Winter Research Stories Part 2: The Preparation, Project, and Activities
This is the second part of my story about how I got the opportunity to participate in a summer research project at the Australian National University. If you’re interested in the application and selection process, you can find that in the previous part here. In this second part, I’ll mainly discuss what you need to do after being selected, including administrative procedures, finances, accommodations, and more. So, let’s dive in!
What’s next?
After getting accepted, you’ll need to sign a couple of documents. The FRT committee will invite you to a Facebook and WhatsApp group (although no one really uses the Facebook group, lol) where you can start communicating with other FRT awardees from India and Indonesia. You’ll also be asked to fill out a Google Sheet with additional information, including details about the research period. The requirement for the research period is that you need to conduct research for 10–12 weeks, so they don’t give you a specific date within that range.
You also need to confirm with your supervisor if they’re okay with your chosen date range. During this time, you’ll need to request a research plan from your supervisor and inquire about any necessary preparations for your research. This might include reading papers or books, learning specific software or skills, taking a course, or other tasks depending on your supervisor’s requirements.
After being accepted, there are a few things you need to prepare (but don’t worry, the FRT team provides a lot of assistance with these preparations).
Administration, Transportation, Accommodation
- Apply for Passport: Actually, it’s a good idea to have your passport even before you get accepted, as it’s useful for many purposes.
- Visa: You’ll be directed to apply for a temporary 408 visa, and the application can be a bit complex with various documents and requirements. However, the FRT team will provide assistance, and you can also use the WhatsApp group to discuss with your fellow FRT awardees, sharing experiences and helping each other through the visa application process.
- Health and Travel Insurance: You’ll need this for your visa application, and there will be an initial fee or down payment involved.
- Transportation: In my case, this includes a flight ticket from Jakarta to Sydney and then a bus ticket from Sydney to Canberra. Why Sydney first? Well, it’s actually a more cost-effective route, and transportation access is more convenient.
- Accommodation: At that time, the FRT committee offered two accommodation options: the Canberra Accommodation Centre (CAC) and the ANU Apartment. CAC provides single rooms but is a bit farther from the campus. ANU Apartment is on campus, so it’s closer. However, ANU Apartment is designed for four people, so you’ll need to find friends to team up with. The accommodation costs are similar, but when you factor in daily transportation to campus and laundry, the ANU Apartment can be more cost-effective.
Winter Items
If you choose a “summer research” date range during the Australian winter, it’s essential to prepare for cold weather. This is especially important if you haven’t experienced four seasons before. It’s a good idea to seek advice from someone who has been through a winter season, or you can explore YouTube videos and internet stories for guidance. Additionally, you should research the specific winter conditions in Canberra and its surrounding areas, as winter conditions can vary worldwide. For example, if you’re expecting to see a lot of snow, you might be surprised. Due to certain geographical factors (I won’t get too scientific here), you’ll rarely see snow right in front of your apartment. So, don’t expect the kind of snowy landscape you see in movies about Japan or Europe. However, if one of your reasons for joining this program is to experience snow, you can visit specific places like Perisher Valley Ski Resort near Canberra. The Indonesian Students Committee might also organize a trip to that place, so be sure to join in if you’re interested.
Financial Challenge
In the first part of this story, I mentioned that I read about a fellow engineering physics senior who had the opportunity to do summer research abroad, although it was a different program. Through their experience, I learned that even after being accepted into the program, the journey to actually arrive in Australia and conduct research wouldn’t be straightforward.
The first challenge is financial because the FRT Committee provides its awardees with a substantial amount (more than enough for some people), which is A$8500. However, this stipend can only be disbursed once the awardee is in Australia. This means that expenses like flight tickets, visa, transportation, passport, and other preparation costs need to be covered by personal finances initially.
I’m sure this might not be an issue for some, but for me, it required quite an effort. I attempted to secure financial assistance from my study program and faculty, but the results weren’t as favorable as I’d hoped. However, through a combination of personal funds, freelance projects, and the support of good friends and family, I was able to overcome this hurdle. From that point on, it was time to make the journey to Australia.
Arrived
After a long and tiring journey (though it was incredibly exciting), I arrived in Sydney with three other friends — one of them was a college friend, and the other two were my apartment mates, who happened to be my seniors and lecturers from Diponegoro and Gadjah Mada University. Sydney had a winter vibe with temperatures around 14 degrees Celsius, but it was sunny. From Sydney, we took a bus that we had previously booked to travel to Canberra and reach our apartment.
Upon arriving in Canberra, there were still plenty of administrative tasks to tackle, including setting up a university account, opening a bank account, arranging transportation, and making other preparations for the projects. That’s actually quite enjoyable, and you’ll learn a lot along the way.
First Day!
On my first day at the university, I reached out to my supervisor to figure out which building I should visit. In my case, it was the Nuclear Physics Department in the Research School of Physics. I met with the department administrator, Ms. Petra, and my supervisor, Mr. Lindsey, who kindly introduced me to the university’s online systems and gave me a quick tour of the building.
Next, I visited my supervisor’s office, and we had an introductory discussion about the research plan. He provided me with some initial directions on available tasks and asked me to consider which aspects of the research project interested me the most. We also set up a weekly meeting schedule, agreeing to meet every Tuesday at 1:00 pm.
Additionally, he invited me to join the group research weekly meeting held every Monday, where I would meet other research group members, including master’s and Ph.D. students, as well as some postdoctoral researchers.
Then in the afternoon, two Ph.D. students, one from Bangladesh and the other from Australia, invited me to see a real hardware prototype they were working on. They explained some of the components and how they functioned.
In the next few days, I mainly focus on doing research on campus and giving progress reports on Monday and Tuesday. The good thing is, we can work in different places like the library, student areas, or our apartments, so we’re not stuck in the office.
Apart from the routine, we also have some other activities lined up, like attending an event hosted by the FRT committee as can be seen in below image.
Apart from formal events like seminars and workshops, the FRT committee also organized trips to incredible places in Australia, including the Sydney Opera House, the Blue Mountains, beaches, Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve to see Koalas, Mt. Stromlo Observatory, and more exciting destinations.
Perhaps, I’ll write about these trips in the future! For now, if you’ve been reading from the beginning, thank you very much. I hope you’ve found some inspiration or enjoyment in this simple writing. Best of luck on your journey ahead!
