Beautiful campus at UQ St. Lucia

 

Thanks to the travel grant from NORBIS, I’ve had an exchange experience of a lifetime travelling to University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. When my supervisor invited me to visit UQ during his sabbatical year, I was quick to say yes and travel from NMBU with flipflops and sunscreen in my bags.

Between August and December 2022, I visited the University of Queensland and divided my time between CSIRO Agriculture and Foods unit led by Dr Stuart Denman and the Australian Centre for Ecogenomics (ACE) led by Prof. Phil Hugenholtz.

At both labs, I got a warm welcome and was quickly included in lab meetings and discussions, as well as social gatherings. I was also given the opportunity to present my own research, both at internal lab meetings and at a national conference in Melbourne, which provided me with valuable feedback as I’m nearing the end of my PhD. As I’m doing my PhD in microbial ecology, it has been a great experience getting insight into development of software and take part of discussions of how to best analyse highly complex meta-omics datasets at ACE together with some of the leading scientists in my field. Through my visit at CSIRO, I gained insight into livestock production and animal welfare. In addition, I was able to join for a sampling trip on the Australian countryside. I’m extremely grateful for the knowledge and new insights I got from working closely with animals and scientists here, especially given that the Australian livestock industry is much bigger than in Norway.

Sunset at Cylinder beach at North Stradbroke Island

Travelling alone to the other side of the world felt very daunting, but in the end the memories and experiences outweigh all the negatives. I found Aussies to be laid back, kind and very willing to help, both at work and in everyday life. Brisbane is an easy city to learn to get around and feel comfortable in. I spent many weekends browsing the many cosy breakfast cafés, vintage shopping and markets Brisbane offers. I’ve also gotten to travel around the East coast of Australia, catching sunrises and sunsets and enjoying life at the beach, as well as experienced my share of the Australian wildlife with kangaroos, snakes, sea turtles and amazing birds.  I was fortunate enough to meet new friends, that I plan to visit again in near future.

Brisbane river and CBD

It’s never too late to go on exchange, to learn new things and experience a different scientific environment. I’m grateful for the support I received from NORBIS that allowed me to gain a lot of new perspectives, both related to my research and personal life, in addition to a broad network of scientists from all over the world that I hope to keep in touch with for future collaborations.

Thea Os Andersen, PhD Student from NMBU, March 2023

Sunrise at Sunshine Coast