National Institute of Space Research

BRAZIL

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF SPACE RESEARCH

Second Year Undergraduate,MMath Mathematics,Remote Working

Work Projects

My work largely consisted of going through past research papers that focused on North-east Brazil and the climatic extremes that it often faces. For context, this is an area that is known to suffer from occasional extreme droughts and other natural phenomena such as landslides and sporadic moments of torrential rain. These events are thought to be amplified by the changing climate. The main question to investigate was, under the varying RCP X conditions given by the UNPCC, how will the frequency and intensity of these climate extremes vary. An even more important question that had to be asked was, what will the socioeconomic impacts of these events be.

For example, during my research I came across past droughts in the areas and the economic damage that happens to local farming communities when their source of water for agriculture disappears. The place that I was working for had created their own model on how different municipalities were affected and so they could see which areas were most at risk. My main accomplishment was understanding the underlying conditions in the region and being able to evaluate the consequences on the region. My mentor provided me with a wealth of papers to read through to help me understand the content.

Daily Life

I did my internship from my home in London. At times it was difficult to adopt the necessary mentality for work, especially since I was in my room and my bed was two feet away from me. However, I strived to mimic the conditions of a work environment as best as I could. My day would start early at 7 when I would go out for my daily exercise and then I would have a shower and get dressed in some smart casual clothes. I would then have breakfast and read for half an hour or so before setting to work at 9 with a lunch break at 12 for an hour and then continue working until 4 normally. My work largely consisted of reading and summarising notes.

Outside of work, in the evenings I would normally watch a movie or spend some time on YouTube listening to a podcast. Though there were weekly emails sent out between myself and my mentor, we also had a lengthy call on Friday afternoons so that I could ask some questions on some of the more difficult concepts in my reading and so that he could stay updated on my progress.

Lasting Impressions

I think the internship taught me some good skills about research and how to analyse a paper methodically to get the useful information out of it. I enjoyed a large part of my experience, though of course the situation in the outside world did make things gloomy at times. However, a combination of focus and calls with friends made the whole experience pretty manageable. I think before I was considering a career in academia,however, I think after this stint, it’s unlikely that it is a career path I will follow. While the work was interesting, I don't think that this is something that I want to do when I graduate and the fact that I know that now, is why internships are such a useful and enlightening experience.

Ashleigh Parsons, Final Year Undergraduate,BA Biological Sciences, Remote Working

Work Projects

I spent two months modelling the species distribution of various endemic animals in the Cerrado in Brazil. This involved largescale data analyses, where I used Excel to compile large datasets of species occurrence data, submitting data requests to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and other organisations.

I analysed these large data sets with R, using Maximum Entropy Species Distribution Modelling (MaxEnt) to produce species distributions covering extensive geographic ranges. I then used QGIS to visualise and analyse the maps I produced. This allowed me to assess the effectiveness of the protected areas in the Brazilian Cerrado and recommend priority areas for conservation. I was given quite a lot of freedom when deciding a research question, although my supervisor guided me to the Cerrado as a geographic region to focus on.

Daily Life

As this was a remote internship, I was mostly left to my own devices in terms of structuring my workload. I set myself deadlines to manage this and exchanged emails with my supervisor keeping them up to date with my progress. Occasional check-ins via video call were also very helpful in making sure I was on the right track.

Lasting Impressions

The internship helped me develop my skills with QGIS. I had no prior experience with this software, but for many conservation organisations the ability to use QGIS is a highly desired skill. This has therefore definitely increased my employability within the conservation sector. This internship has also confirmed my desire to work in conservation, specifically within data analysis. I was also able to increase my written communication skills in report writing, another highly desirable skill. I would definitely recommend this internship if you are unsure if you wish to pursue a career in research and analysis.