Physics lab technician on the road: Two internships, two perspectives - Grenoble and ROTOP Pharmaka GmbH

ROTOP Pharmaka GmbH

Polarograph, GMP, Ioflupan, WFI... Please what?

That's exactly the question I asked myself when I started my internship at ROTOP Pharmaka GmbH in May 2024 and heard these terms for the first time. As it was a very enjoyable and interesting three weeks in total (two in quality control, one in active ingredient production), I would like to briefly report on them.

My time at ROTOP was a lot of fun, totally exciting and super interesting. I was well received by the employees from day one and integrated into the team. I never felt like an “outsider” during the whole time. Everyone was cool about it and always took the time to explain everything to me calmly. Even if I didn't understand something straight away, everyone always remained totally relaxed and tried to explain it to me in different words.

My internship started with a small misunderstanding. Apparently it went unnoticed that I wasn't training to be a chemistry lab technician, but a physics lab technician. Everyone thought that I was already familiar with the analytical equipment and methods. Thanks to sbg, I knew a lot, but I still lacked some knowledge. However, this misunderstanding was quickly cleared up and expectations of me were lowered somewhat. Nevertheless, after the internship I was told by ROTOP that they were very happy with me and that I had a very pleasant three weeks.
My expectations of the internship were exceeded at the latest when I was told for the first time that I was allowed to work on the analysis of a sample myself. All under guidance and strict supervision, of course. In quality control, I used many different analysis methods and devices, such as an HPLC, photometer or even a polarograph, and was able to expand my knowledge of these. However, the work there was somewhat different from that in production.

In the former, you really had to work very precisely and every milliliter and milligram mattered. In the production of active ingredients, the weights also had to be precise, but it didn't matter whether you had a few grams too much or too little. Liquid volumes were also only measured with a graduated cylinder. It felt a bit like cooking in the kitchen at home. This difference in the accuracy of the work was very surprising to me at first, but when I asked, it was explained to me that the active ingredient is always produced in larger quantities and only portioned later. It is also not always possible to say exactly how much is actually converted into the desired substance during synthesis, which is why the values given should be interpreted as “guide values”.
can be interpreted as “guide values”. During production, I worked in the clean room and was even allowed to supervise and set up a synthesis myself. In both areas, however, I was taught that the exact documentation of measurement and analysis results is very important. It was a really great three weeks with lots of new experiences and insights. I am very happy that this internship was made possible for me.

Grenoble

Working at the European synchrotron radiation facilities - and then as a young person while you're still in training. Wow, who can claim to have experienced that?

I was very lucky and I am incredibly proud and grateful that I was able to have this experience. I was told at my job interview that if I performed very well, I would have the opportunity to travel to Grenoble and work at our branch at the ESRF in the 4th year of my apprenticeship. I spent the entire apprenticeship thinking about how cool it would be if I could do it. When I was in the middle of my third year of training, I was told that I shouldn't get my hopes up too much and that it probably wouldn't work out after all. So I was all the more delighted when I was told in August 2024 that I would get the chance after all and be allowed to fly to Grenoble for two weeks. It was a super nice, interesting and exciting time with lots of new impressions and insights and great experiences. It started on a Monday morning. I flew from Dresden airport to Munich and then on to Lyon. From there I took the bus to Grenoble. I arrived late and the weather didn't cooperate, but I still had to walk to the ESRF, where I stayed in the guest house for the first week. 

My work started the next day. It was still beam operation at the ESRF, so I couldn't do much, but I was able to see how the experiments and sample changes are carried out on our beamline during operation. I learned that I was the first trainee from the HZDR to experience the ESRF during beam operation.

However, there was a shutdown on the following days. I was shown our facility, given a tour of the ESRF and was also allowed to tinker with our beamline. For example, one of my tasks was to remove a defective pressure sensor and replace it with another one. I cleaned the old sensor, then reinstalled it and tested it. My supervisor, Jörg Exner, was very pleased with my work.

Overall, I got on very well with the ROBL team. The people are cool and got me involved and made me feel like I belonged. But I didn't just get on well with the team. I was lucky that the ESRF safety team took me on their tour of the accelerator. They explained everything to me very clearly and answered all my questions. Although we spoke English the whole time, I found it easier than expected. The longer I was in France, the easier it became for me to speak French when I was at the bakery, for example.

A somewhat larger project was still waiting for me. A new helium balloon was needed for a test setup. Together with Jörg, I tried to design it, cut it out of a very special foil and then weld it together. Unfortunately, our first attempt failed because the balloon didn't take the shape we had imagined. So we had to use a second model. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see it in action.

I had a whole weekend in France where I decided that I wanted to see as much as possible. I went to Paris on the Saturday and went on a sightseeing tour of the French capital. That was very exciting. As I didn't have a car, I took the TGV. The trains thunder through the countryside at 300 km/h, but inside you don't notice the speed at all. I traveled the almost 500 km route in 3 hours. That was a real highlight if you're only used to Deutsche Bahn. In Paris, I visited sights such as the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre Pyramid and walked up to the Sacré Cœur. To get a view of the whole of Paris, I went up to the Arc de Triumphe. The entrance fee actually cost me nothing. However, the view over the city was priceless. In the evening, however, I was glad to be in bed. I had walked around 40,000 steps and was exhausted.

The following Sunday was much more relaxed. Jörg went hiking with me. There is a former fortress on a mountain in Grenoble, which we walked to. The view over the city was great. We were really lucky with the clouds. When we were at the top, we had a clear view for a long time. Only after a while did it close up a bit. But it also looked spectacular. You stood on the edge of the cliff and looked into a white void because the cloud blocked the entire view.

On the evening of my last day at work, Jörg took me to another viewpoint from where you have a wonderful view over the whole valley. Just the lights of Grenoble and the mountains in the background - it was a really great sight and definitely a very nice end to two wonderful weeks.