The Summer Internship Program at Westlake’s School of Science commenced this week, with a new cohort of undergraduate students arriving from nearly 30 different universities.

These promising young talents will spend four enriching weeks at Westlake, working under the mentorship of the school’s world-class faculty members and gaining invaluable hands-on experience in scientific research.

A total of 39 undergraduate students are interning in the School of Science this summer. Among them, eleven students are stationed in the labs of seven physics principal investigators, while the remaining 28 students are interning with 15 chemistry principal investigators in their respective labs.

The universities these students come from include leading institutions such as Cambridge University, Oxford University, University College London, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Lanzhou University, Zhejiang University, Fudan University, and Wuhan University, among others.

On Wednesday afternoon, the school atmosphere was abuzz with excitement as the interns mingled with faculty members and students alike, all while enjoying pizzas and desserts at a happy hour event organized to welcome them.

One of the interns present at the event was Kerui Jian, a sophomore from Lanzhou University. Wearing a beaming grin, she moved around with her newly-made friends, eagerly examining the research posters lined up by various research groups in the school and asking faculty members about their research projects.

She said although it had been just a few days since she arrived, Westlake University had already left her impressed. “I feel it’s amazing here that students get to consult with their tutors more often,” she said.

A chemistry student, Kerui is interning with Associate Prof. Yuxuan Ye’s group in the Laboratory of Biocatalysis. Prof. Ye focuses on developing new biocatalytic methods for organic synthesis and other applications.

She said she was very much looking forward to what the four weeks at Westlake have to offer.

Not far from Kerui, Prof. Lei Sun from the Department of Chemistry stood before his group's research poster, passionately explaining to the inquisitive interns his group’s research projects.

“It’s exciting to have these young talents in our labs. I really enjoy having new members in my lab and hearing their fresh ideas and perspectives. I am looking forward to learning from them as much as they are from us,” he said.

Besides immersing themselves in lab work, the interns will be taking part in a lecture series aimed at deepening their knowledge of the fundamentals of science, as well as participating in a range of outdoor activities such as museum visits and scenic site tours in Hangzhou.

The internship will conclude with each intern delivering a presentation about their individual accomplishments during the final week.