berkeley University, USA), Prof. Vladimir Galkin (EUL, Moscow), together with IEU scientists Dr. Arman Shafieloo and Dr. Stephen Appleby.

Egor comments: "during the internship in Korea I acquired some experimental skills, data analysis skills" and Boris continues: "In Korea we had many lectures from Bruce [Grossan] about how one designs an experiment, and lectures by Prof. George Smoot about cosmology. We also analyzed data from Swift".

Paris:

At the AstroParticle and Cosmology laboratory (APC, http://www.apc.univ-paris7.fr/APC_CS/) hosted by the University Paris Diderot, lectures and lab measurements were performed on the main topics of:

• GRB emission mechanisms and modeling.
• Gamma-ray instruments, detectors and electronics.
• Optical Module response calibration.
• X-ray data analysis.

Our intern Igor, in his 4th year at MSU, comments: "The theoretical lectures helped me organize my knowledge." adding for explanation: "I want to work in experimental physics." Egor instead thinks that he wants to work on detector simulations and the topics covered by the internship are connected with it. Boris comments: "I am mostly interested in data analysis work, but also in constructing the detectors. That's what I found for myself."

Ilya, also a 4th year student, talks about what most impressed him during the Paris internship: "I liked the lecture on superconducting detectors, it was new for me and a really interesting method of work". He adds: "This was my first time in Paris, I like this city and this University".

Some of our lecturers were Dr. Francois Lebrun (Deputy Director of APC), Dr. Philippe Laurent, Prof. Vitaly Bogomolov (EUL, Moscow), together with APC staff members Dr. Alexandre Creusot, Dr. Cyril Lachaud, Dr. Paolo Goldoni, and international post-docs as Dr. Lara Nava and Dr. Andrea Tartari.

"I am really impressed by this University" said Igor "I think it is organized very well."

The EUL internships are intended to fostering exchanges with the international scientific community by allowing direct contact and discussions: "And of course, traveling and seeing new places is very interesting. I discovered a new style of researchers. We met very interesting people working as post-docs and I think we will be in touch in the future." concludes Egor.

And when asked about letting their fantasy run to their dream destination for an internship, our students brought us all around the world on the traces of prestigious Universities and instruments, from Berkeley, California, to Brazil and Argentina, Chili, and Japan, and the Keck telescope in Hawaii too, why not!