Overseas Internship in Agriculture and Food Industry Interviews with OASIS Program Participants

In mid-March, when the cold has had not yet gone, I met Park Shin-young, a student majoring in Crop Science & Biotechnology at the Department of Plant Science, who passed the OASIS internship in the agricultural field organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and EPIS. OASIS is a program operated to prepare conditions for young Korean young people to enter the international stage in the agricultural industry and to strengthen their overseas practical capabilities, andstrengthen their overseas practical capabilities. It is an abbreviation for Overseas Agricultural Sector Intern Scholarship.

- How did you join the OASIS program?

During my college life, I was vaguely thinking about entering graduate school, and I. I haven't hadn't decided on the field I want wanted to study, so I was looking for a fieldan area of study while interning in various laboratories. I participated in two months of undergraduate research on rice aging in the crop molecular genetic research lab of the major of crop science, five months of student creativity research in the plant virus research lab of plant microbiology, and six months as an intern. But there was also a time when I was skeptical about going to graduate school, when I kept wondering, "How can the research I'm working on actually be used in the industry?" or "Can the results I've been working on for years really help the world and have a positive impact?" Meanwhile, at the recommendation of a student who majored in applied biology at the ABCA, I took a general lecture on plant pathology, and finally began. Finally, I began to be interested in the field of plant pathology to the extent that I got an A+ score. Also on the list of participating organizations in the program in '22 was Austrian company Pessl Instruments_GmbH, whose internship was to read papers on fungal plant disease, organize the results of the experiments, and put them into predictive modeling of pests. I applied because I thought it was an opportunity to know what kind of work I was in charge of and whether I was the right person for a company while working as an intern abroad at the same time aswhile I was interested in it.

- Were there any difficulties during the OASIS program activities?

I worked remotely for 3 three months out of 6 months and was dispatched to Austria for the remaining 3 three months. Since I didn't have much time after my final acceptance, I had a hard timedifficulty getting a visa or finding accommodation to live in because I was dispatched to Austria. Usually, exchange students prepare for the related procedures a year ago, but it was difficult for me prepared for the related procedures a year ago, but it wasn't very easy because I had to prepare within a month or two. In particular, due to the aftermath of COVID-19, local dormitories were not operating well, so I remember putting all my e-mails into dormitories around the university to find accommodation where I can could live.

- Where were you deployed, and what did you do in the OASIS program?

I worked as an assistant in the Pest and Disease Model Research department for 6 six months at Pessl Instruments_GmbH, an agricultural technology and big data development company in Austria. In particular, I collected, organized, and summarized data used for predicting pests and production of various for predicting pests and production of crops such as wheat, peaches, and apples, and published and reported them to my supervisor, Product Manager. I was in charge ofresponsible for reading papers related to fungal pathogens, which is different from my major, but I. Still, I was able to adaptadapted well because I had read many papers related toread many papers on plant diseases while working at ABCA. Thanks to that, I think I was able to get a compliment from the supervisor on the last day, saying, "You worked the most meticulously and sincerely among the interns I've ever seen before."

- What did you feel or remember from the OASIS program?

I didn't have much overseas experience before, but I liked the fact that I was able tothat I could go to Europe for the first time through this opportunity and visit many places because I often traveled to nearby countries on my days off. After getting a job, it becomes difficult challenging to travel abroad, and I thought it was good to participate in the OASIS program because I could visit many countries and experience various foods and cultures. In particular, I had a goalaimed to improve my English conversation skills by participating in the OASIS program, but as. Still, as a result, I was able to learnlearned a lot of conversations that I use in my daily life. The most memorable anecdote is when I order ordered in English at a restaurant, and an old American couple next to me asked me if I was from America. That memory helped me develop my confidence in English conversation, and I think it will be a greatsignificantly help in the future. If I went had gone to an English-speaking country like the United States, I would not have been able to speak more because I was rather somewhat intimidated, but since. Still, since English is a second language in Austria, we are not native speakers, so I think I gained more confidence in this. However, as I lived in Austria, a German-speaking country, I couldn't speak German, and middle-aged people couldn't speak English well, so I had to use a Google translator. Also, although Graz, where I lived, is the second largest city in Austria after Vienna, it was not easy to make friends or cook Korean food because the neighborhood was not big and there were not manyfew Asians. However, I think it was a valuable experience because I think it is a rare opportunity in life it is a rare opportunity to make foreign friends or adapt to a new culture.

- What's your tip for the juniors you're going toyou will apply for?

When applying, the English score standard is not high, and anyone can easily apply regardless of age, education, or major, so I hope you think positively about participating in the OASIS program. However, it is advantageous to be good at English because interviews with secondary institutions are mainly conducted in English, and Englishwhich is used a lotoften used for internship work. In addition, we provide job descriptions together, and if you are willing to apply, it would be good to check them and think about "whether I am suitable for this job or have related experience." Even if you don't have any related experience, it's okay to write what you felt while taking a class related to your job. I think it is necessary to select a few people from the jobs you applied for, and to think about how competitive you are among the applicants and why you should choose yourself. If you are attending an agriculture or food department, you will be given additional points, so I highly recommend that students from Agricultural College apply.

- What are your future plans or goals?

Through participation in this program, I hadParticipation in this program gave me a short taste of my life abroad, which I had only vaguely thought about, and I had a new dream. Living in a distant country is a little different from what I thought, but it wasn't that bad. Of course, I am planning to get a job in Korea now, but if I have a chance later, I think I will expand my career in various ways, such as working abroad or getting a job at a foreign company.