Observation & Research Internship Placements in Scotland

Living and working in a new environment is definitely a good experience - provided that you are personally ready for it. This program is best suited to individuals who are self-motivated and are independent workers who can work for periods of time without supervision responsibly. I took part in the Psychology program, and found the work to be straightforward and relatively clear. The biggest challenge to future participants will be learning to adjust to a new living environment - be prepared to make mistakes and learn to problem solve for yourself.

I participated in the ecology and countryside management branches at the SRUC Oatridge campus. The lecturers that provided me with projects were so incredibly helpful. Anytime I needed help or had a question there was ALWAYS someone there who went above and beyond to make sure my question was answered. Throughout my time there, I learned a lot about the ecology of Scotland and how it differs from the environment that I am used to at home. I also made some lasting friendships with some of the locals that I met while staying in the dorms. Scotland is full of experiences for any type of person, and it was an experience that I would urge more people to take part in.

I have an amazing time here in Scotland. I got a lot of hands-on experience in the field of psychology and it started my interest in the realm of research. I was able to conduct and create some of my own experiments. The professors were able to give me a new perspective to the way that psychology applies to everyday life. The location of the apartment was stellar and so close to the most lively parts of Edinburgh. This experience has been a super helpful and interesting. Loved it!

The experience was very beneficial. It was important to be able to do things on your own and be able to meet other people. In this sense, I am in Agriculture, which is different then others. I was able to meet and talk to farmers or be in the office doing audits of farmers. It was interesting be able to talk about research since I also completed research on Anti-microbials in livestock during my internship. I have also took a step into Dairy Schemes since I currently work at my dairy at school. I got to look into several different sectors of agriculture and learned a lot from my two supervisors even though the last week was a little slower than the rest. While working 40 hours or more, I gained so much experience and got free tickets to the Royal Highland Show which I highly recommend for animal lovers, agriculture lovers, and adventure tenders.

I owe so many thanks to Adelante Abroad for allowing me to satisfy my love for travel while also getting to fully immerse myself into living in another country. All of my previous travel experience has been with a group of other students, and this was my first time traveling abroad alone. The staff at Adelante (particularly Jeramee) was so quick to answer any questions I had, whether it be from preparing for my trip to things to do while actually in Scotland.

The housing situation was better than I could have hoped. The flat myself and two other participants lived in was fully furnished and clean. Additionally, it was extremely centrally located -- SO many grocery stores, shops, bars, and restaurants were within walking distance, it made traveling without a vehicle a nonexistent problem. However, I would definitely recommend purchasing a bus pass (the Ridacard), as this allows you to travel throughout the whole city for a reasonable price.

In regards to the program itself, the staff where I did my placement (the Edinburgh Zoo) were all extremely friendly and welcoming. They were in full support of the research project I had designed and did everything in their power to help me work on and complete the project. The zoo truly did feel like my home away from home while I was here.

The aspect that really tops off the experience is the abundance of things to do while on placement. Take full advantage of your placement in Scotland!! I spent weekends traveling to the Highlands, Iceland, and London in addition to doing some sightseeing throughout the city (such as some of the many museums, the castle, etc.). I think you don't truly get the cultural experience unless you are actively trying to immerse yourself in the city and its surroundings. I wish that the Scotland program was longer than six weeks, though, because it seems like you are just settling in to the country when it is once again time to pack up and leave.

Overall, I would recommend Adelante Abroad to any independent traveler looking to not only gain work experience, but also experience life abroad in a way that might otherwise not be possible!!

I had an over all awesome time here in Scotland. My favorite part how ever was the social aspect of it. I spent the majority of my time with the students at Oatridge College and girls in the study abroad Equine program. I was able to join in on some of their ridding as well which was a great addition to what I was doing. The internship was also great I learned a lot about event planning and showjumping such as course design/set up. I also learned a lot about event management and all that goes into setting up various types of shows.

