First year is successfully over

It is a nice feeling to have finally holidays and get some rest after a difficult academic year. After hard job, one can much more appreciate free time.

In Scotland, both semesters are shorter and more intensive than typically elsewhere.  Therefore, my second semester finished in the beginning of April and I spend the majority of next for weeks preparing for my final exams. They were held in the first half of May. That time was quite busy and stressful for every student in Edinburgh. Exams are often few days in a row without any break and during solving them we had to cope with choosing from A-Z answers, solving real scientific laboratory problems that we had never opportunity to see before and a lot of other questions. Not surprisingly, the end of exams was huge relieve for us as we could finally start enjoying some free time and beautiful spring weather. On the other hand, nervousness persisted because we knew that exam results would not be announced before the end of June. There was, however, no more time for thinking about exams too much anymore. We had to store our staff somewhere in Edinburgh, pack the rest and say goodbye to university friends and the amazing city of Edinburgh for over three months.  Very soon after, thousands of students eagerly dispersed all around the world for summer holiday experiences.

I am spending the first two months of summer working in a pharmacy to earn some money for travelling and also to gain some work experiences. Even though I miss my friends from Edinburgh, it is very nice to be at home with my family and to meet my Czech friends again. I also cannot wait for everything I plan for this summer holiday. First of all, I will go to Belgium for an internship in a Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM). The internship is specially organized by the Joint Research Centre for me. It is a price that I won in September during The European Union Contest for Young Scientists, 2012, for successful presentation of my project called “Monitoring of Molecular Basis of Drug Abuse”. I am sure that it will be a great and interesting experience, both academically and personally. Afterwards, I would like to travel in Europe. I would love to get to know new places, experience atmosphere and culture of different countries and cities and meet different people.

At last but not least, I am very happy to say that after this awesome long summer I will became a second year student of the University of Edinburgh. Last week, The Kellner Family Foundation promised me a scholarship for the next academic year. I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you. Today, 22nd of June, I have finally received all my exam results announcing that I managed to successfully finish my first year with only A grades. Now, I can enjoy summer and look forward another university year. 

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