The process of obtaining a doctoral degree is like a scavenger hunt without a map – thrilling, fun but also exhausting. All of us face completely new situations and adventures with lots of surprises and unexpected twists in work and lifestyle. Not only science itself, but also the working environment features fluctuations and changes. Surely, you noticed the continual coming and going of not only staff but also labs in big institution like the Max Planck Institutes, but never cared until you are one of them. It is not eyebrow-raising that some of us deal with the moving of their lab during their PhD time – but you are not alone (just google it!). Although organizations are rather bad at keeping track of numbers, there are plenty of reports of students. At least three labs with IMPRS PhD students came to meet these obstacles – willingly or unwillingly (I am one of those – hooray!).
Relocating a lab to a different city, country or even continent always goes along with stress and time delay (and also lots of costs). Early planning is the key. Roughly one year before the actual moving (X day), I knew I would be finishing the second half of my PhD studies on the other side of the Atlantic – in the US.
Wrap it up..! (2 months to day X)
A challenging part was not only to apply for visa, look for a payable apartment and plan necessities for a new life, but also to finish everything that is related to the former institution. Preparing final replicates, imaging last slides with familiar equipment and utilizing the high standard facilities for final assays, this filled my days before the flight. It was a bittersweet feeling to trash all tubes presenting accumulated hard work read more