I am a pre-vet student that was interested in gaining experience in veterinary medicine that would help boost my resume for vet school application. At first glance the Veterinary Medicine Research and Observation Program looked like everything that I could have asked for. My family and I looked up reviews like these and only saw one that was of any concern. Adelante “explained” to me that this review had no factual base. Please don’t let them do this to you about my review.
Before leaving for Scotland I received a document that outlined my responsibilities. It stated, “During your visit, you will have the opportunity to see and participate in animal research at the Welcome Trust Critical Care Laboratory for Large Animals. You will have the opportunity to observe the care of horses and other large farm animals and observe modern techniques being used in clinical case management in the large and small animals undergoing major surgery and visit with our research teams and staff and other animal care clinics.” Unfortunately, the only one of these responsibilities that we were allowed to participate in was to observe modern techniques being used in clinical case management. Even more limiting was the fact that our supervisor in-country stuck us solely in the anesthesia department with little hopes of exploring other departments. This lead to a very boring experience spent standing around in one place.
The first two weeks were very educational as we worked alongside knowledgeable fourth year students and learned a lot of valuable new information. The next four weeks were a nauseating repetition of the same introductory information as new fourth year students came to anesthesia for the first time. I did my best to contact our in-country and out-of-country supervisors to speak with them about other opportunities to see something other than anesthesia. Our in-country supervisor was very inaccessible by phone and email and our out-of-country supervisor put us into contact with another clinic but we were never allowed to go and visit it.
As it may now be clear, we were unable to make contact with anyone who could tell us where to go, what to do, or what was new to see. This frustration ran over into the foretold responsibility to participate in research. Of the fourteen days that were outlined to us by our in-country supervisor as opportunities to research only two of them were actually semi-productive research days. These two days only came about because I did the investigating MYSELF to find the research center and show up there IN HOPES that I may be able to speak with someone face-to-face. When I contacted Adelante to see what if anything we could do to not miss any more of these research days than we already had and how to better access our in-country supervisor their response was, “The ‘research days’ on the schedule you received are new to us” and “in past placements, ‘research days’ were never a part of the program.” This simply does not match up with the list of responsibilities that ADELATE gave us; it CLEARY STATES that we would get the opportunity to research!!!!!! Adelante suggested that we camp outside our in-country supervisor’s office or to ask reception where he was. What good would sitting outside his office all day do other that force us to miss observation of surgeries in the hospital next door?
Fortunately, I did enjoy getting to know the residents in anesthesia because they were incredibly nice and did their best to make our experience enjoyable. I also enjoyed all of the tourist activities that we got to do on the weekends.

When I first arrived to Edinburgh, the first thing that stroke me was how friendly and supportive the citizens were. It immediately built up the excitement I had to spending 6 weeks in the city. On top of that, the accommodation that we were assigned to couldn't have been more convenient: right off the Royal Mile; the historic heart of Edinburgh that is filled with tons of things to see and do. The landlord was also extremely helpful in terms of recommending which tours we could trust. The observation program was phenomenal: the other interns had different levels of experience and came from diverse background so it was great to share our insights and perspectives on distinct experiments that we conducted.

Additionally, since I wasn't yet familiar with the process of data analysis, the professors were very helpful in guiding us through the softwares to accurately conduct experiments, collect the data and then analyze it with specific guidelines.

Traveling around Edinburgh was quite easy and I highly recommend purchasing a bus card (Ridacard) as it significantly facilitated the daily journeys and allowed me to explore around Edinburgh. There's also a bus station that has daily trips to other cities such as Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee for decent prices.

There were tons of activities to keep me busy in the city after our days at the lab; from film festivals to free museums to dance classes...... Meeting people is then not so difficult and you can quickly feel like you belong to the city.

If you are a person that likes to walk around beautiful scenery, explore hidden gardens in addition to loving research: what are you waiting for? This is your chance to improve your skills and challenge yourself socially! Oh and keep in mind that wee means little :)